8 Miles, Bedroom Switcharoo, New Book: Impossible

Hola! Thanks for the book recs- I have The Help on hold at the library - it's definitely on my must-read list, and so is that Sookie Stackhouse series! :) Also, the 19th Wife is now on there and I LOVE Jennifer Weiner so I'll have to check that out - THANKS! Happy Wednesdays! Hope you're all having good days! Backing up to yesterday. It was pretty much just work, 4-mile walk during lunch, more work and then another 35-minute run after work. This time, I started running at 6.3 mph right when the treadmill started and didn't stop until I go to 35. This got me to 3.67 miles straight. WOO! Seeing that made me know if I had to I could run 4 miles straight if someone was chasing me... at a lower speed. hehe After stopping and taking a picture like the big freak best blogger ever that I am, I hopped back on for .33 miles of walking at 4.0 mph, to take my total after work to 4 miles, or 8 miles for the day. Great workout!

After that I stretched then headed home for spicy spaghetti pie, a Veronica Mars with the family and recipe organization in bed with little Reuben. Wonderful evening! I also read a bit of the new book - Nancy Werlin's Impossible. So far, i'm following the life of Lucy, a 17-year-old foster child who is happy and healthy, but is plagued by her strange birth mother's appearances and some incidents at the prom... and there's something dark magic/mischievous going on - love it so far, but only on page 125! I ended the night at 1,734 calories, 224 carbs, 57 fat grams and 80 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

Also, I've been meaning to post our bedroom switcharoo! I know I mentioned that we switched up our bedroom from chocolate/cranberry to chocolate/green. Here's the new pics! (the green came from our guest room and the cranberry moved to our upstairs den which used to be blue, but now Austin's home office is blue). :)

Basically - we just got two new nighstands, added the green bedding, added some pillows from other rooms, a bit of new art and some green accents!

Austin wanted the closed-off Pottery Barn nightstand

I wanted open shelving - although I need to work a bit more to keep it clean!

Random shot - and poor Reuben has given up! LOL

New art and some new green accents

Here are some before shots:

gotta love nightstand shopping - only took me a year! haha

So much darker before - and we ultimately had to toss the moss A and K from our wedding - they died!

Still love the red- but really like the lighter colors now!

Hope you like the changes we made! The great thing is we can always go back - stuff is just shuffled all over the house. I could see going darker in the winter!

Q: So I'm kind of done with C25K as far as getting to where 30 minutes is pretty cozy - any suggestions for another running plan that involves a bit longer distances?

Q: Do you switch up rooms in your house a good bit? Or do you prefer keeping them the same?

8 Miles, Running Milestone, Cooking Marathon & New Product/Curry

Thanks you guys - he really did get some great gifties! Um... I should have asked... PLEASE SEND recipes for those amazing homemade salad dressings you told me about. I think there's a chance I won't buy salad dressing again - it was just so FRESH and different homemade! Tracking back...

Yesterday started out rough. Left my badge at home. Left my two rubberbands/hair ties at home. Got in horrible traffic making me 30 minutes late for an 8:30 a.m. 30-minute meeting so yes, I totally missed it. It was ROUGH. I talked to Austin though and he was supportive and pretty much was like you'll make it work, it will get better. And it did. Jackie took over the meeting. I found a rubberband in my gym bag and the gym had a new bag to share. Peeps at my lunch gym let me in the gym (recognized me) and Stacy let me borrow her badge so I could park my car at my after-work gym. BLISS. It all worked out. And I got LOTS of work done on top of it! My lunchtime workout consisted of 4 miles of cardio at 4 mph (0-2 incline) while reading The Dead-Tossed Waves. Love it. After work, I hit a running milestone - I walked for 2 minutes at 4.0 mph, then ran for a straight 35 minutes at 6.3 mph - the longest I've ever run without stopping in my entire life - WOO! After this, I walked for another 2.55 minutes to take me to 4 miles in 39.55 minutes.

After my run I called Austin (yay!) and mom (yay!) then headed home to get to cooking! The cooking marathon did NOT occur on Sunday... or Monday... so it was time! I made the following:

• 4 servings of chicken pesto pasta with mushrooms
• 4 servings of beef in tomato sauce with feta
• 4 servings of beef taco bake with refried black beans
• 4 servings of Greek Feta Chicken
• 4 servings of Indian Curry Chicken - with a new product Patak's Rogan Josh Curry

Review: We just added 1 cup of chicken and simmered for 15 minutes, then poured over 3 cups rice, divided in 4 servings. YUM. This was a great sauce, very flavorful and Austin loved it since it was more 'saucy.' It's not a thick sauce, but it is enough to go around and definitely makes your rice 'soupy.' We'll definitely be having this again, and thanks, Kroger, for having $1 coupons the day we bought this making the whole bottle $2 making the whole recipe about $3.50 for 4 servings - less than $1 a serving and it was FILLING!

After the cooking marathon it was just shower time and relaxing family time - YAY!! I ended up at 1,565 calories, 212 carbs, 42 fat grams and 78 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

Q: Who do you call first when something exciting happens? I'm always all over Austin, my mom and my sis!!

Q: What's your favorite "easy and cheap" meal? I'm loving these Indian jarred meals (simmer sauces). I know they're not the best because of preservatives/higher in carbs/sodium but I figure once a week won't hurt me!

Party Down, C25K, Sweet Surprise Shot

Please note: I'm SO behind. On blog reading. On blogging. On tracking. You name it. I'll be reading tonight! Thank you for your sweet comments on the last post! I think Austin was an absolute doll! But I swear, if I have blonde babies it's going to be so surreal. LOL Sounds like a few of you have attempted the food for 40+. Wow... I did it and honestly wouldn't mind doing it again!! Here's a quick recap of the weekend - going to wait and post pics when I have Zach's professional shots - can't wait! (although I took 257... should get interesting hehe). I will share this pic of the "late night crowd" taken with an automatic timer. We ended up with 44 wonderful guests, 17 of which were late night soldiers. Sorry Zach and Jimmy - you didn't find your window and therefore I can't see your little faces!

Friday I worked, walked 3 miles during lunch + abs, worked more and then ran after work. Walked 2 minutes at 4.0 mph, ran 24 minutes at 6.3 mph then 1 minute at 7.5 mph, then walked another 3 minutes to get to 3 miles in 30 minutes. woo! Then we did legs: 100 squats, 100 calf raises and 45 leg extensions. GREAT workout! Then it was shower time and I headed home, bathed Reuben, cleaned up a bit and sat down. So nice! I had a drink/few rounds of pool with Austin and then Teresa and Forrest got into town. We tried the magical margarita, caught up, had a great time and then hit the sack! I haven't tallied stats... will do tonight!

Saturday I slept til about 9 and got to work on partay stuff. Everything was out and ready to go so I decorated a bit, went to pick up the cake (twice - they got the color wrong...), got the meat going and it was all going good - then around 6 (one hour to party time) it got stressful. Just to much to do "at the end." We had waited to put out linens because rain was iffy - but it NEVER rained. Then we waited on ice because it would melt. Waiting on guacamole because it would brown and there was just a bit too much to do at the end there. But thanks to my fabulous family and friends (special shout to Dev, Mom, Teresa, Stacy, Mon and Kelly!) it all came together was ready to go at party time. You guys, everything came out how I wanted it to. The bartender was great, Phil/Lo on acoustics were awesome, Zach was getting great shots, people were complimentary of the decorations and food - some calling it a "mini wedding." Loved it. Most importantly, Austin said he had the best birthday ever. YAY! Lots of fun was had with pool, corn hole, flip cup and late-night keg stands. No, i'm not kidding. I haven't tallied this day either, but honestly don't think I ate that much! haha To avoid this being picture-scarce, here is a picture Mon sent me from her wedding. Zach caught it and she emailed it over this week. I thought it was sweet - loved the surprise of getting this. :)

Sunday I woke up early and Forrest was outside almost done breaking down tables and chairs - he was going to surprise me with it completed. What a sweetie! We finished up and then I go to work cleaning up, taking out trash, gathering linens, moving around furniture - you name it! I got to work on laundry and breakfast for our sleepover guests (of which there were 8!). I cleaned, cleaned, cleaned, said goodbye as our besties left, and got laundry going. Austin picked up a pizza, he opened his gifts (wow - our friends are so sweet and generous), and we sat down to watch movies. Later we stripped the beds and I ended up doing 5 loads of laundry between table linens, bed linens, towels and clothes- wowza! The day pretty much went like this!!

Now I'm a zombie. Just kidding! But I do need a wee bit of recovery before I start amping up for Stacy & Shane's big wedding weekend - I can't believe the date is here!!!!

Q: Have you ever done a keg stand? I have NOT. I've never considered it and honestly, I wear dresses 24/7 - it would never work.

Q: Are you a late night soldier? Me and Austin both will stay up all night every night if you let us - we're total night hours and have the most energy/productivity in the evening. This can be a problem though as neither one of us ever wants to turn in!

Book Review, New Product, C25K, Giveaway Winner

You. Guys. Rock. THANK YOU for totally supporting us - the neighbor is CRAZY and OMG, I agree, they TOTALLY need to pay for it! I loved Runi's response - my TIME. I've now been up there 3 times for this dang dress and the 4th will be to pick it up. That's ridiculous!! All right girls - i'll keep you posted on A: if neighbor goes psycho again and B: what happens with the dress! Thank you again for the advice/thoughts/support!!

So Yesterday was a pretty great day! On the way into work I finished my audio book: James Patterson's You've Been Warned. So this book drew me in. I liked the main character, Kristin, a photographer/nanny. I don't want to giveaway the plot, but it was written in first person so you really got to know her and her life and her... indiscretions. I got into it quick and it had TONS of chapters and almost every one was a cliffhanger. This book got mostly bad reviews but I honestly thought it was interesting. I could see how some would HATE the endings, but I think it tied it up nicely and was actually pretty surprising all along. A couple of things I didn't buy, per se, but i'd definitely listen to it again. And I loved that as weird things were happening to her, she was even like THIS IS WEIRD, as opposed to just letting it go, if that makes sense. I give it a 3/5. It would have been better if there had been a couple of additional clues as to the ending, and if a few more loose ends had been tied up.

After finishing my audio book, I just worked, walked 4 miles during lunch, worked more, had positive meetings, and then after work I headed back to the gym! I did C25K (still doing the lower run). I walked 2 minutes at 4.0 mph, ran 24 minutes at 6.3 mph/1 minute at 7.5 mph, and then walked at 4.0 mph for 3 more minutes to take me to 30 minutes/3 miles. I hopped off the treadmill, did upper body ST, then headed home to try a new product:

Seeds of Change Korma simmer sauce.

Just added a pound of chicken and some white rice and bam - a yummy Indian curry dish! I will say this one was higher in calories/fat and had lots of excess sauce - next time i'll make it 5 servings (add 4 oz. more of chicken and another .75 cups rice) to take down the counts. GREAT sauce though - really creamy, I love coconut milk!

After dinner the Aqua Wash guy came to pressure wash the house/patio/windows - YAY! And then we headed to Fedex to laminate some signs for Austin's birthday, then the liquor store for more birthday party liquor! Then it was chill time, two beers in the backyard. Love . It. Forgot to tell you some fun stuff!

I won an awesome coupon for an entire meal from 2 from Jenn & Slim Shoppin'!!

Thanks, Jenn! I'll post once I buy one - can't wait! Great giveaway!!

I also got this EXCITING coupon from Cabot - Regan, my new Cabot friend/Auburn grad/Team Edward teammate - woo!! You guys know i'm slighting obsessed with Cabot 75% so you know this will be gone in a heartbeat! Cheese with low calories, a little bit of good fat and it MELTS?! I'M IN!

Check out their new Random Acts of Cheddar Campaign - it's pretty cool! I'll post stats tomorrow - hope you all had a great night!!

Q: Do you like cheese? If so, what's you favorite kind? Brand?

Q: Won any giveaways or great coupons lately? Can I tell you how excited I am about Buitoni and Cabot???!!

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Shower, New Dresses, C25K

eee! Thanks for answering my questions! I really enjoyed your answers - and DUH, I think we can all agree, a massage is a MUST. I want one now.... loved learning about your favorite stretches too - I don't stretch enough - and it seems like we're 50/50 on protein powder! Thanks again for playing - LOVED going through them! :)

So Friday was a great day! I just worked, walked 3 miles + upper body ST during lunch, then worked more. At 5 we planned to go down for a run but the sky fell. No, we don’t run outside, but the storms pretty much stop Atlanta (AKA traffic) so we decided to stay late and party plan! We knocked out a few things on Stacy’s wedding to-do list and Austin’s 30^th party to-do list, then went to Michael’s for materials and Homegoods – perfection! Only problem? It was 8:30 and I was STARVING, so I headed home, had dinner and the storm kept coming. We ended up staying in and had a nice family night! I landed at 1,858 calories, 179 carbs, 41 fat grams and 103 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Saturday was glorious as well! I slept in a bit and woke up with a headache two shades south of a migraine. Granted, that kinda sucked, but Austin got me water and I finally began feeling better around 1 p.m. In the meantime, TV time was fab. My headache wanted popcorn, cookies and frosted flakes for brunch, but I finally had a “real meal” around 2:30 (chicken taco salad!) and got to work on some stuff for Austin’s party. Then it was time to shower and head over to Stacy & Shane’s his and hers shower in Woodstock! They had a great turnout, yummy drinks, a great spread of food and fun music.

The Bridesmaids (minus Jenny Rhodes who lives in SC!)

Me, Mon and Jennie M who asked Austin to make her "not look pregnant" - he did a good job! LOL

Mike, Austin & Andy

Lame couples shot hehe - love our Blancos

Stacy & Shane opening gifts

We always have fun with their friends and that night was no different. We left around 10 and headed home, then had two drinks and called it a night. Woo!

Sunday I slept in again but this time I woke up feeling great and MOVIVATED to make a video. Woo! I’ve been sorely behind but got to work on a March – April 2010 video! I'll post it tomorrow - i'm SO excited! After video editing my mom and sister came over around 3 and we ran errands – Walgreen’s, stopped by Shana’s to borrow a slowcooker, and the mall for more moisturizer/eye makeup. This led to my sis getting STEALS at Gap and me getting two new dresses at Macy's. Who am I? Why won’t someone stop this addition? They were GREAT deals though and I was able to use my gift card from Austin’s mom - thanks, Michelle! Here are my two new Rachel Roy dresses… LOVE THEM!

front (btw - this is NOT that short on me!)

Back (again - not that short hehe)

Love this - mom says it looks like a watercolor. And you can't see it here but there are little flowers at the top (like 3d ones)

After the mall we headed to Publix for some light grocery shopping, for me to confirm with the cake peeps and then it was back to my house for good byes (miss them already!) and marathon cooking. I made:
6 servings of Beef & Two-Bean Enchilada Casserole
4 servings of Chili Noodle Bake
6 servings of brunch pizza squares
4 servings of chicken pasta salad (new)
4 servings of (yet another) Indian curry (new product!)

Then, even though it was 8:15, I was like I’m going for a run today no matter what (knew I couldn’t run Monday or Tuesday)! I headed out, hit the gym and followed Mon’s running advice – two steps forward, 1 step back. Instead of keeping with the 30-minute runs, this week I’m going to step it back to 25-minute runs, then forge forward for a 35-minute run. Anywho, I walked for 2 minutes at 4 mph, ran for 25 minutes at 6.3 mph, then walked for 4 minutes to get me to 3 miles. Great workout! I headed home, showered and got in bed with the family. WONDERFUL Sunday.

Q:Any new purchases for you this weekend?

Q: Do you ever slow your running down and then build back up to reduce the likelihood of injury?

Q: What time do you normally work out? I had never worked out past 6:30 p.m. before!

New Product/Recipe, Another Luna, C25K, Bad Reuben!

Oooh I can't wait to try more bars! Thanks for sharing your faves, ladies!! I'll definitely hit up Trader Joe's for a cheaper price - thanks for the smart suggestion! Also, i'm a little less scared of eggplant now that I know you can eat the seeds... I think i'm going to take your advice and get it prepared and see if I like it. THEN If I do i'll try cooking it.

Yesterday was a heavy work out day - yay! I just worked, walked 4 miles during lunch while reading The Dead-Tossed Waves, worked and then headed over to my parent company's gym for a run! I walked for 3 minutes at 4.0 mph, then ran for 30 minutes at 6.3 mph, then walked it out to get to 3.5 miles. Then I headed home to pick up Austin & Reuben to take our rug in for drycleaning. We're looking at you Reuben.... we know you peed on it!

I also had my second Luna bar - smores flavor. It was the bomb, but a little too marshmellowy to me. I much preferred the nuts over chocolate bar which I plan to buy in bulk the minute I get a chance. hehe

Forgot to tell you - Tuesday I made another new curry (yes, i'm addicted). This one was made using a new product from Whole Foods, seeds of Change Madras Simmer Sauce.

I essentially took 1 pound of raw, diced chicken and added it to a pan sprayed with nonstick spray. I cooked for about 7-8 minutes until no longer pink. Then I poured in the whole bottle, stirred it a bit and covered it for 10 minutes. While covered, I cooked the rice in the microwave and divided it into 4 servings. Then I topped each with the cooked curry/chicken mix and fresh cilantro. Voila! Curry in 15 minutes tops! Nutritional information: 424 calories, 62 carbs, 5 fat grams and 27 protein grams. Review: AMAZING - it tasted super fresh even though clearly it had no fresh veggies in it. I could see tossing in some red bell pepper, onion or tomato if you wanted to, but it's really great on it's own. I know making your own sauce is preferable, but with this at only $4 that's $1 per serving so pretty sweet! We'll be buying this item again for, what i'm calling, Easy Madras Chicken Curry. Here is my picture again in tupperware:

Here's the 4 tubs it made - 2 mixed and 2 non-mixed! (I like to mix the ones i'm going to refrigerate - it keeps the rice from getting dry)

After an enchilada dinner me and Austin and Reubs watched some True Blood + Entourage then called it a night! I ended up at 1,713 calories, 213 carbs, 54 fat grams and 101 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

Today I'm just working, walked 4 miles during lunch and plan to hang out with the fam. I did get an exciting package in that i'll tell you about tomorrow!!

Q: Do you add garnish to your food? I don't always but WOWZA does cilantro on top make everything look better.

Q: Have you ever had a rug drycleaned? I REALLY hope it works... I don't want to have to bu y a new one.

C25K, New Easy Indian Recipe/Product, Sneak Peak at Lighting Project…

Yay - who doesn't love getting packages?! No one here! Now that song is in my head - brown paper packages tied up with string... these are a few of my favorite things! Wow. I'm cheesy today. So y

esterday was just work, errands, work, 4 miles and some reading and TV time with the family. I did forget to post my lasagna pic though - oopsie! Here's an individual serving:

Great day! I ended up at 1,759 calories, 182 carbs, 67 fat grams and 111 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Today I got up, got lots of work done and went down during lunch for a 4-mile walk at 4 mph while talking to my mom! Then I worked more and as the day went on got ‘photo updates’ from Austin on the lighting/crown molding/painting project! SO exciting. At this point, 85% of the lighting is in, ALL of the crown is in and the painting starts tomorrow (for crown, the ceiling and the hall closet). WOO! Sneak peak below... :)

After work I headed to our parent company’s gym for C25K. I did a 3-minute walk and then a 30-minute run at 6.3 mph – then I walked it out to 35 minutes at 3.5 miles – WOO! Great run. Then I raced home and got to see the work that had taken place – YAY! I can’t wait for it to be done (and share pics of course!).

For dinner we tried a new product, Patak’s Tikka Masala Curry Sauce. Here’s what I’ll call Easy Tikka Masala.
Makes 4 Servings
16 oz. chicken, defrosted and diced
3 cups white rice
½ tbsp canola oil
1 jar Patak’s Tikka Marsala Curry Sauce
Fresh cilantro (for garnish)

Cook rice in microwave per instructions. Set large pan over medium heat with nonstick cooking spray. Add canola oil and chicken. Cook for 5 minutes or until browned. Once browned, stir in the bottle’s contents and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve over rice with fresh cilantro on top.

one serving - sorry for the odd pic, it was inside a plastic tub! I was SO hungry that I just ate it out of here! LOL

Nutritional Information: 440 calories, 60 carbs, 6 fat grams and 28 protein grams.

Review: Loved it! We especially liked how saucy it was for something that was relatively low calorie. It was very flavorful, no need to add anything really, although the cilantro added a nice touch. Super tangy, I could even see adding some yogurt to calm it if you wanted (low calorie calmer). And at only $3 a bottle for 4 servings, it was an inexpensive, easy dinner. We’ll be making it again!

And without further ado, here is a sneak peak at the work being done. PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT COMPLETE! They still need to patch the holes, finish the crown, paint the ceiling, etc. Also - the shade isn't installed correctly - it's using old brackets. We just needed it up there to determine where to hand the pendants. Okay... that all being said, here goes!

Shot of the kitchen...

Close up of the pendants

It's really coming along and I couldn't be more excited! WOO - tomorrow i'll post (hopefully) AFTER pics! Yay! I ended the day at 1,608 calories, 192 carbs, 47 fat grams and 96 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

Q: Do you like Indian food? If so, what is your favorite dish? I'm loving the curries! Going to try one from Fitnessista on Sunday - it has eggplant - my first time working with eggplant!!

Q: Do you have recessed lighting? If so, do you like it? I've never had it, but I've always loved the soft lighting it provides. I think we're really going to enjoy it!

Reasons Why Today Rocked, C25K, Frog Legs

Thanks you guys - we really did have a blast at my sister's housewarming party! I was also of course thrilled that the mac & cheese went over so well - it will be a new regular thing I bring to parties, holiday gatherings, etc. - exciting! Monday was a doozy! In a nutshell: work, walk 4 miles, work more, head straight home, make 4 bacon/egg/cheese packets, make 8 big pigs in a blanket, and make garlic chicken for quinoa. Hang out with the family, watch a movie, and call it a day! I ended up at 1,683 calories, 197 carbs, 53 fat grams and 97 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

Tuesday was SO much more fun and eventful! LOL Probably because I wasn't a walking zombie - I'm such a Monday Zombie. Anywho - here's a few reasons why today rocked!

Reasion #1: My Eats

click to make larger! (cookie pics found online - others are mine!)

I REALLY enjoyed all of my eats today - bacon egg & cheese muffin for breakfast, pesto chicken pasta for lunch, garlic quinoa with veggies for dinner - yum yum yum! Snacks were pretty fab too - 3 chips ahoy reduced fat cookies post-dinner, big pig in a blanket pre lunch-workout and a scoop of ice cream + 2 cookies (icecream cookie sammy!) at a work birthday celebration (for July birthdays including yours truly!).

Reason #2: My Run

During lunch we knocked out 3 miles, but after work I headed over to the gym and got on the treadmill. I walked 2 minutes at 4.0 mph then ran 30 minutes at 6.3 mph - my FIRST 30 minute run EVER. I cooled down for 3 minutes and got 3.5 miles in 35 minutes. I can officially do what I wanted to do: get on a treadmill for 30 minutes and knock out 3 miles. WOO - feels fabulous!

Yessssssss!


Reason #3: My Pupper

hehe frog legs!

I mean really - could he be more cute?! Love it. He enjoyed watching Jennifer's Body with me & Reuben which is perhaps one of the funniest movies ever. OMG

I ended the day up at 1,753 calories, 175 carbs, 68 fat grams and 103 protein grams. Here's what I ate. Now i'm just getting ready for another day at the office!

Q: What's the longest you've ever run without stopping? I'm at my new record of 30 minutes - so thrilled!

Q: Have you seen Jennifer's Body? Seriously I dislike Meagan Fox and thought it looked ridiculous... and it was.... but it wasn't even scary it was just so funny. Kinda like Zombieland meets Juno meets Scream - LOVE!

Q: Why did your day rock?

C25K Struggle & Success, Totes the Best Hun Cal Fro Yo!! (Hilarious)

Thanks so much! It really is a fun restaurant. And of course I appreciate your sympathy - my gosh me and that blowdryer went WAY back! I haven't even used this new one yet - sad! And Wow - sounds like we have lots of Greek food lovers out there - sometimes it kills me that I never really ate Greek food (or anything outside of the standard) before 2008 - what a waste!!

So Friday was a pretty good day! I got in, got work done, and headed out to a team lunch at Brio. I ate a lot. Like too much. I felt SO full. Oopsie – I hate when that happens! I had had breakfast and no snacks – guess I was hungry! I worked the rest of the day and got lots knocked out, didn't have any snacks, but was still full and didn’t want to go to the gym! But Stacy was like come on. And when we got there she wanted to run so I went and got my headphones. I didn’t want to run though, but I put them in and ran 28 minutes straight at 6.3 mph. WOO! I felt SO much better after the run and had more energy – it’s amazing how a great workout can turn your mood around, physically too! After running I walked it out to 3.25 miles then we did legs, then I headed home and me and Austin cooked 4 servings of chicken fried rice, 4 servings of cheesy chicken spaghetti and 4 servings of pesto chicken pasta. Then it was 24 time! As much as we wanted to meet friends at this fun-sounding concert – we stayed in and you know what? Loved it! Sometimes we need a night in – I know Reuben loved it! I ended family night up at 1,816 calories, 192 carbs, 75 fat grams and 88 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Q: Do you have a workout buddy?! I’ve been lucky to have some of the best buddies ever! I work out with a buddy I’d say 65% of the time!

Q: What’s your favorite brand of shoes? I’ve been crushing on Blowfish for a while! I also LOVE Jeffrey Campbell shoes (only have one pair – so expensive). Hope to get another pair at the boutique sale next weekend!

I leave you today with this HILARIOUS MUST-WATCH VIDEO - love all of the references to food, The Biggest Loser and 'sharing food.' Too much! Thanks for sending to me, Stacy!

Hope you loved it! I can't stop talking about it! LOL Today I have TONS of errands and am off to my sister's for a Housewarming Party and a night out in East Atlanta - should be a fabulous day!!

C25K Long Run!, Yahtzee, 9 New Dresses + My Hudsons are Back!

Sounds like most of us are having a hard time printing pics in this digital age! I think, now that I realize how easy it is to order prints online i'll do it... we'll see! Can't wait for them to come in - hating the waiting!!

So Yesterday was a pretty good day! I felt well rested, got lots of work done, then went down during lunch for 3 miles and an upper body circuit – woo!

Then it was just work some more and back to the gym where I am FINALLY back up to where I was. I ran for 28 minutes straight at 6.3 mph – WOO! Even with the 3 minute walk on the front end, by the time I got to 29.4 minutes I was at 3 miles! Then I kept running to 31 minutes and got 3.15 miles, then I walked it out to 3.25 miles, which took 32.43 minutes. Great workout! Then me and Stacy did abs – BLAH!

I raced home, had dinner and settled in for a night of 24. Then Katie/Chris called for a mini game night so we thought why not?! We stopped by Publix for me to grab some stuff to make Mac & Cheese for my sister’s housewarming party this weekend, and to order Austin’s birthday cake (multi-tasking!) then we were on our way! We had a great time, had a drink (only one glass of wine for me – what a record!), then played yahtzee, only the best game ever! I got TWO yahtzee’s – that almost never happens to me! Very exciting! We headed home around 11 so I could sleep – good times. I ended up at 1,682 calories, 196 carbs, 49 fat grams and 97 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

So… today has been GREAT so far! I worked and then took my lunch to do something exciting!! I picked up 9 dresses and 2 pairs of jeans. Why? Because the boutique sale is coming up and my favorite Atlanta boutique, Fabrik, was having a pre-sale that started TODAY so I raced over and they had everything I loved and in my size.

The loot...


I would have saved LOTS but three dresses weren’t on sale but still GREAT deals that I think I can totally winterize too! Here’s the goods!

• 2 pair Hudson Signature boot cut (light and dark) (buy one get one free)
• Aryeh green dress
• Yellow Tulle cut out dress
• Yellow Tulle snap dress
• Ya tube dress Hawaiian print
• Tulle jersey top dress
• Fabrik ruffle green dress
• Fabrik print tube
• Fabrik flower taupe dress
• Fabrik lace grey/peasant dress

Yay - my fave jeans are back!

And in another wash!

Love the pockets -favorite part about them!

Cute green dress - LOVED all of the eyelet!

This dress was super cute in person - cute pockets and fab!

And this is the best part - the cute cut out back!

Hawaiian tube dress - so fun and only $20!

Loved this dress - fit SO good and has a cute tie-back bow in the back!

I got this dress! (those are snaps) but in the COLOR below

This color - dress style above!

Fun, simple summer dress - only $20!

Love the detail on the front and the fit!

has a cute, simple cut out in the back!

This is so pretty on to me - very romantic and flowy - the buttons are fun too - kind of peasant like

This one was different - kind of bebe style - had these curvy ruffles at top and this detail at bottom - I thought it would be nice for a summer wedding or rehearsal dinner!

WOO – I think I got some fabulous deals! Can’t wait to wear everything starting with tomorrow at Taverna Plaka for dinner and Saturday for my sister’s housewarming party!! I'm THRILLED about the dresses, but also the jeans. I LOVE Hudsons. Love the pockets, the stretch, the fit - everything about them and for them to have them in TWO washes in my size for buy one get one free?! I'm on a cloud. And i'm excited to get back into boot cut. I love skinnies but i've missed my bootcuts - yay Hudsons!

Q: Wear designer jeans? If so - which are your faves? I'm a huge fan of Hudsons, but also like AG's, Rock & Republics, J Brand's and Joe's. Austin likes AG's, 7's and Joe's!

Q: What is your thoughts on the cut outs this year? They seem to be in all of the dresses! I think it's cute if it's done tastefully (i.e. subtle!)

Q: Do you play yahtzee? If so - have you ever gotten one? I've never gotten more than 2 yahtzees in one round!