Blog Update, New Recipe, 4.5 miles + back + biceps + shoulders + abs

Thanks, Ladies! I'll definitely post some more house pics soon. I really appreciate your nice words though and SO hope I love the rug when it comes in. :) Decorating makes me smile!

So, backing up....Yesterday was another blah, ugly day! I worked and had an offsite from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Therefore I: didn’t get to workout, got behind at work, went out to eat and didn’t do well… I ordered a veggie sandwich (first time ever)… but I pigged out on chips/cheese dip… oh well! Back to work…with a tummy ache. Then I drove straight home passing not one, not two, but THREE gyms I could have stopped at! But instead I watched TV (Gossip Girl meh; Glee made me cry; ANTM boring), hung out with Austin/Reuben, did shoulders/back/biceps and abs, and went to bed by 11 p.m. Love it. Thanks to my overly caloric lunch and multiple snickers mini binges, I ended up at 1,933 calories, 221 carbs, 77 fat grams and 102 protein grams. All in all I must say, my first (and last) experience with hot blue cheese dip over kettle chips was amazing! Here’s what I ate.

Today was a MUCH better day! I got a lot done at work, walked 2 miles, ran 1.5 miles (longest yet!) and then walked 1 more mile, to a total of 4.5 miles in 59 minutes (burned 257 calories). I ran at 6.3 miles. I honestly felt like I could have gone a bit farther, but didn’t want to push it. Lately, when I’m not wearing socks/running shoes, the inside of both of my feet hurt. Like where a bunion would be… I hope it’s nothing or just sore from these CUTE t-strap round toe heels I wore two days in a row to work. Which I won’t be wearing again if they reveal to be the culprit…

As far as eats, breakfast was honey nut cheerios/fat-free milk, 11 a.m. snack was corn chips/fat-free sour cream/salsa with a diet coke. Yum! Lunch at 2 p.m. was Bourbon Chicken. Fabulous! Then it was back to work with a yummy kashi cookie snack at 4:30 p.m.!

Blog Update: I added a new section at the top – Books. I’ve noticed that the blog is less about tracking weight/exercise/etc. then it used to be (although I still do that a lot... clearly!). I love reading and wanted to devote a part of the site to it, so I did! It’s basically a list of the books I read and links to reviews – hope you enjoy!

Has your blog turned out differently then you thought it would? I never thought I would cook/have a recipes section or read again/have a book section or strength train on the regular/have an ST section! It’s fun to surprise yourself. I’m even thinking of adding a ‘home’ section since I’ve so enjoyed updating it. Good times!

So I ended up working late and not going to back to the gym for more mileage, but that’s okay. I’ll do it this weekend! Instead I hung out with the family and cooked a new recipe from Favorite Family Recipes for dinner: Garlic Ranch Chicken Pizza. Here’s how I made it for ONE serving (one pizza):

4 oz. Trader Joe’s Pizza Dough
2 tbsp fat-free ranch dressing
1 tsp minced garlic
28 grams Trader Joe’s Mozzarella cheese
2 slices butterball turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled
1.5 oz. chicken, cut into bite size pieces (rub with ¼ tsp olive oil and sprinkle with Montreal Chicken Seasoning on both sides; pan fry until chicken is cooked through)
3 slices tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely diced

Another shot!

Mix ranch dressing and garlic together. Spread evenly on pizza dough. Add chicken and bacon. Sprinkle cheese over that, then add tomatoes. Put in the oven at 425 degrees for about 12-15 minutes or until crust is a nice golden-brown. Top with parsley. Nutritional Information: 492 calories, 62 carbs, 12 fat grams and 26 protein grams.

It was so good you guys! So FILLING! I could only eat ¾ of it, so Austin ate the other quarter. Good stuff, added to my fave recipes for sure! Thanks, Favorite Family Recipes! I would give my stats, but i'm thinking of having a glass of wine with Austin later! So, for now, good night!! Hope you're having Happy Thursdays!

House Stuff, Good/Bad News, 4 Miles and a New Recipe

Good News: I got the house bug again - yay!
Bad News: I haven't taken any pictures or really finished any projects.

Good News: I bought new end tables for the seating area!
Bad News: They need to be on a rug... and I looked everywhere for a rug. For reals, Friday I went to Ikea, Target, Ballard Designs, Home Depot, Rooms 2 Go, Home Goods, Pier 1, J.C. Penney and Pottery Barn. (also hit up the bank, Radio Shack, etc. blah)

Good News: I found a rug and bought it today!
Bad News: It won't be delievered until "2-3 weeks."

Sigh.

Here is a photo of the end tables and of the rug. Hopefully in 2-3 weeks you can see the final product!

I got this in an 8 'x 11'... I'm nervous I'll hate it in person! haha But they did free shipping and to take it back I just have to take it to the store which is, conveniently, 15 minutes from my office and my house!

The end tables. LOVE them. They're already out but I think they'll look a bazillion times better once they're on the rug above!


Good News: I got a new iPhone.
Bad News: My computer isn't recognizing it so I have no music, photos, phone numbers, etc.

Good News: Aside from the rug and end tables, I got 3 gallery lights to hang above art in the living room and den, 2 condiment trays with tiny square dishes for dips, a mirror for the half bath, two new throws for the living room and den as well as 2 diploma frames.
Bad news: The lights have yet to be hung... the dipoma frames have yet to be filled... and I need to take a picture of the mirror (LOVE it though, friends). I'll do a before/after.

So, to go quickly to usual programming, not much has been up here. The weather has been dismal, my motivation has been obsolete and I'm wondering if I have SAD (or if i'm just a big whiner). Monday I still had an achey tummy which ruled out exercise. Blah. I did use my lunch break to continue on my rug quest to no avail. I went straight home from work and got in bed with a bottle of pepto, pupper, Austin and a new book: Meg Cabot's Big Boned. My eats were random at best (probably not helping said tummy troubles), and I ended up at 1,623 calories, 172 carbs, 64 fat grams and 84 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

Tuesday I felt much better, and TOM was officially gone. Yessss. I walked 4 miles during lunch burning 245 calories. I then worked, carpooled home and got to cooking this week's meals. Yum. The cooking included a new recipe that i'm loving: Baked Shrimp in Tomatoes and Feta. I found this on Aggie's Kitchen, where she got it from Ellie Krieger/Craving Ellie in my Belly. Here's my version of the recipe for FOUR servings:



1 tbsp olive oil
½ cup onions
1 tsp minced garlic
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their juices
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely diced
1 tbsp fresh basil, finely diced
2 tsp dried oregano
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 oz. crumbled Fat-Free feta cheese

8 oz. angel hair pasta

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes, until tomato juices thicken. Remove from heat and transfer to 8x8 baking dish. Stir in parsley, basil, oregano and shrimp. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle feta over the top. Bake until the shrimp are cooked through and cheese melts, about 12 minutes. Serve with pasta. Nutritional Information: 419 calories, 52 carbs, 6 fat grams and 39 protein grams.

I loved it! I think it's going to reheat well, too (even though I used angel hair pasta which sometimes doesn't heat up the best). Definitely going in my recipe book FOR SURE! After dinner I just lounged around and prepared for the day, then fell asleep around 11 - nice! I also ordered me and Teresa's Twilight tickets for Saturday - yay!! I ended up at 1,779 calories, 238 carbs, 44 fat grams and 101 protein grams. Not bad! Here's what I ate.

Athens in Photogs, 2 Movie Reviews, 3.5 Miles

Oh Athens. How packed you get on big game day weekends. One in one out is not my idea of a good time. I spent more time waiting to order a drink then actually drinking. I was forced to hover above a port-a-potty – by far the nastiest one I’d ever encountered. I stumbled across not one but two people in different bars throwing up. In the sink. Did I have a good time regardless? I did! It was AWESOME to get to see so many of our friends, try out some new bars (minus puking patrons), get to know the city better, see Austin’s family, get to know his little bro’s girlfriend, etc. Tailgating was a blast, the game…. Eh... still a really good weekend.

Me with Austin and his parents, their friends the Sullivan's and his bro and his friend Alex

This made me laugh. ALL over this town girls were charging phones at bars.

Me and the girls!

Austin and the boys!

Me, Austin, Jamie and Candice! She was just diagnosed with swine flu - such a little soldier!

So Friday I didn’t take pictures of my house stuff mostly because the BIGGEST thing I set out to do I couldn’t accomplish (buying a rug). But I’m still on the hunt and as SOON as it gets here I will be taking many, many pictures!! I also didn’t take any pics that night but had fun with Andy/Mon/Candice/Jamie and their crew, before meeting up with Tyler (brother in law) and his girlfriend, and then Atlanta peeps. Great night! Just stayed up too late. I ended up at, give or take, 2,174 calories, 175 carbs, 63 fat grams and 108 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Saturday I got up and went down to the condo gym! I walked 2 miles, ran 1 mile, then walked a half mile burning 263 calories – woo! Great workout. I ran back up, showered, got ready and had lunch. Then it was off to tailgate all day – blast! Then I sent Austin off to the game and hung out with a couple who is still in school in AU (little baybays!) – Anne Marie and Adam. Good times yet again! While Auburn lost, I had a lot of fun!! Austin came to get me after the game, took me home and put me in bed at midnight (I could no longer hang for sure having been steadily drinking all. Day. long. He went out and woke me up at 3 when he got in. Lovely! Haha He brought pizza so I ate some. What is wrong with me? Hehe I ended up at 2,221 calories, 171 carbs, 37 fat grams and 90 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. I can say though: I had no tailgate food and nothing that I didn’t bring/make myself (except for that pizza). However, I had enough vodka to sink a small ship. Grrrr.

Sunday I woke up early feeling great, made breakfast for the group and we headed home on a beautiful day around 11 a.m. My stomach apparently hates vodka and began letting me know….I felt AWFUL the whole way home then spent the day feeling like I was going to die. DAMN YOU, VODKA. I did, however, watch two movies that I think will both stay with me. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Um, what was I thinking? It sounded SO good and I loved the idea of different perspective on the holocaust from an 8-year-old German soldier’s son. But then it was like a train wreck. You KNEW nothing good was coming and they gave you the worst possible scenario and you just kept. on. watching. Wow. I was stunned into silence. Then later came District 9. I was like aliens. Whatevs. Didn’t know a lot about it. Then I was BLOWN AWAY by how the story was told, the parallels with apartheid, xenophobia, etc. I just couldn’t get enough of it and so hope the sequel comes out so I can have more closure! By the end of both of these movies (which I give both a 5 out of 5 even though they’re tres different… although both essentially revolved around concentration camps...) I was an emotional wreck and couldn’t even sleep! Why do I do this to myself??! Anywho, I ended up at 1,334 calories, 188 carbs, 42 fat grams and 55 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Have you seen either of these movies? Do you want to?

Have you done any new things to your casa lately?! If so, what? If not, what do you want to do most?

Playlist, Book Club Pitas and Book Review

Let me begin by saying: Worst. Blogger. Ever! I haven't gotten to catch up on your lovely blog lives with book club last night, errands all day today and now i'm walking out the door to Athens with no laptop. Sunday is going to be mucho catch up!! One more thing: thanks for the great playlist ideas! I’m ready to listen/add! Here is the list I made – tres random of course:

Starts off slow…

Suddenly I see – KT Tunstall
Island in the Sun – Weezer
Suspicious Minds – Elvis

Gets FAST…

Right Round – Flo Rida
Untouched – Veronicas
Let’s Get Excited – Alesha
I’m Shipping To Boston – Dropkick Murphys
A-Punk – Vampire Weekend
Supermassive Black Hole – Muse
Rock Lobster – B 52’s
London Calling - Clash
You Keep Me Hangin’ on – The Supremes
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
Stronger – Kanye
Don’t Trust Me – 3OH!3
Sugar – Flo Rida
Drain You – Nirvana
The Way I Are – Timberland
Shut Up And Drive - Rihanna
Gimme More – Brit
Toxic – Brit
Jerk it Out – Caesars
Boston – Vampire Weekend
Lovestoned – JT
My Favorite Game – Cardigans

Book club was awesome! So good to see Dev, Mon and Stacy!! It's nice to catch up with the ladies during the week; who knew we would all grow up and get so busy on the weekends?! for snacks/dinner, I made 8 pita pizzas:

The Spread....

Zoom on the meatsa pizza (back) and pesto chicken (front)

zoom on the veggie pizza

hehe love my pizza plates - they make me laugh; can also see the Meditteranean pizza well!

Ingredients:

8 Trader Joe's 6" pitas, brushed with olive oil and topped with garlic salt and red pepper flakes

2 Meatsa Pitas: 4 tbsp spaghetti sauce; 2 oz. chicken cooked in olive oil/salt/pepper; 2 slices turkey bacon; 6 turkey pepperonis; fat-free mozzarella cheese; reduced fat parmesan cheese.

2 Veggie Pitas: 4 tbsp spaghetti sauce; onions; red and green bell pepper; tomato; fat free mozzarella cheese; reduced fat parmesan cheese. Top with fresh basil.

2 Mediterranean Pitas: 4 tbsp spaghetti sauce; onions; olives; tomatoes; fat-free feta cheese.

2 Pesto Chicken Pitas: 2 tbsp pesto; 2 oz. chicken cooked in olive oil/salt/pepper; fat-free mozzarella; reduced fat parmesan cheese. Top with fresh basil.

Make all pitas on two pans. Put in oven on broil for 8 - 12 minutes. Cut and serve! I was so excited to use my little pizza plates!

Book club was a blasty – great conversation, yummy wine, fun catch-up time as well as book chat. It’s so good to have great friends, especially ones you have so much in common with! The book we discussed tonight was Sue Miller’s While I Was Gone. I gave it a 2.5 out of 5. It just wasn’t what I expected. It was very deep. It focused on a woman married to a minister who lived a happy life with her three children. Then you find that she has a past, and it comes back in a very unexpected way. It’s less of a story and more of a series of events. It DOES make you think and it definitely lent itself to conversation because most of us disagreed with the main character and the choices she made. I gave it a 2.5 instead of a 5 because I wished more had happened - more literal and less open to interpretation. I felt like the author wanted me to do all of the work; and while I was all about gleaning ideas/thoughts from the book, I needed more to hold my interest. It definitely got our club thinking about people from the past – is it good when they pop back up? Or a reminder of what could have been? Which led to an interesting conversation about Facebook and social media. So again, not the best book for me, but a definite conversation starter!

The next books are:

The Next Thing on My List: December book (Stacy’s pick/her house)
The Lovely Bones: January book (Mon’s pick/her house)

K – next week’s meal plan will have to be posted Sunday– this post is getting crazy long and the plan isn’t quite finalized. Also, i'll have some shopping pics to post. And I got my new iPhone - woo!! Thank you, Genius Bar + Liberty Mutual for making this happen!

Happy weekends, ladies! Talk to you all Sunday!! WAR EAGLE!

Spaghetti Picture is In, 8 miles Cardio, Book Club

Backing up (yet again). That’s what I should name every post! Haha Here’s me in a nutshell:

Tuesday’s Stats: 1,781 calories, 194 carbs, 71 fat grams and 101 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Wednesday: Worked, walked 4 miles, carpooled, bad weather remained, had spaghetti for dinner and got a better picture of it (woo!), made bajio tacos for mom and Austin (they loved them!), ate in the dining room, was inspired to do more things for the house, am taking another personal day Friday so I worked on a list of things to do/get for the house. Overall, I had a nice evening and felt much more positive! Stats: 1,792 calories, 231 carbs, 52 fat grams and 97 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Yay! Gotta love Slow Cooker Spaghetti!


Thursday (so far): Made "running" playlist, worked, walked 4 miles, finished my book club book Sue Miller’s While I Was Gone. Now I’m off work and have got to get ready – the girls will be here in a couple of hours!

Tomorrow I’ll post: Food from the book club (I hope it goes well!), a review of While I Was Gone, next week’s meal plan, the next two books book club will be reading, and (hopefully) some of the new items I get for my home tomorrow. Happy Shopping!

Weekend: We’re off to Athens on Friday! My mom will be watching baby Reuben in Decatur – thanks, Mom, he loves you! I called ahead to the condo – they have a gym so I could move a few miles over – woo!

What are you up to this weekend?

What's are your 3 favorite songs to run to?!

K- off to meet the girls. Can't wait to read your blogs tonight!!!