Monday Meal Plan Menu, BBQ Ranch Chicken Pasta, Two-A-Days

Happy Monday! Hope you had good ones - I actually did, a bit of a too-long afternoon but not awful! Today started out with a 1-mile run + 1/2 mile walk, followed by chest, triceps and P90X ab ripper - woo! Then it was work, work, work, but I took a break at lunch for a 3.5-mile walk whilst catching up with Stacy. Then it was more work and now i'm heading home to the family for new recipe week! What is that? Well, friends, it's exactly like what it sounds like - I've found/created/adapted/healthified recipes for the entire week so we'll eat all new foods until Sunday. What's on the menu?

• Zucchini Breakfast Strata
• Tex Mex Breakfast Burritos
• Caprese Breakfast Cups
• 3-Meat Chili
• Thai Chicken Pizza
• Sausage, White Bean & Spinach Soup
• Orange-Beef Stir Friy
• Shrimp Etoufee
• Spaghetti with Bacon Meatballs

Yes, I'm so excited! We actually got started a bit early and had the Thai Chicken Pizza for dinner last night. A-mazing! And I have a recipe I didn't post last week:

BBQ Ranch Chicken Pasta
Recipe adapted from Picky Palate
Makes 4 Servings

Nutritional Information: 402 calories, 50 carbs, 5 fat grams and 37 protein grams.

At first I was like what? BBQ ranch pasta? But alas, I had a TON of red onion that needed to be used, so this was a perfect way to not waste an onion! The BBQ sauce combined with the carmelized red onions was great, and I loved the ‘cool’ that the ranch and cilantro brought to the recipe. This reheated well, and we froze/reheated, too, and it was great! A quick, easy recipe that you can have done in under 20 minutes. Check out the recipe on Healthified Kitchen!


Q: Have a favorite onion? I seriously love white, yellow, red and green - are there any others? If I had to pick i'd say white as I probably use it the most/find it the most versatile!


Q: What's one thing on your menu this week?!

Color-Changing Pups, Two-A-Days

Happy Sunday! I hope you're having a great day! I'm relaxing at home after getting back in town from Alabama - am having a great weekend! Tracking back, Friday ended up being a pretty good day. Awesome? No - but not too shabby. I got up early with a massive headache. Ugh. But I went to the gym and met Stacy there! I walked 1/4 mile, ran 2 miles at 6.3 mph, then walked 1/2 mile - 2.75 miles in 30 minutes. Not bad! Then I showered, worked, then me and Stacy went back during lunch for a 1 1/4 mile walk (taking me to 4 miles for the day - 2 walking and 2 running) and shoulders, triceps and biceps. Great workout and nice to be done with exercise by 1 p.m.! Then I just worked more, had meetings, and headed straight home at 5 p.m. to the family! I made a new recipe, ran a load of laundry, hung out with Austin and played with the pups. And thankfully my headache escaped me - yessss.

Speaking of puppers, I've been marveling lately at how much they've changed colors. Reuben was a major color changer. I got a brown pup, and ended up with a black and gray one...

Reuben 16 weeks old - day 2 of having him in September 2007

I mean really! LOL Little posing poodle

Reuben over the holidays!

Then came Remy - a little brown & white pup:

her at 10 weeks

her at 16 weeks - much lighter and her brown turned more of a caramel color

her in April. Seriously - she is turning so white!

Regardless, I love my two little color changers! Even if I did go from two mostly-brown pups to ebony & ivory! :) (May 2011)

Q: Do you have a color-changer?

Q: What are you up to this weekend? We stayed in Friday night, went to Birmingham for a wedding Saturday and just got back in town today! I'll post pics from the wedding tomorrow - great time with great friends!

Friday Funny, It's the Weekend!

To start out with a funny.... hehe

I'm so corny - love it! Anywho - thanks you guys!! I loved your perspectives on work out time slots. It's always neat to hear how each of us make it work, and why - it definitely helps me to see your points of view! I have a bit of backing up to do - here goes!

Wednesday I got up early again - 3 days in a row for a.m. workouts! This time, I ran. And ran. I ended up running 2 mile straight, then doing 10 minutes on the stairclimber. Great workout! I then got ready, headed to work, met Crystal for yummy flatbreads at Seasons 52, worked more and then headed straight home to veg out.

Thursday I slept in, worked from home, used my lunch to cook and clean, worked more and then at 5 p.m. I showered, got in my PJs and just TOTALLY vegged with the family. I mean - I'm LOVING being back home and not having too many during-the-week obligations. Around 8 p.m. our sweet tooths kicked in, so we headed up to Yogli Mogli. They had a new fat-free frozen yogurt flavor - THIN MINT COOKIES. OMG it was wonderful and very low-calorie.

Seriously - made my day! So no workouts for Thursday - nice to take a little break. Today was another 2-a-day - got up early and went to my parent company gym. I walked 1/8 mile, ran 2 1/4 mile, walked 1/8 mile - two and a half miles in 25 minutes - yay! Then I went to a 4-hour meeting, before heading back to the gym during lunch for chest, triceps, abs and a 1-mile walk. Great 2-a-days-today. Now i'm about to head out for book club - looking forward to seeing some of my favorite girls!

Q: What are you doing this weekend? I have book club at Monica's tonight, then tomorrow we're going to try to get in a movie before a party at my friend Lo's and then Sunday we're going to the lake for Father's Day!

Q: Do you like Fro yo? What is your favorite flavor? Would you like 'thin mint cookies' flavor?! My favorite is probably peanut butter... mixed with dutch chocolate. yummmm I also like cookies & cream, birthday cake, red velvet - there is no limit to my love of fro yo!

Hangout Fest, Vacation Exercising

Thanks you guys! We had SO much fun sailing. I would seriously do it again in a heartbeat! How is your weekend going?! We are having so much fun! So Thursday was kind of a whirlwind - I got up early, worked all day and worked through lunch, packed up the car, said goodbye to my baby puppers (tears!) and then headed out for our 6-hour drive. We stopped in Auburn on the way and picked up Austin's brother's graduation present (yes - he chose Auburn - WOO!), then drove on. We got in town around midnight, had a couple of beers and called it a night. Great to be here though, to visit with Mary, Scott, Meghan, Scott's cousin and his buddy - I can tell it's going to be a GREAT trip. So far, today I just popped up and hit the gym. I walked 1/2 mile, ran 1 1/2 mile, then walked another 1/2 mile. Then did abs, biceps and triceps. Not bad - there is a great little gym at the condo which I hope to visit daily. HRM said: 46 minutes, 346 calories, 1-fat-burning minute and 45 fitness minutes. Average HR: 146; Maximum HR: 195.

Now i'm about to hop in the shower, and then the fun starts... :)

Today we plan to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Warren Haynes Band, My Morning Jacket and Widespread Panic. Hippie day! LOL Pics to come, the weather is beautiful, can't wait to get out there.

Q: Do you like any of the bands above? Which is your favorite?

Q: What are you up to today? HAPPY FRIDAY!

Q: Do you work out on vacay? Why or why not?

Monday Two-a-Days, Spinning Shoes?

Thank you guys SO much for leaving comments on my Cabot Cheese Giveaway! I loved hearing about your favorite things to make with cheese - some the usual suspects like pizza and others snack style on crackers with fig jam - neat! If any of you missed it you have time to enter to win one of two $25 Cabot gift packs! Backing up real quick, yesterday I woke up at 5:30 a.m. for another spin class - I just love it! I had a new instructor - a guy about my age probably and his teaching style was different. Well first his music was... dark I guess? Like Korn kinda stuff which made my angry-13-year-old-self come out. haha Here is one of Drowning Pool songs he played - definitely pumped me up for battle work!

So I spun for 47 minutes, then jumped on the treadmill to run a mile (ran 1/2 mile at 6.3 mph and 1/2 mile at 7 mph), then it was shower time and work - not bad! HRM said: 60 minutes, 453 calories, 12 fat-burning minutes, 48 fitness minutes; average HR 146 and max HR 179. Take THAT weekend alcohol! Then I just had breakfast and worked before my lunchbreak, when I went back to the gym with Stacy for a 2-mile walk and biceps and triceps.

Yes, Monday two-a-days again. I've decided it's a nice way to jumpstart my week! After lunch it was back to work but I had a MASSIVE headache - dang allergies. So after work I headed straight home to Austin, my PJs and my puppers! Definitely a nice end to a busy Monday of working and working out!

Q: So I'm really trying to spin 3 days/week and then mix it up with running/walking. I'm thinking of buying 'spinning shoes' - should I? If so, what kind should I get?! Do all spinning shoes work on all spin bikes? Oy!

Q: What type of music do you prefer to spin to or work out to? I usually go pop/rap all the way with some Gaga, Brittney, Flo Rida, etc. But I'm liking spin because every instructor is different. Some days it's classic rock, today was clearly a metal day, I even had one instructor who did all James Bond songs!

Monday Two-a-Days, Chipotle Chicken & Rice

THANK YOU for your sweet, sweet comments on my nephew Dane - he is such a doll and I seriously can't be happier for my sis and bro-in-law with their perfect baby boy! I love how many of you are aunts (and some who just recently became them - congrats, Tyler!). On another note, you early risers truly put me to shame - wow! I'm working on it. I really am. For instance, yesterday I was bound and determined to start my week on the right foot - at a Monday 6 a.m. spin class! I got my stuff ready Sunday night, slept until 5:30 a.m., and got up and hit the gym. I made it, but the instructor didn't. BOO. He had a 102 temperature so the front desk was telling spin participants to feel free to use the room/equipment/etc. Well, I got in the class and some of the "regulars" had gotten the music going and we all kind of made this one girl a defacto instructor. At first I was like this is kind of cool, but I couldn't tell if I was working too hard or not hard enough - after 30 minutes of spinning and 243 calories burned I decided to do something else. So I headed out to the treadmill, walked 1/4 mile at 4 mph, ran 3/4 mile at 6.3 mph, and walked 1/4 mile at 4 mph. Then it was time for abs. I did this workout: ignore the February - it worked in April too LOL

The abs, treadmill workout and spinning took a little under an hour. HRM said: 53 minutes, 400 calories, 8 fat-burning minutes, 45 fitness minutes, average HRM 146, max HRM 185. Then I got ready at the gym, worked until lunch, then took lunch to work out with Stacy. I walked 1.75 miles (to take my total to 3), and did these bicep and tricep exercises:

Yes, after that I was officially pooped! Why two-a-days on a Monday? I knew I had a lunch meeting Tuesday and plans after work so there you go - had to plan for it! When I got home I had some raw chicken, pre-diced in a container that I had to use before it went bad, so I went ahead and whipped this up - Chipotle Chicken & Rice!

Chipotle Chicken and Rice
Adapted from a Dinners for a Year and Beyond Recipe
Makes 4 Servings

Nutritional Information: 374 calories, 42 carbs, 4 fat grams and 37 protein grams.

See the recipe here on Healthified Kitchen!

After dinner I was pretty much exhausted - like in my PJs, day is over at 8 p.m. LOL Me and the fam just watched some TV and called it an early night!

Q: Do you ever do two-a-days? Do you like them? Why or why not? I love them as far as getting in my workouts when I otherwise can't, but I do hate when they drain me so much!

Q: Do you have a healthified Spanish rice recipe? I've tried a couple before and never found anything worthy! This one is so subtle - i'd love to have one a bit more authentic!

Commute Rant, New Mexican Recipe, 7 Miles, Upper Body ST

Thanks for your suggestions on the posting, guys! I decided that i'd post the full recipe on Healthified Kitchen - but put the picture, serving size and review over here and just link over there - why not? haha Thanks for your feedback and for reals - EASY peasy bake. Loves. So cool that so many of you have already tried it and loved it!! Yesterday was pretty chill, just work, 4 miles during lunch with Stacy, more work and then a 1-mile walk + 2-mile run after work. Not too bad. Then I did this chest, tricep, shoulder workout again. OMG.

After ST I went ahead and showered and blowdried my hair at the gym because OMG my traffic has been HORRIBLE this week. Like no 1-hour roundtrip commute, more like 2-hour roundtrip commute. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving some James Patterson 8th Confession audio book but this is just ridiculous! :( I stayed at the gym until 7:30 p.m. and traffic was STILL bad. Sigh. Anywho, enough complaining. Here is another new recipe I whipped up this weekend:

Ranchero Macaroni Bake
Recipe adapted from a Recipes for Moms recipe
Makes 6 Servings

Nutritional Information: 401 calories, 47 carbs, 6 fat grams and 32 protein grams.

Review: Very good. The green salsa really added some extra fire that I think I would have missed if I hadn't added. The soupiness helped - I was nervous at first to stir before adding the chips, but it made a big difference and helped it cook more evenly. I liked the chip layer too - very crunchy, especially against the pasta/soupiness of the rest of the recipe. All in all, I would make this again and wouldn't change anything, great pastsa bake!

Check out the recipe here!

Needless to say, once I got home at 8:15 (after talking with my mom the whole way home!), I just had dinner, got in bed and had a piece of cake and some milk. No joke - I needed a dessert like no other! We settled in for Duplicity with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. It wasn't bad or anything but I passed out about one hour in. Oops!

Q: What's your commute like? Mine is usually 30 - 40 minutes to work and 20-30 minutes home. So an hour. Except for Friday's - it's WIDE open, like I can do round-trip in 40 minutes - woo! For the record, i'm exactly 16 miles from my office.

P.S. Only tell me if your commute is as bad or worse than mine. J/k!

Hot Chicken Salad Recipe, 5.5 Miles, Chest + Triceps + Shoulders, Remy!

Thanks fellow quinoa lovers! Sounds like there are a lot of us out there!! Love the ideas you gave me - especially Jenn with her breakfast quinoa idea - i'm SO going to try it. And thank you for your support on the Maintain don't Gain challenge I joined. I hope I can do it - I think I can!! Yesterday was pretty chill - just work, 3.5 mile-walk during lunch with Stacy, more work, and then a 1-mile run + 1-mile walk with Stacy. We also did this chest, tricep, shoulder workout. It KILLED.

click to make larger

After our workout I headed home and chilled with the family - great, restful evening! This was pretty much how chill it was:

Little Remy LOVES Reuben's orange toy. Not so much to play with, but to sleep on. The two are doing great and getting along better every day. Reuben got a bit jealous, but we think it was just him being insecure so we're continuing to make sure to give Reuben just as much if not more attention! Love those puppers!

Today was pretty chill too. Just work... and lots of it. We got off at 2 p.m. so I worked through lunch.I had plans to go to the gym but just wasn't feeling it so I headed home and have just been resting and hanging out with the fam, getting my chill on before tomorrow when we head to Lake Lanier to Aunt Sharon and Uncle Terry's FABULOUS lake house. Can't wait to see everyone, visit with Austin's fam and brothers and eat fabulous food. Speaking of fabulous food, I was over at The Weigh I am and she had linked to a recipe at Fabulessly Frugal. I had never been to the site before and found TONS of recipes and inspiration. In fact, I found a recipe that looked so good I ran downstairs and made it. I'm so psycho kitchen-obsessed. Here goes...

Hot Chicken Salad
Adapted from a Fabulessly Frugal recipe

Makes 4 Servings

1 pound chicken, cooked and cubed
1 tbsp lemon juice
15 grams slivered almonds (2 tbsp)
½ cup fat-free mayonnaise
½ cup celery, finely diced
½ cup fat-free cream of chicken soup
½ tsp minced onion, dried
28 grams Cabot 75% cheddar cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
1 oz. potato chips, crumbled
4 Mission tortillas, burrito size

Toast almonds on cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 7 minutes. While toasting, mix all the ingredients except cheese and potato chips. Remove almonds and add to mixture, then set the oven to 400 degrees. Place mixture in baking dish and add cheese then chips to the top of mixture. Bake for 20 minutes Serve in wraps.

After baking - could easily spoon over noodles or rice instead! I wouldn't recommend lettuce though - I think it would make it welt. The recipe suggested croissants.

Nutritional Information: 451 calories, 48 carbs, 13 fat grams and 37 protein grams.

Review: Loved! These were insanely filling, which was awesome. The casserole could easily be put on rice or noodles, but we liked them in wraps. They were warm and gooey - the mayonnaise, cream of chicken, cheese mix really tasted like it was so bad for you, but 450 is great! Next time I may even try barbeque chips for a little kick!

K- off to watch a movie with the family. Happy Thanksgiving to you all - we all have SO much to be thankful for. I am so thankful for my family, my friends, my job, my health... the list goes on - I'm a happy lady!

Q: What are you doing for Thanksgiving? We'll be at the lake tomorrow, then Friday is Iron Bowl, then Saturday is Athens for the UGA vs. Tech game!

Q: Have you ever had hot chicken salad? I've only had cold before but hot is AMAZING. Thanks again, Fabulessly Frugal!

Book Review, 6 miles, Travel Diaries Part 2 of 2: Being Friendly in the Skies

Thanks you guys! It really was such a beautiful wedding and I was so happy to be a part of it and to spend time with some of my best friends!! As promised... Travel Diaries Part 2...
So... as you know I left my phone in my car - traumatic!! I get to the airport and barely make it on the plane. All is good. As i'm boarding a flight attendant tells me I have two personal items (a small laptop bag and a tiny coach purse). She's like put your purse in your other bag. I'm like okay I will.... trying to walk away (figure I can do it in the overhead bin). No go. She's like now. I'm like okay, I try to get off the plane to do it on the hallway-connect-to-the-airport-thingie. She's like no, do it here. I'm like here? (waving my hand in the 2'x2' area on the floor in front of first class) She's like YEAH, here. So, in a huff, I throw all my shiz down (coat, water bottle, rolling luggage), unzip my suitcase and put my purse in. And no, I can't get it zipped back up, yes, i'm sweating and of course, everyone is looking at me. I get up and she is staring at me and laughing with her co-worker. True story. I roll my eyes and go to my seat.

There I meet Rose, a nice lady, who's like what was that all about? I'm like oh, apparently a purse this size (indicated with hands) counts as a personal item and they wanted me to correct it right there on my hands and knees in front of everyone. We're chatting and that flight attendant comes back over and tells me to stop talking about it, it's federal law, etc. I'm like um, i'm talking to her, my new friend Rose, fellow passenger, NOT you, so you need to leave me alone now. She was like well you just need to let it go. I'm like again, I'm talking to her not you and she asked what happened and that was it. Did she let it go? No, she kept on going on about the law and I just stared her down until she left.

Okay, I knew she was being a bitch. I knew I was in no mood. But I saw her whispering, staring and pointing and was like shit, i'm going to get kicked off this flight. So about 10 minutes later I have to pee. I really do. In all of the stress I drank my entire camel bak. So I ask a different flight attendant if I can go, he says yes and i'm off. I'm about to close the door and there she is - DANG!

Her: "Mam, the fasten seatball sign is still lit, you're not to be about the cabin, it's federal law.

Me: "I'm sorry, I asked the guy and he said it was fine, I'm not trying to cause trouble... speaking of. I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I offended you earlier. I was stressed out, I lost my phone, I was running late, but those aren't excuses for me to have behaved the way I did. I overreacted and was a bit bratty and I apologize."

Her: (her WHOLE FACE changed along with her voice) "Sweetie, I'm sorry too!"

Love it. I pee, I go back to my seat and she comes out of no where (again!).

Her: "Honey, would you like a cocktail?"

Me: "No thank you."

Her: "It's on me."

Me: "Chardonnay."

Yes, I got free wine and upgraded first-class snacks on her. I thanked her, and when we landed and I left the plane, tipsy, she told me to have a great day and thanked me again for saying I was sorry.

Lesson learned: throw a mini tantrum while boarding + honest apology = free alcohol.

Backing up to Monday - we got up, had a quick turkey/swiss muffin for breakfast and got on the road to the airport with Megan and Clint. We reminisced, chatted and laughed, then got some gummy bears and boarded the plane! I had a much less memorable return flight - just finished Karin Slaughter's Fractured. Book Review: I give this one a 4/5. It was part of the Will Trent series. The story started out with a bang - a suburban mother coming home to her daughter being murdered - murderer STILL in the home. From there, it took lots of turns and twists and surprises - I flew this one - couldn't wait to see what happened and the mystery didn't disappoint! The only reason it's a 4/5 rather than a 5/5 was because somewhere in the middle it slowed down too much for me and I was just kind of over it. But then it picked up and I loved it. I'd recommend it, but suggest you read the series in order!

After finishing my book we got in town, went straight home and I fell asleep from 4 - 8 p.m. No joke! Great nap. I took some more medicine (throat on fire; stuffy nose; cough), got ready for work and went to sleep! Pretty slow Monday for sure.

Tuesday was just catch up at work, 4-mile walk during lunch, more catch up and then a 2-mile walk after work and this chest, tricep, shoulder workout with Stacy.

After our work out I raced home and had a mini cooking marathon with Austin! We made 6 servings of veggie breakfast casserole, 4 servings of Red Thai Curry (i'm on a Thai kick), 4 servings of Chicken & Mushroom pesto and prepped a few other meals (i.e. diced chicken, cooked noodles, diced veggies, etc.) Then it was time for reading and bed - i'm now reading another Karin Slaughter book - Undone. SO good!

Q: Have you ever had a "dismal and/or degrading airport experience"?

Q: Have you ever read Karin Slaughter books?

More TV Pilots, 10K Training, Kirnfest

Hey ladies! How has your weekend been?! Mine has been great so far - loving that I still have a good bit of Sunday left!! Friday was just work, Seasons 52 during lunch with Stacy, work more and then after work I did this chest/tricep/shoulder workout, and a bit of abss.

After my workout I came home and hung out with the family, had a few beers, and watched some TV with Austin & Reuben! Great chill night - LOVED it.

Saturday I slept in a bit, cleaned a bit, then hit the gym for a 3.5-mile run - yay! I walked 1/4 mile, ran for 33.5 minutes straight at 6.3 mph, then walked another 1/4 mile.

Great workout - I think I'm ready to move to the next week in my running plan! Can't wait and am so excited at how well it's progressing!! After my workout we got ready and headed over to Mike & Mandy's for Kirn Fest! They do a beerfest each year at their home - good times, yard games, fun friends and flip cup - love it! We took a break from the festivities to watch the Auburn game - WAR DAMN EAGLE! It was a little touch & go but the Tigers pulled it off - yesssss. We're 4 and 0! Anywho, here's some pics:

someone brought Tiger beer hehe

Forgive the fact that this picture was taken a bit late night - but they had 3 of these tables with holes in them flled with buckets, then they would use the 6-packs to make labels to show drinkers which beers were in which tub - CLEVER! Cute set up.

Me, Austin & Reuben after the win!

Stacy helped us take care of Reuben all day - he loves her so much!

Me and the ladies!

After the win we stayed up WAY too late and then went to sleepy!

Today I got up around 8 a.m. and headed home from the Kirn's! So far we've had a lovely, lazy day with a bit of laundry, a bit of cooking and LOTS of TV pilots:

• The Event: C- I'll try it again but really didn't think it game me enough information.
• Shit My Dad Says: B- I want to like it. I love William Shatner. And I like all of the characters except the main guy - hate him. He's an annoying whiner so I don't know if I can watch again. Sad!
• Outsourced: A+ Loved it. Hilarious. Cute sitcom and different with it taking place in India. I think it's going to be funny - am definitely watching again.
• Hellcats: C I mean... it's bad. It's one tree hill meets bring it on. But I like bad/girly shows so i'm sure i'll watch it anyway! Great to have on while you're doing something else. Definitely doesn't require attention.
• Bluebloods: A+ LOVED so good to see Tom Selleck, loved the family dynamic of the cops + DA and thought that it really set up a lot of interesting storylines. Can't wait to see another episode!
• Other than the above, I also watched Parenthood for the first time - I liked it! I think i'm going to start watching it. And I watched Love Happens. What a sad, sweet little movie - I enjoyed it as well!

Q: What was the highlight of your weekend?

Q: Seen any of the shows above? If so - yay or nay?!

C25K Milestone, Wedding, Out with Friends

Thanks for your sweet comments about my video – I’m really enjoying making them!! I hope you all had wonderful weekends – mine was so fun!! It started out with a GREAT Friday you guys! Just worked, walked 2.5 miles during lunch + upper body ST + abs – did this circuit again.

Then after work I went over to our parent company’s gym planning to do C25K… and I did it you guys! Week 8, Workout #1 – 28 minutes straight at 6.3! I was SO pumped! I walked it out to get to 3.5 miles burning 213 calories in 35 minutes. I’m pretty THRILLED – I just can’t believe that two months ago a 5-minute run was daunting… now I feel like I can just GO! I’m on a cloud – perhaps it’s the endorphins! LOL After the workout I showered/got ready at the gym, picked up some sushi and hit up Monica/Andy’s house to visit with them and to see Katie and Kevin and baby Cullen in town from NC! They are doing so well and look awesome – SO good to see them and to see little man. And Lauren was there too – haven’t seen her in too long – great night. Austin came over to meet us too, and then me and him headed home around 11 or so.

Lauren, Katie, Mon, Me and Reuben!

Happy Friday indeed! I ended up at 1,785 calories, 176 carbs, 45 fat grams and 88 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Saturday was a great day! Woke up early feeling great to a beautiful day! Got ready, had a brunch pizza square, hit up BB&B for a wedding gift, stopped by Kroger to get more Claritin and headed down to Dallas, Ga., for a wedding of an old high school friend! So good to catch up with great friends in town from NY and Savannah! The wedding was sweet – great to see Tony get married! Then we headed home and Lindsey and Josh followed to stay over! We sat outside and had some drinkies, then Tyson, Jennifer, John, Jeff, his GF and two of their friends came over and it was time to go eat! We hit up Felinni’s then went to Buckhead to meet up with Mary and Scott – great night, good times at Fado and Park Bench! We stayed up way too late of course but I sure enjoyed our night and had fun chatting, dancing and catching up with everyone!


Jen, John, Lindz, Josh and Tys - we all went to high school together! :)

With Mary and Scott - love them!

Tys, Mar, Me and John at Fado!

The Lacoste boys - LOL - Tys and Scott had on the same one - this happens too frequently!

Lindz, Me and Jen

Austin and Tys!

They were apparently REALLY into that song! Too cute!


I ended up at 2,315 calories, 136 carbs, 79 fat grams and 60 protein grams. Here’s what I ate and drank.

Today I just got up, cooked breakfast for me/Austin/Tyson/Lindsey and Josh, sent them off, did laundry, made a meal plan, hit up the grocery store and now I’m reading! Great day so far! It’s another pretty one for sure.

How was your weekend?

What’s your favorite thing to do on Sundays?!

New Recipe, 6 Miles, Wine Mondays, Upper Body Circuit

Thanks, friends! I don't understand fat-free cheese's aversion to melting either. Grrr. Glad you're all feeling the Mexican food too (or most of you) - i'm just SO addicted right now! And i'm loving this idea of batch cooking. I'm seriously considering moving to once/two weeks cooking! (right now i'm doing once/week cooking). We'll see... it's going to take even more planning - eek!

So my Monday was a Monday… for SURE! A lot of things really ticked me off. Grrr. But other than the usual work stuff it was okay! I walked 4 miles during lunch (burned 182), and then after work I did another 2 along with the upper body circuit (burned 132) below (one new set then one old set from last week).

Click on it to make it larger - the second set is the new one!

For dinner we had a new recipe from For the Love of Cooking!! I LOVE Pam’s recipes, and this one did not disappoint:

Chicken Tetrazzini for 4 Servings


7 oz spaghetti noodles, cooked per instructions
16 oz. chicken, cooked in salt and diced
1 tsp olive oil
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 12 oz can of low fat evaporated milk
3 tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
3 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp dried parsley
4 tbsp Italian flavored panko crumbs

Prepare noodles per instructions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté for 3-4 minutes; add minced garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes. Remove mushroom mixture to a bowl and return skillet to stove. Add all but 1/4 cup of milk to the skillet along with the cheese and nutmeg, cook, stirring constantly, until sauce gently boils. Mix remaining 1/4 cup of evaporated milk with cornstarch and mix thoroughly, then add to the sauce, mix well and remove from heat. Season mixture with sea salt and pepper. Add noodles, chicken, parsley and mushroom mixture to sauce and mix well. Pour mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle top with panko crumbs. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.



Nutritional Information: 456 calories, 53 carbs, 6 fat grams and 45 protein grams.

Review: Wow! We thought it was totally restaurant quality! We didn’t even get to eat it “fresh” – we refrigerated it and heated it up and it still had so much flavor. Almost like an alfredo sauce without all of the fat/calories! There is nothing I would do different next time – the portion sizes were very generous and it was super filling. This would be a good one to bring in for lunch too, and the bread crumbs make it look so fancy and sinful – love! P.S. Pam included peas and a shallot if you're interested!

After dinner me and Austie had a glass of wine, chatted about how we should really always have a glass of wine on Mondays, played some iPhone Scramble (we’re so obsessed – we do ‘play and pass’ and try to beat each other’s scores – losers), then watched some Gossip Girl and called it a night! I ended up at: 1,828 calories, 204 carbs, 53 fat grams and 110 protein grams (with a 314 exercise calorie burn). Here’s what I ate.

Ever had chicken tetrazzini? I never had before - love it!

Have an iPhone? What's your favorite game on there? Right now, mine is scramble! used to be addicted to Word Warp!

C25K, Upper Body Circuit, Blogger Award

Happy (almost) Wednesday! Thanks for your sweet comments on the latest kitchen concoction - I responded to each of you in the comments section of the last post again!! Can't wait to try something new next week! :)

So yesterday my mood was definitely approved – woo! I got lots of work done, walked 2.5 miles during lunch (burned 113 calories), worked some more and walked 3.5 miles after work, along with an upper body circuit (burned 230 calories). This is the one I’ve been doing lately!

click on image to make it larger!

After the circuit I changed clothes and me and Stacy went to meet her friend Jennie at Uncle Julio’s! Jennie and I are in Stacy’s wedding, so we all wanted to get together to chat with Stacy, catch up on wedding stuff, etc.! But then we all talked and talked about everything from our husbands to work and more – so much fun! But before I knew it 6:30 had changed into 10 p.m. – eek! So we all split up after our great girl dinner, and I headed home to bake my brunch pizza squares (6 servings) and pasta fagioli (4 servings) – then bed time FO SHO!

I ended up at 1,920 calories, 232 carbs, 60 fat grams and 81 protein grams. Here’s what I ate. Not too bad with the 343 calories burned, especially considering we went out to eat! (I had two chicken soft tacos and chips/salsa – had to estimate!).

Today was okay – traffic was horrendous so I was a bit late and today I was in an all-day training class. I’m all about some development, but I’m a bit behind at work so that kind of sucked! I had my brunch pizza square for breakfast, some carr’s/laughing cow for a snack and pasta fagioli for lunch. No workout during lunch – not enough time – but I had one more snack, iced oat cookies, then it was out of training and into the gym! I did C25K Week 7, Workout 2, a 5-minute walk and 25-minute run. It felt GREAT! It still freaks me out how much easier running gets the more you do it. Love it! I continued walking for another 30 minutes, getting me to 5 miles in 60 minutes burning 318 calories. Yay!

Afterwards I headed home, did some work, had slow-cooker chicken burritos for dinner, hung out with Austin and Reubs as per usual and called it a night! Haven't tallied stats yet - will post tomorrow!

In bloggie news, the SWEET skinny jeans, fat wallet gave me a wonderful award - the stiletto award!! Shelli is adorable - and so is her blog! She is a mom-to-be on a budget, working out and saving cash - love her blog! Thanks so much for thinking of me, and for your kind words! Here are the "Rules":

1. Display the Stiletto badge of honor.
2. Brag about it - post a link to the page to highlight what the award is about.
3. Say thanks! Include a link to the friend who nominated you.
4. Share the love-nominate 5-10 more blogs. Leave links to their blogs and leave them a comment so they know they won!

5. Do what you do! Keep at it and keep inspiring others.

1. Une Vie Saine - Love her blog - Gabriela is in college but still eats SO healthy! She posts lots of her eats and ideas, along with great viewpoints.

2. One Fit Foodie - Naomi has SO many great product reviews, recipes and more going on - great blog!

3. Faith, Fitness & Fun - Tina's blog has a little bit of everything (as noted in her title) - I love her book reviews, food reviews and more!

4. Spice and Sass - Very cool blog about her life, parties, eats, time in Africa and more - cute, cute cool!

5. Haute Teapot - This girl's got style all day long - love seeing the cute outfits she puts together, and hearing about her fun life!

I could go on and on - love so many blogs!

Question time: What's your favorite back exercise? I'm all for rows - sitting or standing, one arm at a time or both simultaneously - heart some dumbbells!

Month's almost over - what's one thing you accomplished this month that you're super happy about? I'm definitely not going to hit all of my goals, but am supper happy that the new appliances are in - woo! That's been on my list for a while and i'm definitely enjoying having them in the kitch!