Pages

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Kitty Brushin'


Good morning!!

I love Sunday mornings. It's just so relaxing to sleep in and eat a leisurely breakfast and then get all pretty for church :)

Breakfast was a yummy mushroom zucchini egg scramble with Laughing Cow stirred in at the end. All served up with a piece of nutty toast and some berries.




After breakfast some major cat lovin' was happening!

yes, i am wearing a green fuzzy robe. heheh. 


Tux got a nice brush-down and was purring and drooling like crazy!!


But Ginnie Mae wasn't too happy about the whole situation. Since anything that's not about her is just not cool.

Plans for the rest of today include church and to the movies with the fam! My mom is going back to work full time next week so we've been trying to squeeze in lots of fun things the past few weeks. I think we are going to see Captain America - not sure if it'll be good or not but we'll see.

Yesterday I saw Crazy Stupid Love with a friend and it was pretty good! It wasn't as funny as I'd hoped it would be but I seriously love Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling.

Crazy, Stupid, Love Poster

I also went to a family barbecue yesterday and didn't get too many good photos. The sun was in the way on all the big family group pictures but I'll share one with you anyway :)

I'm on the far right in this one:


I guess that's what happens when you do self timer on the top of a car, right? Oh well! We still had a great time and it was cool to have all my dad's side of the family together. 

Have you seen any movies recently? Which was your favorite?

Saturday, July 30, 2011

The iPod Shuffle

Good afternoon!! I hope you all are enjoying your weekends :)

The past few days have been awesome. I have just been hanging out with friends, driving around, doing crazy stuff (like booing people in July - have you guys ever heard of it?) and enjoying summer. I can't believe it's almost August!

After eating lots of candy and cookies the past few days I really looked forward to getting up this morning and eating a nutritious breakfast. Even though I enjoy indulging my body really likes it a lot better when I eat healthier food!

Before I had breakfast I went on a nice 4 mile run. This morning I slept in instead of going to cross country practice so I was a little nervous about it being hot when I set out, but it wasn't too bad. I love running in my area because there are so many people out there running, walking, and cycling in the mornings so I get to wave and smile at people all the time. And smiling at random people makes me happy!

I have been running and working out with my new iPod shuffle the past few days and I really like it. It is so light that I don't feel it at all while running, and the clip on it is awesome for working out (I almost think it wouldn't be worth it without the clip!!). I am planning on updating my music a lot so that I don't get bored of it, since the shuffle only holds 2GB.



Breakfast included two of my biggest addictions - peanut butter tortillas and chocolate protein shakes. I seriously cannot get enough of either of these two things!!





My protein shake included the usual frozen banana, cocoa powder, vanilla protein powder, spinach, almond milk, and ice. It always turns out so creamy and chocolatey - I think that's why I'm so in love with them! Plus each shake packs 18g protein and lots of vitamins.



After showering I put on another new dress I got at H&M. I loved the one I got  last time so yesterday I picked another one up - same style, just different colors and pattern! 


jay unintentionally photobombing........

I have recently started wearing dresses and skirts a lot more since they're super comfy and flattering. And this dress was only $18 - talk about a good deal! 

Then I got baking in the kitchen for a family barbecue I'm going to later this evening. I made my Chocolate Chip (Oatmeal) Cookies but added almonds and toffee bits in addition to the chocolate. Let's just say that I had a hard time keeping my spoon out of the cookie dough. 



Or the broken cookies, for that matter!





Perfectly chewy yet doughy and flavorful. Mmm. 

I actually am getting a little sugared out, though! The past few days have been way more sugar-filled than usual so I'm fairly sure that the rest of today will be sugar-free and nutritious :) 

I better get going 'cause there's a mound of dishes in the sink and I'm meeting a friend at the movies in 45 minutes!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Sugar, Sugar

Happy it'salmostfriday Thursday!!

There's just something about Fridays that are special even in the summer. I always look forward to them!

This morning I headed over to cross country practice and ran a little under 5 miles. My legs had that 'filled with lead' kinda feeling so I took it slow and ran a shorter route than I was planning on. Then I hit the gym for some light weights so I could chat with my mama!

I love all the time that I get to spend with my mom when we are working out. We have so much in common (foodie alert!) and have similar senses of humor. She is definitely my best friend and I am so blessed to have such a good relationship with her!

We completed 3 reps on 10 different machines while talking about plans for our day.

Breakfast today was another not-so-pretty one but a fantastic one!

I made an egg scramble with zucchini, mushrooms, and cheese and served it up with a piece of nutty/seedy toast.


I absolutely love this bread! It is just a Safeway brand but it is so chewy, nutty, and chock-full of flavor.

I packed lunch for the car ride to the outlets!! Since my mom goes back to work in a few days we wanted to take advantage of the last few free days. This trip was mainly to find her some new clothes for work and we had a few successes.

Lunch included a string cheese, strawberries, a turkey sandwich, and carrots with hummus.




We also enjoyed some treats along the way. Stop one was the Jelly Belly outlet! We tasted some new flavors, including the new chocolate covered beans. At first I thought that they would be absolutely disgusting but they were awesome! I tried the mint and coconut flavors and the mint one reminded me of a chewier York mint patty.

We ended up buying some of the chocolate coconut ones and they are fantastic. We had to put them in the freezer when we got home so we wouldn't completely ruin our dinner, lol :)


We also stopped in this really fancy bakery to gaze at the treats and ended up buying a couple of cookies! The cake samples we tried while we were there went unphotographed but the lemon chiffon cake was unbelievable.

We tried a toffee almond praline cookie and an oatmeal raisin. I didn't like the toffee cookie at all because it tasted way too sugary to me with not enough nutty flavor, but the oatmeal cookie was delicious!

oatmeal raisin

my taste of the toffee almond
I'm definitely feelin' the sugar right now, though. A little too much was included in all of our snacks and now I'm feeling lethargic and sleepy. I think a nutritious dinner is in order!

Chocolate jelly beans: yay or nay?



Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Under Pressure

This afternoon was just one of those afternoons. Not so fantastic - but it got better toward the end!

I'm definitely feeling the pressure of trying to figure out where I want to go to college, what I want to study, if I need to get a part time job, and what elective to take next year. It's so overwhelming!! I had a mini (ok, not so mini haha) freak out earlier this afternoon because it all just seemed like so much. Not to mention wondering how I'm going to make it through without my brother next year.

And this song that they just covered on The Glee Project has been running through my head all day!


Feelin' the pressure.

Anyway, most of today's eats have been super snacky. Peanut butter fingers a la Julie out the yin yang! Check out this jar of pb that I have demolished single handedly in the past few weeks. It's forty ounces! Clearly I have a bit of a problem ;)



I also have a bit of a love affair with these:


How many have been featured on the blog the past few days??? Lots. :) 

And let's just say that sometimes I have not-so-normal "salads".... yeah. That's mushrooms and salad dressing..... no shame!


After a emotional afternoon my mom helped me pick myself up and we headed over to the nail salon to get pedicures. We were planning on getting mani/pedis on our mother/daughter day last weekend but didn't have time so we came back to get the bottom half done.

My feet are weird. Wait. My toenails are weird. Well, more like gross/disgusting/icantbelievei'mpostingthisontheblog.

At least they look semi-pretty! Check out that messed up big piggy on the right. The nail fell off so that's a new one growing in.


Running destroys your toenails. End of story.

Since this afternoon I ate copious amounts of animal crackers, dry cereal, and pb, I think dinner will be something light. Or maybe I'll just go straight to dessert??

What to you do to pick yourself up after a bad day?
Any good de-stressing techniques? I think yoga will be really good for me and will help me destress especially this upcoming year.

Hi ho, Hi ho

It's back to work we go! Well, not work exactly, but my four-day weekend is over so it's back to the usual.

If you missed this weekend here's the highlights!

This morning I took my usual 9am BodyPump class. I've missed my weights this past weekend so it felt great to get back into the groove. Before I class I also banged out 2 miles on the treadmill and 10 minutes on the stairclimber to get warmed up. 

I had my usual pre-workout snack (any guesses anyone?? pb+tortilla, of course!) and came home to an awesome breakfast. 

Eggs + mushrooms + creamy Laughing cow cheese = ugly but delicious!!


Serve up with some fresh strawbs


And a seedy piece of toast (I <3 nutty breads!!)


I've got quite a few things on my todo list so I better get crackin'! There is so much to do before school starts next year that I'm starting to get a little overwhelmed - college research, working on my essay, researching majors, applying for part time jobs, etc.... its CRAAzy!!! 

Catchya later!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Three Cartons + Double Mushrooms!

Today was my family's last day in our 4-day "daycation" weekend and it was a fun and relaxing one!

I have a few TV shows DVRd so I'm going to make this post quick and simple :)

This morning's pre-workout fuel was my usual tortilla with pb. I went to cross country practice and did another hard three-mile tempo. Hopefully these will get easier as the weeks go by! I also went to the gym to take a LesMills BodyFlow class. It was definitely hard on my hip joints (I have a few hip problems, more on that later!) but a good stretch.

Post-workout fuel was yet another one of my protein shakes (banana, spinach, cocoa, almond milk, protein powder, ice).  I've gone through 3 cartons of almond milk in less than a week!!!! This is insanity. I'm addicted. Good thing there's Costco - I got a big case of it there today :)


Then I went to see Harry Potter for the second time! It was even better because I caught a few lines I didn't hear the first time and wasn't trying not to fall asleep at midnight. 

Movie snackage included a big bag of popcorn and a diet soda (special treat!).


And after the movie I enjoyed a Peet's Freddo - cause we're pretending like it's vacation :)


At Target today I got a new iPod shuffle. I've been getting tired of taking my regular nano in and out of my car/gym bag and decided that the shuffle was a good investment for working out. It's nice and small and has a clip on it so I don't need a case! I forked over ~$54 of my own hard earned money for this baby and I'm hoping it's worth it!! 



I'll give you guys an update on that tomorrow after I work out.

The rest of my afternoon was spent uploading songs onto my new pink pod and munching on carrots and hummus.


Dinner was a quick and easy one with mushrooms galore. We had a Whole Foods pizza in the fridge that needed to be eaten. I added some thinly sliced mushrooms and voila - dinner is served!

Salad with more crumbly shrooms:


And the beautiful pizza:


My plate:


Dessert was another protein shake since I've been pretty hungry all day due to eating a bag of popcorn carbs for lunch.

Night!!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Day in Great America

Today was another awesome day in my family's four-day "daycation" weekend! This morning my dad, mom, and I drove over to California's Great America. My brother Jay is going on vacation with a friend of his so these last two "daycation" days are just me and my parents :)

It was strange at first since a few years ago we would never have gone to an amusement park without the whole family. But this year slowly Jay has become more and more social & been out of the house more which has taken a little to get used to. I'm definitely going to miss him when he's off to college next year! I guess I better get used to being a single child pretty soon here.

Despite Jay being gone, we had an awesome time at the park today! I didn't snap many photos because we were too busy going on all the rides and having fun. The lines were short today which was awesome for all the big thrill rides.

This was the TALLEST ride I've ever been on - the view at the top was really cool yet frightening at the same time.


I'm in the white on the left and my mom is next to me.


On the little kiddy driving ride!



Pro driver here :)

After hitting up a couple more crazy rides we went to an ice skating show which was superb. Ice skating is one of those sports that I absolutely love to watch. I would kill to be able to be an ice skater, dancer, gymnast, or diver. Those are my favorite sports to watch on TV!

After the show we had our packed lunches. My family has always packed our lunches on day trips and vacations, ever since I was little. When I was younger I remember being frustrated with it because I'd see everyone else walking around with chicken fingers and pizza. But now I love it and really appreciate eating my own healthy food and saving money at the same time.

My lunch included some unpictured cherries, a turkey and avocado sandwich (i've been loving this combo lately!), and part of a protein bar.



Other snackage throughout the day included a string cheese, beef jerky, and some candy for waiting in line. I'm like a little kid and need something to keep me occupied in the longer lines!

Dinner tonight was simple since we were all a bit tired when we got home. Dad barbecued chicken and I roasted some potatoes while my mom made the salad.




I'm off to make a protein shake for dessert cause I can't stop thinking about 'em! I think this is going to be featured on the blog quite frequently the next few days :)

Good night!