Busy Saturday!

Today was an exciting day.  We were up bright and early to grab a small bite to eat and get ready for our wedding cake tasting!  I had a small bowl of plain greek yogurt with a little peanut butter mixed in and granolla on the top with an apple on the side.

Then we were off to Sweets To You By Ginger for our cake tasting....at 10am.  We walked in and there were cakes everywhere.  Like a dream come true.

We went over some details for the cake and decided on this design, except with a dark purple ribbon and flowers instead of pink.

After that decision was made it was time to taste some cake! We were handed a plate with about 10 different flavors.  We quickly dug in before I could take a picture.

(the aftermath)

attractive I know

We decided on three falvors, one for each layer.  The largest layer with be a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream and fresh strawberries.  The middle layer will be chocolate cake with a raspberry jelly, and the top layer will be carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  Yes Please!

When we got home I snuck in a quick 30 minute pilates video and 15 minute weight lifting workout before we went to our friend's daughter's first birthday party.

Alysse chowing down on her bday cake!

I snacked on some fruit and veggies at the party because I was still so full from our cake tasting. 

After the party we went out to dinner with Matt's family and I got a grilled pork chop with green beans and lima beans....and totally forgot to take a picture.  I really need to get better at remembering to take pictures of my food! I'm always just so ready to dig in. 

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get a long run in, 6 or 7 miles.  And I'm so happy we are gaining an extra hour! And that it won't be pitch black anymore when I leave for work in the morning. 







Hating My Stomach!

This post was supposed to be for yesterday. I was having trouble uploading pictures!!

Today was a frustrating day all around.  I've been having stomach aches on and off all week and today was especially bad.  I would get one after pretty much every meal.  I can't figure out what is causing it. Usually my stomach aches are braugh on by stess or running and they tend to affect my lower stomach.  This week I've been getting them more frequently and they've been affecting my upper stomach.   Usually the only meal I don't get a stomach ache after is breakfast.  Today I tried to ward of the stomach aches with lots of Mint Tea.  In the past it's helped a lot.  I almost got peppermint oil pills the other week at a health food store....then I realized they cost almost $20. 

Let's see if we can spot a trend:
Breakfast: Greek yogurt overnight oats. I eat this every morning and usually don't have any issues.

Lunch: I went to a local coffee shop for lunch and got a turkey, brie and apple sandwich with fig spread. It was huge so I ate half with a banana and a cup of mint tea (for the stomach).

Dinner: Matt and I usually go out for dinner on friday nights. We went to J.B. Dawson's and I got the seasonal vegetable plate which was served with rice, black beans and toast.

Who knows! Tomorrow is another day! Matt and I are going cake tasting for the wedding cake so I'm hoping my stomach feels better by then!



I Can't Stop Running

So today I was determined to take it easy.  Matt and I have both been having some foot issues so we've been going light on the running this week.  Not as many miles.  Matt was the smart one and actually went to the foot doctor today.  He recommended rest and some inserts for his shoes.  I should really do the same thing....but I can't help but procrastinate going to any type of doctor. 

After work I headed to the gym for a strength training workout with a bit of cardio on the side.  I found some great leg workouts at http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/.  I get the magazine every month but I actually think I like the website better than the magazine. 
I started out with the Side Lunge Butt Kicker:

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, arms by sides.
• Lunge to right with right leg, keeping toes pointed forward and bending right knee 90 degrees. Hinge forward from hips and touch left hand to floor.

Push off right foot to stand on left leg as you bend right knee to bring foot toward butt, reaching left hand behind you to tap right foot. Quickly return to side lunge.

I did 2 sets of these per leg with 15 reps per set and I also held a 12lb weight in my one hand

Then I did the Carving Curtsey:

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, elbows bent by sides, hands in front of chest.
• Lunge back with left leg, bringing left foot toward right and bending both knees 90 degrees into a curtsy; swing bent left arm forward, right arm back.

Stand up on right leg, bringing bent left knee directly out to side at hip level and tapping left hand on left knee.

• I did two sets per leg, each set with 15 reps and I heald two 5lb weights

I finished up with the Behind Definer (nice name haha):

--Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand, arms by sides.

-- Lunge back with right leg, bending both knees 90 degrees and lifting arms to shoulder level in front of you, palms down.

Stand up on left leg, then hinge forward from hips, extending right leg behind you until leg and body are parallel to floor and arms extend downward. Return to standing, touching right toes to floor behind you, and repeat lunge.

• I did 2 sets of 12 per leg and was holding two 5lb weights.

After my leg workout, I did a little bit of abs and arms and then the TREADMILL caught my eye....I couldn't resist.  I hopped on  and did a 30 minute interval workout.  Oops.  Oh well.  My foot feels fine now.  I really tried to concentrate on my stride and make sure I wasn't running too much on my toes and I think it worked.

PS Tomorrow's Friday!!!



Ready For Homecoming!

Today was my day off from the gym/running! I always use Wednesdays for errands and chores.  Today after work I went to Main St. to get one of my good friends a gift for her quarter century birthday:) I went to one of my favorite stores Heart And Home.  I always go there to shop for my friends and it's usually hard for me to not buy something for myself. 

Then I walked down to the Five and Dime to get some gear for homecoming.  It's about a week and a half away and I have a feeling I'm going to freeze my butt off.  Homecoming is usally in the middle of October, but for some reason this year it's about a month later.  Since I graduated most of my delaware gear has gotten pretty ratty, so I needed some replacements.  I ended up getting a cute hate and some gloves in blue and gold of course!

Looking pretty sweet if I do say so myself.

I can't wait to spend homecoming with my friend Stephanie and her boyfriend Chase! I'm still trying to decide what we should cook while we tailgate.  It'll be pretty early in the morning so I'm thinking eggs....on a grill.  We'll see.

Tonight's dinner was a shrimp and veggie stir fry over brown rice.  I thawed some frozen shrimp and frozen stir fry vegetables, and cooked them in a little soy sauce. YUM!

I'm off to make my breakfast/lunch before Up All Night and Modern Family!



In Need Of Some Comfort....Food

Today after work I went for a run around the University of Delaware campus.  It's one of my favorite places to run and it always brings back good memories from college. It's such a pretty campus that the run always goes by nice and fast.



I ran for about 40 minutes.  I swear one day I'll get one of those fancy watches that tells you how far you actually went, but for now I'm guessing that I went a little over 4 miles. 

When I got home I was ready to cook! I saw this recipe last week on a fellow runner's blog.  It looked soo good and I've been in the mood for some comfort food ever since the weather started getting colder.  The recipe was really easy to follow and only took me about a half an hour to make which is a plus in my book.

Recipe:

¼ cup smoked bacon ends, diced (I used canadian bacon)

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

½ large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

6 small potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 cups kale, chopped, loosely packed

2 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 ½ tsp smoked paprika

½ cup half and half (I only used about 1/4 cup)

In a small soup pot, cook the bacon over medium heat until fat becomes visible in the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to medium high and add the celery, carrot and onion. Cook about 3 minutes and stir in the garlic. Continue to cook until the veggies are tender, about 5 more minutes.

Add the potatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add water to the pot just to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. As soon as the potatoes become tender, add the kale. Cook just until wilted, about 1 minute.

Stir in the salt, pepper and paprika. Using a potato masher, gently mash the soup, breaking up some of the potatoes, but not all. Stir in the half and half and serve warm. Makes 4 servings.

YUM YUM YUM. I had my soup with a side salad of course! And I finished my meal with a little dessert.  A square of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate. 





Snow In October

I woke up on Saturday to such a gross day outside.  This was the day we were having people over for Halloween.  Not too many people, but of course I was running around the kitchen like a crazy person trying to get everything ready.  I attempted to make these cute ghost meringue cookies.  Well it turned out to be an epic FAIL.  So I took a quick look around the kitchen to see what I had on hand, and then searched the internet to find a quick recipe for some healthy cookies.  I ended up making Peanut Butter Bars. They were so easy with only a handful of ingredients.  I would say all together they took me 20 minutes to make with baking and everything.

Recipe:

1.5 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup agave nectar

1 egg (i used egg whites)

1/2 cup peanut butter (smuckers natural chunky)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 inch square baking pan.  Mix all ingredients, pour into baking pan and bake for 15-18 minutes.



I also had to make something with pumpkin in it or it wouldn't be Halloween.  I made a pumpking pie dip and served it with apple slices and graham crackers.

Recipe:

15 oz can of pumpkin

3/4 cup brown sugar

6 oz fat free plain greek yogurt

8 oz cool whip free

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice

We also got a bread spider from great harvest.  It looked so cute I didn't want to eat it.  It was cinnamon chip flavor.





I think everyone had a good time at the party even though the weather was disgusting.  I was BATGIRL!! A left over cotume from last year....oops :)

This is the first year I've tried Pumpking Beer and I lovee it!!

The next morning I definitely felt like I had to get moving.  Halloween is one of the holidays you just have to give yourself the chance to cheat for the night.  All the food was delicious and I enjoyed every bite.  Today Matt and I headed to glasgow park for a run.  I finished 5.1 miles in 47 minutes.  I felt good to be outside even though it was a little chilly, I think about 45 degrees. 

On my agenda for today:

• Make a wedding website (I've been dreading this)
• Start thinking about our registry
• Laundry
• Some cooking for the week ahead