Cow Themed....

Happy Saturday everyone. Matt and I just got back from a busy day out and about.  Let's rewind to yesterday, just a normal day at work right?? Wrong! My coworkers got me good with a surpise wedding shower.  And the theme you ask?? Cow themed of course hahah. Anyone who knows me knows I love cows!

There was so much good food including subs, carrot cake cupcakes, trail mix (b/c it's me lol), ice cream from the UD creamery and these brownies:

(my new last name will be Coffin)

And my favorite part:

The pinata and the sweet cow visor.

Me and all my goodies.  I no I did not intentionally wear that shirt on that day lol.  I had so much fun.  They even made me this hilarious slide show of all these horrible pictures of me from work functions including my picture from the frist day of work 2.5 years ago.  The slideshow also included some "meganisms" or crazy shit I say without thinking.  I loved every second of it!!

This morning I woke up freakishly early again, because that just seems to be the theme of my life.  Matt and I ate breakfast and were at Judge Morris Estate to run by 9am (allowing for my 2 hours of digestion of course).  We ran 4 miles at a pretty slow pace b/c it was on trails.  After we got back and ate lunch, we were off for what turned out to be a spontaneous afternoon. My plan was to take Matt to do a few activities as a sort of bday celebration.  I was going to take him go karting and then to an outdoor festival.  Well I missed the exit for go karting on 95 b/c my gps sucks and this ended up taking us over the bridge into New Jersey.  I made a joke that we should just go to this vineyard that we had went to a few months back, and Matt said "why don't we." So...we went!!!

It was such a nice day we just couldn't resist going and sharing a bottle of wine and just relaxing. Life has been crazy lately since our wedding is in 2 weeks!!!

After we were done with our wine and sat around for a bit, we drove down the road to this huge farmers market called cowtown and walked around for a bit.  Then we were off to the mall to pick up some things for our honeymoon and to grab dinner (saladworks is my lovaaa).  When I got home from dinner I finished our escort cards aka my last big thing I need to do before the big day.

We used wine corks to set each card in....which means we drank a lot of wine in the last year to get all these corks.  J/K we had lots of help from our family and friends.

Now we are off to our friend's house for a fire pit.  Phew, it never stops lol, but I'm loving every second of it!! I can't believe in two weeks from today I will be married! CRAZY!!



Fast Five!

Today was a gorgeous day, the first sunny day we've had in a while. So of course I was thinking about running all day long. I had a light lunch today because I was invited to something fun at Matt's work after lunch.

Tofu, brown rice, kale, zucchini, broccoli, garlic powder, soy sauce, blue cheese. YUM!  I love how tofu can mimic scrambled eggs. 

After lunch I drove over to Matt's work where they were having a "surprise party" for him celebrating our wedding.  The only issue was, Matt found out about it, so they decided to invite me along.  The got us a cake, balloons, a gift card to bed bath and beyond, and this:

There were some pretty funny picutres inside including this one:

Ummm no thanks hahha. If you can't quite tell that is the Duggar family aka "a million kids and counting." I think they are absolutely crazy by the way.

After I finished up at work I was headed out for a run around UD campus.  Now that the weather is getting nicer there is so much gooood stuff to gawk at around campus.  One of the most popular majors at UD, believe it or not, is Fashion Merchandising.  I don't want to make any generalizations....but they can wear some pretty crazy shit, and it amuses me to look at them and think to myself "what the hell were they thinking?" 

I finished 5 miles around campus in 44.46 with an average pace of 8.56 which is fast for me! I was surprised with my pace considering how windy it was:

Can you tell it's windy??

I did have to stop once during my run to look at what has happened to the campus that I used to know so well:

See where all that crap is?? That used to be Matt's dorm.  So sad.  I guess they were kind of crappy dorms though.  I'm hoping that they'll put in updated dorms and maybe name them the same thing?? Oh Gilbert, we had some good times.  At least all my dorms are still standing!! But probably not for long lol. 



WAIW!!

Happy Hump Day and Happy Birthday to Matt!! 

Check out Peas and Crayons to check out more foodies!

Breakfast:

Old news...overnight oats with my favorite flavor of greek yogurt, apple cinnamon.  I had a busy morning at work and this baby kept me full for 3.5 hours.

Snack:

Half a granolla bar and some veggies.  Notorious once again for eating halves of things. Matt loves it when I do that haha.

Lunch:

Turkey and cheese on a deli flat slathered with hummus and some spinach on top. Apple on the side.

Pre Volleyball Snack:

Pineapple, cottage cheese and apple butter.

Today our game was at 5:30, and even though it looked like it would rain at any moment, it didn't!! As always, we took the dog with us even though he is the worst dog ever when he is in the car.

But you can't deny he's freakin' cute!

Our volleyball game went pretty well.  We were down one person so we only had 5 people instead of 6 which hurt us a little. We lost all 3 games, but still had a good time.

Me and the bday boy after our game. 

And since we get home so late and I'm usually about to eat my left arm, we had some leftovers for dinner.

I made this recipe for quinoa with sauteed kale and goat cheese and added turkey sausage to it too.  I loved this recipe because I love goat cheese. It's pretty much my life source.  And a salad on the side for some veggies.

Dessert aka my favorite part of the day

Ok I know what you're thinking, this looks kind of gross.  But it's so good. I found this recipe on Chocolate Covered Katie's blog for the ultimate chocolate fudge pie, except I didn't make mine into a pie, I made it into chocolate mousse, stuck it into a container, and am eating it bit by bit for dessert each night. 

Ingredients:

1 package tofu

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp agave nector

2 tbsp skim milk

10oz chocolate chips

You basically melt the chocolate and all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend.  My only issue....our food processor broke and I have a new one in the basement just waiting to be opened, but apparently it's bad luck to open wedding gifts before you are married.  SOOOO I used a potato masher lol.  That's why mine looks kind of grainy compared to katie's.   But it tastes AMAZING. You need to go out and make this right now.  According to katie's website, if you devide the mousse into 8 servings, it's only around 150 calories.  I've been eating it every night since sunday and I still have a lot left so I think it is way more than 8 servings all together. 

Enjoy!



Pre Birthday Bash

Today is the day before Matt's 27th birthday.  Since we have volleyball on his acutal birthday, I decided to make him a special dinner tonight to celebrate.  The whole meal I found on Pinterest of course! The main dish was Key West Grilled Chicken.  Matt and I got engaged in Key West so this caught my eye right away.  My plan originally was to grill it, but it was raining, so I ended up cooking it on the stove and adding some brown rice to soak up the yummy sauce. 

Recipe:

3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp minced garlic

chicken

Cut chicken into small peices and marinate for at least 30 minutes.  Cook whichever way is most convenient.

Nice and tangy. 

For a side I made these sweet potato skins.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly because I didn't have all the ingredients, but I did base my recipe off of it.  I started off by baking the potatoes for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  Then I scooped out the flesh and transferred it to a bowl.  I added some black beans and corn to the mix along with a spoonfull of light sour cream and light cream cheese.  Then I put the mixture back into the skins, topped with a sprinkle of cheese and stuck it back in the oven until the cheese melted. 

Umm hello how good does that look?? Super filling too. 

Matt loved his meal. He devoured it, always a good sign.  I tried to devour mine, but it was way to much lol.  I'll be having the leftovers later this week.

And of course for any birthday there has to be cake right?? Well not this one.  Matt's not a huge fan of cake but he sure loves him some rice crispies.  He's such a cheap date lol.  I whipped up a batch and put my own spin on it.

I have talent, I know.

Doesn't look to happy about turning 27 now does he?? But he sure loved eating it. The entire 27 was eaten while we watched Smash from last night haha. 

I pretty much took the day off from working out today. My thighs and shoulders are hurting from yesterday, but I did sneak in about 15 minutes of ab work after dinner, which almost made me hurll...oops. 

In wedding news: Matt and I went yesterday and got our marriage license!! Just another thing that we cannot forget on the wedding day!  Today we also sent in our final guest count (124) and table chart to our venue.  The last big thing we have to do is make our escort cards.  We're going to tackle this task this weekend.  Then it's smooth sailing...I think.  Can't wait!!



May Health Goals

With May being such a busy month, I wanted to make some health goals to keep in mind as I make my way through.  When things get busy, it's easy to lose site of your good habits and decide to stress eat or become stagnant.

Number 1. Take that multivitamin!

I have a really hard time remembering to do this sometimes.  I have been doing well the past week and a half though taking it every day after lunch!

#2 Drink More Water:

Now that it's getting warmer out I really need to stay hydrated especially on days with long runs.

#3:  Drink your...apple cider vinegar??

On the topic of my tempermental stomach...I've been contacted by a few people to try using apple cider vinegar to help it.  All you do is add 1tbsp raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar to an 8oz cup of water and drink.  Do this up to three times a day to help balance the acidity in your stomach.  I've only been doing this for the past 3 days, but I actually have been feeling better.  I'm going to keep doing this for the next week to see if it really does help.  Today I drank one glass after lunch which is usually the time when my stomach gives me the most trouble and I had no issues!  Doesn't taste the greatest, but if it works, I'll do it.

#4: Run 2 days, Strength Train 2 Days

I know this month is going to be crazy with the wedding inching closer and closer.  I won't have as  much time to fit in my workouts but my goal is to run 2 days a week and stregth train 2 days a week even if it's just for 20 minutes.  I think I'll be able to fit this in.

#5: Find time to relax!!!

I am such a high strung person that I stress way more than necessary.  I've been working on finding an hour each day to myslef, not worrying about wedding/work/home stuff and just enjoying myself, whether it be reading blogs, reading books, watching tv, hanging with the bf or taking champ for a walk. 

There are my goals!!  Now on to my Monday.  Nothing too exciting.  Since I fit in a long run yesterday, I wanted to get some stregth training in today.  I loved the workout I did last week, so I decided to do it again today.  I altered it a bit by adding some more ab work on to the end, but still did the same cycle of dumbbell exercises followed by cardio bursts.  For the cardio I completed:

25 Football Feet

12 Burpees

15 squat jumps

25 jumping jacks

16 180 degree jumps

love these 180 degree jumps

Completing these cardio moves after each round of stregth moves was killer. I was sweating my ars off by the end.  I finished up with some stretching and headed home for taco night!

Ground chicken tacos with black beans, cheese and spinach.  String beans on the side. 

Time to go snuggle with my little man haha.

Matt's bday is on Wednesday, and since we have volleyball that night I'm going to attempt to make a special bday dinner for him tomorrow.  Fingers crossed it turns out well!!



There Goes My Weekend

Man my weekend went by fast, and I even had Friday off.  Friday monring I was up at my usual time for work, 5:45, so I could get on the road early.  I was driving to Harrisonburg, VA, about a 4 hour drive to see my bff Stef and pick up some wine barrels for our wedding.  The only thing that got me through the drive was this:

The third Hunger Games book on CD thanks to my friend Caitlin.  With the trip down and back I got through 6 of 9 CD's and will pick up where I left off in the book...if I can find time to read again. Maybe after the wedding haha.

4 hours later I arrived at the vineyard where Stef works to pick up 2 wine barrels.  Stef's boss is awesome and is letting me borrow them for free!! I looked at one other place and the woman was going to let me rent them for $250 each....um no thank you haha. 

They are currently hanging in our garage until the big day.  After the pick up I followed Stef to her apartment by JMU.  We hung out, grabbed an early dinner and then went to work.  Stef had to work at the tasting room below her apartment for a couple hours and I hung out and drank myself silly while she was running around like crazy.

YUM WINE!!!

Saturday morning Stef and I went to a local farmers market and hung out until I left at 11am for the long ride home.  Things didn't settle down once I got home either.  I went to the grocery store, got home and changed, hung with Champ and then was headed to Philly with my parents for my mom's bday dinner. Phew was I tired.  I passed out last night and slept for 9 hours!! When I woke up I scarfed my breakfast and had running on the mind.

1/3 cup pumpkin, 1/3 cup greek yogurt with shredded wheat and craisins over the top. 

I went to a local park that has a 2.4 mile loop and ran 6 miles.  I was going pretty well until I reached 4.5 miles, then I felt like I was running in cement.  But I finished!!

I finished my 6 miles in 54.22, average pace 9.04.

Splits:

9.14

8.55

9.03

8.55

9.10

9.07

I think if I want to go any farther than 6 miles I need to slow my roll a bit and try to stick around 9.15 so I don't burn out.  Lunch was easy today.  I had a leftover wrap that I got from the farmer's market in Virginia.  It was filled with hummus, veggies, spinach and sunflower seeds.

Extra hummus for dipping. 

The rest of my day was spent running errands.  I went to BJ's and picked up all the candy for our candy buffet.

Just a little on the rediculous side. I researched how much to get and all the websites said around 1/4lb per person which turned out to be 5lbs per kind of candy.  Wowza.  I also went to old navy and picked up a bathing suit for the honeymoon:)

And then Matt walked in the door!! He made it back safe and sound from his bachelor party in atlantic city.  He's just a bit tired having gone to bed at 4am haha.  I spent the rest of my day hanging with the man since we hadn't seen eachother all weekend!  And tomorrow is monday :(  I hope this week goes by fast. Matt's 27th bday is on Wednesday and I have some activities planned for us on Saturday!! Can't wait!