10K Training, Book Club, Tough Week, Slowcooker Round Up

I'm sorry I've been MIA , friends! This week has been a hard one. Nothing bad, just more difficult than others. Mostly because Austin's been gone all week. Yes, boo. He's coming back tonight but he left Monday a.m. and guess what? It's SO much harder when i'm alone. Reuben's feedings/clean up are both on me, all of the chores are on me, and you know what? It's NOT as much fun cooking for one. Or eating alone. It's weird! And I don't sleep as well. At all. So I've been crabby too. Other than that, I've been dealing with this AWFUL car dealership on the car I bought. More on that later... i'm still shocked by their behavior...

SO, not to be a big downer, but it's just been a tough week. SO excited for Austin to come back. Here are a few highlights from the past few days!

Tuesday was just work, walked 3 miles during lunch, more work, and then another run after work! I did the 3.5-mile run again at 6.3 mph - it's really feeling more natural. Other than that, me and Reuben just watched some TV!

Wednesday was a 5-hour meeting that went all the way through lunch. Sigh. Then back to work for a crazy busy afternoon playing catch up, to a rough commute home to get Reuben from the groomer, then another 40-minute ride to book club. oy. However, book club was SO fun - great to see Crystal, Devon, Stacy, Mon, Danielle and Karly! Loved seeing what was up with the girls - definitely the highlight of my evening, although we missed Shana! :( Other than catching up, girl time and a couple of glasses of wine, we also chose new books!! Sharp Objects for October's meeting and Hissyfit for November's - yay!

Lastly - THANK YOU for the slowcooker links/ideas. I plan to try! And Danielle - SO GLAD you got a slowcooker - I love mine. :) And no, I never leave it on when i'm not home. I know people who do and it's all good, but when i'm not here Reuben is and I just can't chance it! (such a personal choice!) Anywho, I thought you guys may want to see THREE of my favorite slow-cooker recipes - all from fellow bloggers - ENJOY!!

1. Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken

2. Slowcooker Spaghetti

please forgive the poor picture - iPhone AND taken in a plastic tub - double whammy!

3. Buffalo Chicken Chili

Q: What makes you feel better after a tough week? I think i'm going to hang with the fam and maybe do some cooking! This weekend, i'm thinking about getting a pedicure... :)

Q: How do you handle businesses who treat you wrong? I've honestly been upset about it all day. I just want to handle it and they're putting me off and REALLY frustrating me. I plan to file a complaint with the better business Bureau, and post reviews everywhere - I don't want anyone to have to deal with their bs!

K - off to relax and read blogs - "see" you soon!!

New Recipe, Sweet Tooth Solution, Back in the Saddle Again

Thanks you guys - I was really happy with how the snow pictures came out. I just think snow is SO pretty. I'm not feeling much better today but i'm going to head into work so we'll see! Supposedly traffic won't be bad since lots of peeps - including Austin - will be home today, and i'm thinking the office will be dead so why not go in and get some stuff done in the quiet?!

Backing up to yesterday - I started it out with my favorite breakfast – a potato/egg/sausage burrito. Nom nom nom. Then I got on Netflix on Demand and found a bunch of randomness – including an old favorite, Seaquest DSV!! Me and Austin both loved that show back in the dizzy so it was fun to watch! I also had Biz’s Buffalo Chicken Chili. It DID NOT disappoint – OMG. So good. Spicy but cool, flavorful, filling and I really felt like I was eating something really bad for me – but it’s not! I used all of Biz’s stuff – just cut it in half and decided to use the slow cooker...and was lazy and didn't puree the celery, garlic and red pepper!

Best Buffalo Chicken Chili by Biz over at Biggest Diabetic Loser

4 servings

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 stalks celery, diced
½ large red pepper, diced
2 tsp minced garlic
2 ½ tbsp of chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
½ tbsp paprika
¼ cup Frank’s Hot Sauce
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) black beans, drained
1 (15 oz) chili beans in sauce (do not drain)
salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp fat-free sour cream
Jalapeno, sliced thinly

Add all ingredients to slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours. Shred chicken with two forks. Divide into four servings and serve with fat-free sour cream and jalapeno slices. Nutritional Information (including sour cream): 417 calories, 55 carbs, 3 fat grams and 40 protein grams.

So yesterday before we went to the store I explained to Austin that my sweet tooth is out of control. It’s just a reality now that I have to have something sweet after breakfast, lunch and dinner. There’s nothing wrong with that, but not preparing for it does me no favors. When I’m not prepared, I buy things in too big of portions, I eat 7 mini snickers at work, etc. So, at the store last night I picked up some new sweets:

Reduced Fat Chips Ahoy - first time trying these! While they're a little hard and not very "chocolate chipy" - they satisfy the sweet tooth and that's what it's about. Also, Publix had them at buy one get one free - nice!

Publix Frosted Oatmeal Cookies - My mom introduced me to these and they're SO good.. Kind of crispy but also chewy. They're like ginger snaps with something sweet on them. Love...

You can have THREE chips ahoy cookies for 140 calories. So I can have one cookie after each meal. Not bad, right? OR, I can have FIVE frosted oatmeal cookies, so 1 with breakfast, 2 with lunch and 2 with dinner. Hope this works for me!

I decided to work out. For real. I didn’t feel 100% but really wanted to do something. During yet another Big Love, I got the floor and did some abbies:

25 knee-up crunches

25 left/right crunches

15 bicycles (left/right is 1)

20 straight leg flutter kicks

15 sprinters

25 straight leg crunches

REPEAT

I haven’t done abs in way too freaking long a while, so I felt the burn fo sho! After that I sucked it up and drove over to the gym for 5 miles and legs. I was able to get in the 5 miles in 75 minutes burning 219 calories. Then I got home and made a lasagna. O. M. G. It was amazing - i'll post all about it tomorrow but i'm a fan and am no longer afraid of making it!

After stuffing my face with lasagna me and Austin watched more Big Love. I ended up at 1,653 calories, 209 carbs, 41 fat grams and 113 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. So I'm happy with this amount, but the sweet tooth solution is definitely a work in progress. As in I had 1 serving of the oatmeal cookies and 2 servings of the chips ahoy. Eek! Too much junk! Today is another day though.

Do you have a sweet tooth? If so, what satisfies it for you?

When you do abs, how many exercises do you try to do? How many sets of each? How many days a week?

Rug Fail… then an AMAZING Rug Score, New Recipe, and Day Off

Thank you for all of your great comments yesterday! I wrote back to each of you in the comments section of my last post. :) I'm so glad you're all feeling my pie- I'll post a review tomorrow or Friday!

On to today!! I popped up early and ran down to Ikea to take back two throws (found ones I liked better) and 3 lights (the gallery lights didn’t work – boo). While there, I picked up 10 frames (new idea for dining room!). I headed out and hit up Home Depot for our floor cleaner and spotlight replacement bulb, hit up Trader Joe’s for the usual (96/4 beef, pizza dough, etc.), then Barnes and Noble for a book (part of dining room idea – will post about it later!!). I got home, visited with Austin, my sister (Devon!) came over and we ate this new recipe: A Year of Slow-Cooking’s Crockpot Pizza Soup! Here’s the recipe for FOUR servings:

1 jar (14 oz) of Ragu pizza sauce

3 empty jars full of water

1 cup green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped (1 cup)

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 whole tomato, diced

2 already-cooked Italian chicken sausage links, diced

20 sliced turkey pepperoni, sliced in quarters

1 tsp dried basil

1 tbsp dried oregano

6 oz. mini farfalle pasta
60 grams shredded mozzarella cheese (to add later)

Wash and prepare veggies. Dump them into the crockpot. Cut sausage and pepperoni into small pieces and add to crockpot. Add basil and oregano. Pour in pizza sauce, and follow with three empty jars of water. Stir, cover and cook on low for 6 hours. After six hours, add dry pasta, and turn to high for 20 minutes or until pasta softens. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Nutritional Information: 338 calories, 47 carbs, 17 protein grams and 9 fat grams. I thought it was SO good – I’m a definite fan!! (and so are Austin and Devon!). If anything, next time I’ll add salt, maybe 5 oz. instead of 6 in pasta, and add more pepperoni! Still though – loved it!

So… after lunch the rug was delivered around 1:30 p.m. I was SO excited. My sister was even over and couldn’t wait to see it, too. The guy takes it out of the fedex truck and I’m like oh shiz… it’s THIN. He takes it in, leaves and I roll it out and it’s WAY too thin, not at all what I had in mind. More like an outdoor rug. Total FAIL. My sister’s like come on, we’re going to the Pottery Barn Outlet now! So we hop in her SUV and ride up to the outlets.

I find one I LOVE for the pool table area and I’m still looking and looking and then they come over and say an additional 30% off all rugs. Then, a guy says if you go to the food court you can get a 20% one item at Pottery Barn… um, that’s it! We start pulling out so many rugs. I ended up with FOUR rugs:

1. Pool table area: 8x10 Natural Stripes Rug; Originally $549; on sale for $200, with 30% off… $140!


2. Dining room: 8x10 Chanille Rug; Originally $400; on sale for $250, with 30% off AND $20 off… $140!


3. Living room: 5x8 Links Rug; Originally $429; on sale for $130, with 30% off…$91!


4. Entryway: 3x5 Links Rug; Originally $179; on sale for $34, with 30% off….$24!

So, yes, I got FOUR Pottery Barn rugs for $395, with 7% tax a grand total of: $422.65. And, I had a leftover wedding gift card for $58.14… make that grand total: $364.51.

The other rug (the one that I ordered but was thin – blah) was $350 ($374.50 with tax). So yes, I got FOUR rugs for $10 less than the one I didn’t even like and isn’t nearly as nice/high quality as the Pottery Barn ones. I feel SO lucky today – yesss. So, here’s pics… I hope you like as much as we do!!

Ah... who doesn't love a fabulous sale?!! Clearly i'm still on a shopping high!


The seating area/pool table area rug and the new side tables!

The new dining room rug!

The new den rug (same as entry way rug - just a larger size!)

Entry way rug (smaller version of livign room rug)

K - off to drink wine! Will post today's stats tomorrow along with (hopefully) a recipe and positive review for the Snickers Pie!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope you all have wonderful days with your families and friends.

Are you going to work out on Thanksgiving?

I took a day off from working out today as I'd worked out 8 days in a row. How often do you take breaks?

Shoe Chat, 3 Miles, Back/Biceps, New Camera and Fun Night!

Have you guys seen this commercial?

I am interested as I am:

A. In need of new shoes.

B. A walker and the commercial specifically mentions walking.

C. An owner of a kinda lumpy bum.

D. A total sucker for sh*t like this.

So what do you guys think? Think it's a total sham? Have a better recommendation on the shoe front for a girl who walks an average of 80 miles a month on a treadmill on the outside of her feet and does strength training?

I read some reviews.... it seems mixed??

I saw a cute video review that basically boiled down to:

Pros: comfy; they might actually work; great if you don't care what other people think because...

Cons: $110; ugly... shiny silver bullets. hehe

So I don't know! Knowing me i'll go out and buy the EXACT same pair I have now (but with new tread on the outside thankyouverymuch).

How often do you replace your shoes?

What's your current shoe - do you love it?!

Right now I have the Nike Women's Pegasus. I bought them for $90... they're on sale for $50!!

Perhaps I'll just get two more pairs of these little friends and save cash instead of the Reebok?!

Moving on for a quick recap! Yesterday I:

• Woke up feeling wonderful at 8 a.m.
• Hung out with Austin/blogged/had cheerios
• Had a chips/salsa/FF sour cream snack
• Headed to the gym - walked 2 miles + ran 1 mile + back + biceps
• Showered and went out for a baby shower gift, birthday gift, get well gift and a new camera!!!
• Had some of the tea Em got me - thanks again, sweet girl!
• Headed to Buckhead for a birthday party - good to see Andrew/Laura Anne/Monica/Andy/etc.!!
• Headed to Stacy and Shane's house (with Reuben in tow) for a night out in Smyrna/Vinings. We had such a blast! And it was GREAT to see all of the awesome work they had done on their house. WOW. I'm so motivated to do more on ours now - she has awesome taste and ideas!!
• Ended up at 2,388 calories, 41 fat grams, 237 carbs and 93 protein grams. Here's what I ate. (drank too much.... :( Also had late night pizza - put it on Sunday's day).

And here's the new camera!!

I love it! It's a very simple, easy-to-use Kodak EasyShare with 10 megapixels! It came down to this one and a Sony Cybershot, but the Sony had bells and whistles I simply wouldn't use (i.e. comprehensive video capabilities) - so this one won! It seemed as though it was only available online, but they had it at Radio Shack but only in red. I ran with it - it matches my washer/dryer - I heart red gadgets!! I've only used it a few times but I love it!!

Today we woke up, left Stacy/Shane's (spent the night with them!), raced home, ate breakfast, showered and headed up to Cumming for Austin's cousin Katie's baby shower! It was nice to visit with her and all of the family (grandparents/aunts/uncles you name it!). Austin's parents also drove over from Alabama and came by the house to visit, see some of the new stuff and to bring us some shelving units for the garage- sweet! I've been slowcooking spaghetti all day too - exciting!! Hope it turns out. I haven't updated spark people but it's going to be very high with the pizza + shower food factored in... we shall see!

I hope you all had wonderful weekends! I really enjoyed mine!!

I'm Sick... I Made a new Recipe... I may be addicted to my Slow Cooker

So it’s official. I’m sick...

This means:

• No 755 club + sandlot at Turner field last night
• No shopping day today (planned to hit up Macy’s, American Apparel, Nordstrom, Forever 21 and Old Navy)… along with the bank. Had even taken off work!
• No gym…. Yesterday or today. Not even kind of happening.
• No going out in the Highland's tonight to celebrate my buddy's two-six.
• No meeting Jason/Crystal's baby... don't want to get baby sick. :(

Instead it means this…

• A visit to the doctor - I have a bacterial infection with sinisitus and a fever. I was given mucinex, antibiotics and a nose spray.
• Lots of fluids.
• Lots of time with pupper.
• Lots of time lying in bed, playing on computer, watching bad TV.
• Plain food... only turkey sandwiches sound good. And m&ms. Random.

Yes, i'm feeling sorry for myself. I HATE getting sick. I just feel helpless... but I also feel like my head is going to explode with a stuffed nose that runs (explain that, please?!), a sore throat, a nasty cough, a sore face (sinus pressure), a headache and a ear ache. My fever is a little over 100 so i'm also taking Tylenol. GRRRR.

So go - have WONDERFUL weekends without me. I'll be exactly where I am above, but maybe in different PJ's.

Real quick backtrack: Yesterday I never got out of bed. True story - I felt awful and it didn't get better, only worse, and I didn't sleep a wink. I DID have a new recipe from Real Mom Kitchen, Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup. It's AMAZING - here's the recipe for FOUR large servings:

1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can petite diced tomatoes (14.5 oz size - southwest style)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 1/2 cups water
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can ( 10 3/4 oz) fat-free cream of chicken soup
2 cups fat-free milk
16 oz. chicken, boneless and skinless

In crock pot, mix the taco packet together with the water and tomato sauce. Add cream of chicken soup and milk and whisk together until smooth. Add chicken. Pour drained black beans, drained corn and diced tomatoes on top of that. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Before serving, take out chicken and shred, then put back and stir it all together. Serve alone or with 10 grams tortilla chips. Nutritional Information: 452 calories, 61 carbs, 4 fat grams and 40 protein grams. (before corn chips or other toppings). We really liked it! You could easily make it 5 or 6 servings, or less, and have as a side with a sandwich! I was just all about big, hearty bowls of soup!

Anywho, other than that shining meal yesterday was a wash. I ended up at 1,538 calories, 210 carbs, 45 fat grams and 80 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

K - off to watch another episode of Desperate Housewives and find some more slow cooker recipes. Austin's mom gave him Fix it And Forget It Lightly in college - we're about to become besties. Happy Friday, friends! I'll be reading your blogs so do update. hehe :)