champagne problems

On Sunday morning, everyone was dragging a little from the late night karaoke-ing. Mike and I attempted to make it to church, but when we were pulling in at 11:10, I just wasn't in the mood to sneak into a pew after things had already gotten started. We decided, instead, to go for a run.

Oh, did you not hear that correctly? We went for a run the day after a 10k. Yeah, we are some serious people now.

I never really thought I would get to that point. But now, going a day without some type of exercise is just unusual. Since we rarely get the chance to go running anywhere but our neighborhood, I took full advantage on Sunday. Plus, with Mike being so interested in the healthier lifestyle lately, it makes it so much easier to get off the couch, and get moving. I am not allowing him to ever go back to his old ways. Ever.

We headed to Shelley Lake, a local lake with a trail around it. One of our friends had told us about it, so we decided to give it a try. We only wanted to do 2-3 miles, since we were pretty sore, so we did 1 loop around the water.

I think the total amount was 2.06 miles, which was plenty for the both of us. It was a pretty nice run, with the weather being breezy and not too hot.

Our hamstrings are really sore from Saturday, so I don't think we could have gone much longer than what we did.

After our run, we ran a ton of errands. Mike needed his hair cut, so I browsed the shopping center while he was doing that. We also had to make the usual stop at Target, where I got some new running socks and Mike got some new work socks.

After running over 6 miles on Saturday, I realized I needed something better in the way of socks. I had some serious blisters on my toes, and I think it is because I don't wear thick enough socks. It felt like when my feet would sweat, there was nothing to absorb that, so I got some moisture wicking socks.

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As you know, I have officially gone down a full size in my pants. I can still wear a lot of the same shirts, because I have always been kinda small on the top, but I am getting a little tired of looking like a slob at work. I feel like I don't want to leave my desk because my pants are so saggy and look ridiculous.

I was telling my friends about this problem over the weekend and felt like the term "champagne problems" fit perfectly. Let me pull the definition straight from Urban Dictionary for you...

Champagne Problems - 

A problem or dilemma that, when compared to issues of poverty, national disasters and war, are not all that big of a deal, but nonetheless provide individuals with issues that must be dealt with.

An issue that must be dealt with is right...  Mike and I headed to the mall for a few new pairs of pants for me, and since we were there, Mike found a few new pairs as well. And, some new shirts. haha. He is in need of new clothes too, since his pants and shirts are looking quite saggy since he has lost weight. I told him there is no turning back since we just bought new clothes, we are going to keep this up! 

Express is our go-to place for work clothes. Their clothes just seem to fit Mike and I both very well, they aren't very expensive, and they are easy to wear, without being too fancy or casual. It helps that they are constantly sending out coupons and always have a  pretty good clearance rack to pick from too. 

We should have done a little fashion show to post on the blog... 

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Foam Roller Love... 

I have been reading healthy living blogs for a long time, and I always see the foam roller make an appearance. I had never tried one out, but after running that 10k on Saturday, I felt like a rolling pin to my hamstrings would be the most amazing feeling ever. I gave the foam roller a try at they gym yesterday, and skipped out on any kind of cardio, and my legs feel so awesome.

Here is a good guide to how to use one. I pretty much just did the hamstring pose, which felt so great. 

Source

I think I will be needing to buy one of these things to keep on hand soon. I think it would be great to have before going to bed and immediately after a run.

I am going to try to get in a 3-4 mile run today after work, before heading to the hospital. We are running in a 5k on Thursday evening, so I don't want to give myself too long of a break.

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We are currently awaiting the results of Mike's work weight loss challenge... Although I would love for Mike to win, I feel like this has been a great way to jump start his journey, and we are really happy with what it has done for the both of us. Mike has been educating himself so much on eating better, working out, and running, I think this is a lifestyle change he really wants to stick with. From what I hear, a lot of people who did this challenge with him feel the same way. No matter who wins, I hope everyone is really happy with their success.

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 109
Sodium (+) 905
Protein (-) 7

random afternoon off

Sorry for the lack in post yesterday... I had an unexpected 1/2 day off! I attended a training class at the hospital that was supposed to last until 4:30, so I was super excited when they let us go by 1:45. I used every minute of my free time getting things accomplished running errands. 

I started my day with an egg, goat cheese, and raspberry jam sandwich, which was delicious.

 
Since we hadn't gone grocery shopping, I ate lunch at the hospital. I ate light, knowing I could get something else when I got home. I just had a small salad with lots of yummy toppings.

When I got out of training, I headed straight to the bank. I had a few things I needed to straighten out with them (name change, new debit card, etc), so that took up quite a bit of my time. After that, I went grocery shopping and browsed around Target looking for gifts for my nephews and niece.

Two of my nephews were born 1 week apart, so both of their 2nd birthdays are coming up. I couldn't find exactly the gift I was looking for, but I found a pretty fun alternative. I have been wanting to get them a Sit & Spin for a while, and I think they are finally old enough for it. I kind of wish there was an adult version of this.

I also got my niece a cute new dress and some lip gloss. It is not her birthday, but it is so much fun to buy clothes for girls. Since the weather is starting to warm up, I wanted to get her a fun new dress to wear. She loves dresses and I like to buy her clothes that look like something I would wear. She is so fashion savvy.

Once I finished up at Target, I headed home for an almond butter making extravaganza. I will be heading to see my family this weekend and wanted to be able to give them all some nut butter since they all love it so much, especially my nephew, Freddie. The last time I was at my mom's, she and my brother also loved it, so I made them each a jar to keep.

There are 2 batches of Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Almond Butter, as well as 3 batches of regular Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Almond Butter. I am giving the double chocolate batches to my brother's family and my mom. The regular will stay with me and go home with my sister. I did plenty of quality assurance on these batches, so I know everyone will love them. ;) I am so excited to have replenished my stock of nut butter for a little while.

Also when I got home, there was a lovely package on my doorstep.

Remember when I was hunting for a new purse a few weeks ago? I had gotten a cheap one from TJMaxx recently and really love it. It is really adorable, but I was still on the prowl for a good designer purse that would go with everything and really hold up well. Due to an outstanding deal that I couldn't pass up, I purchased this baby...

It is a silvery gold shoulder bag from Kate Spade (I have no idea her real name, so I am calling her Sparkles). The leather is so soft and it is a huge bag, which I love. I am so excited to be toting her around today. 

Major Cheeseball

Mike came home right in the middle of almond butter making and we immediately changed and headed out for our run. One thing I love about my new Nike+ GPS app, is that each time you start a run, it asks you if you would like to go faster, longer, or stay the same as your previous run. We decided we wanted to try to get 4 miles in last night, to better prepare us for the 3.2 we will be doing on Saturday. 

I completed 4 miles in 40:32 minutes, which I was quite happy with. I walked up the biggest hill, since my hamstrings were burning, and then walked again around the 2 mile point. I was pretty excited about how I felt during the run. First of all, the weather was gorgeous. I was able to wear shorts and a tank and felt completely comfortable the entire run. 

Also, I hardly got winded or felt out of breath during the run. My only reasons for walking were more to save my legs to finish out the 4 miles. I think I will be able to do really well on Saturday. Mike finished the 4 miles as well last night, but he doesn't really keep track of his time, although he didn't finish much later than I did so I think he will also do well on Saturday. I am pretty sad that the weather is cooling off today and tomorrow, though. I wish it was sunny and 70's everyday!

Before leaving for our run, I threw some quinoa in the rice cooker for our dinner last night - so easy! I didn't really have a plan in mind, but I had just bought some chicken so I threw it out there for an option. Mike actually said, "I am thinking all veggies tonight." I about choked on the spoonful of almond butter in my mouth.

We ended up just roasting some sweet potatoes, boiling some frozen broccoli, and throwing it on top of some quinoa. I think Mike may have made a taco type wrap for his, but I just had mine in a bowl with some light soy sauce and red pepper flakes (my latest favorite topping for everything). 

It filled me up pretty well, but I had also had plenty of almonds and almond butter throughout the evening to ensure I wouldn't be hungry. 

I decided to throw some of the leftover quinoa into my oatmeal for this morning and it was a pretty great idea. Extra protein and fiber in my oatmeal is always a good thing. I couldn't taste the quinoa, but the texture was very similar to my normal barley and oats. I also added frozen berries, skim milk, and a spoonful of almond butter. 

I am trying to decide if I want to go for a run tonight after work. I usually run better after a previous day's run, but I don't want to wear myself out before running again tomorrow morning. I think I will see what the weather is like after work and maybe just do 2 or 3 miles instead of 4. Right after the race, we are heading to my brother's house for my nephew's 2nd birthday party. It should be a fun time hanging out with the family and some old friends from high school. 

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Happy Friday! 

Yesterday's Stats:

Calories (-) 190

Sodium (+) 242
Protein (-) 11

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 (!!)

get yourself fooducated

I have touched on it here before, but I thought I would share one of my new favorite iPhone apps. Fooducate.

I am still getting used to this handy little helper, but so far, I love it. You simply scan the bar code of the food you are curious about and it provides you with a grade. It also gives you lots of tips and interesting information on the product and why it is good (or not good) for you.

Of course, as with anything, you must take what it has to say and do your own research, but it is a great starting point. Items that you have heard great things about, items that you have always wondered just how bad they could be, Fooducate will tell you.

Since we don't really buy too many processed or boxed items these days, the ones we do get, I want to be sure they are worth it. This app will tell you if there are questionable ingredients, too much of a particular ingredient, and whether or not the product is considered too processed. If the product gets a pretty bad rating, Fooducate will provide you with a recipe to try at home or other alternatives. I think it is going to be my new best friend. :)

(BTW, I get 0 compensation for this bloggy blog, so take it for what it is - MY OPINION!)

While we are talking about making healthy food choices... I had some glorious chinese food this week that was in no way healthy or the right choice, but it was delicious. When I order chinese food at home, I always get something fried, like general tso's chicken. But, when I am at work, I always order the chicken with garlic sauce.

You see those 2 Xs? That means extra, extra hot! This stuff is clear your sinuses hot. Need to refill the 24 oz tumbler of water hot. It was so very good.

Per my usual, I ate all of the veggies first, then a few pieces of chicken, until I was full to the brim. I tried a few bites of rice, but couldn't even finish half of this meal. I figured I would save the leftovers and eat it later, but after the week I have had with high sodium and calorie levels, I decided that wasn't a very good idea. There are plenty of better options for me right now.

Throwing food away is a pretty hard thing for me to do. When we don't make the best choices for dinner or lunch, I try to ensure that there are no leftovers, so I don't have to a. eat the bad for me food twice or b. throw anything away. Sometimes, there is just nothing I can do about it. Luckily, Mike took the leftovers off my hands and ate them for lunch one day. :)

Shopping Update
The only thing that I have actually purchased from my shopping frenzy yesterday was these. The price was right, they look very lightweight (and the reviews confirm it) and they only had 1 pair left in my size, so I felt like it was a win - win.

I am still deciding on the TOMS. I thought I wanted the navy pair, but now I am really leaning toward the gray. Of course every outfit I put on now, I think the gray pair would look great with... so I think that is going to be what I go with. My SIL has them in that color, but I am sure she won't mind being twins. :) I just need to figure out what size to buy. I hear they stretch out after wearing them, and I don't want them to be too big.

Everything else will have to wait until I have some time to go peruse the racks. I am pretty excited about my new running shoes though. I can't wait to take them out for a run after they get here! I am hoping that next week I will be able to get a few outdoor runs in.

Randoms
I have a few issues on my hands...

What?? Yes, they really do taste like cake. YUM!

Found these babies on my trip to the store to ONLY BUY BREAD! We weren't supposed to buy anything else until we finish our meal planning and grocery list... but how could I resist? I ate 4 last night, which is 2 servings... 2 stupidly small servings.

I have been resisting buying any girl scout cookies this year but my boss' daughters are selling them. I only got 2 boxes and am planning on rationing them out to Mike and myself over the next 2 months. haha. like they will make it that long... and I wonder why I can't lose that 1 final pound to hit my short term goal?

He pretty much just does what he wants. This is how he is most comfortable, touching Deluca, touching me, and kicking Mike away. :)

Have a good weekend everyone!

Yesterday's Stats
Calories (+) 25
Sodium (+) 780
Protein (+) 8