Friday- Saturday

Friday Wrap Up
Body: GLORIOUS RUN! I felt like a supersonic speed racer... Total distance 7 miles... First 2 miles: 18 minutes... Second Deuce miles: 16 minutes.... Third Duece: 15:40... Last 1 mile: 6 minutes 22 seconds !! Wohooooooooooo! Total time: 56 minutes 2 seconds .. I biked for 2 miles as a cool down, very light and easy.
Absolutely FANTASTIC workout... I feel completely happy and excited to REST saturday!

Post workout I was not hungry at all but knew I should fuel up before heading to andreas... I had a new "Strawberry and Flax Kashi Waffle" - and for the first time- a blueberry nonfat TJ greek yogurt- definately good but since Trader Joes and Lowes ( the only chobani dealer) are in the same complex - I figure it will be a great switch for whichever is on sale...

Mind: Suduko and 1 chapter of SFN

Soul: GIRLS NIGHT!!!! We tied personalized tags to Andrea's favors ( wine bottle stoppers both shells and hearts) while we drank fantastic wine , played Guitar Hero, played Wii Tennis ( had the most awesome time!) and caught up with each other on everything and excitedly discussed wedding details for exactly in ONE week one of my best friend's will be married to one of Jeff's best friends!!

Dinner:
Sundried Tomato and Basil Dressing with added Sundried Tomatoes on top of Chicken- Baked in the oven while we enjoyed our first glass of the pinot I got at TJ- It was great and only like $5 ..Rice and Corn on the side and a Salad with romaine, carrots, red pepper, tomato and onion...
P.S That's the second glass of wine

I decided to start training with this agency to work with Jacob a few hours a week... His mom won't have to pay me and I can get paid for training, re-certified in CPR for "free" and get flexible hours only when I can fit them in. There was the first training today from 9-2 so I had to "work" on a saturday but really just sit and listen to the first training part of working with people with disabilities .

Saturday Morning Breakfast: I tried that frozen steel cut oatmeal from trader joes and was pleasantly suprised with its "Hint of Maple Syrup". It was indeed a great "fast fix" - you take the oatmeal out of the package and heat it in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes.. stir and thats it!
I had a banana with peanut butter and tiny piece of banana bread.... and a spoonful of applesauce and plain greek yogurt ( TJ- the texture is different than chobani, fage, and oikos - I liked it but equally as much as the others)

Saturday Lunch:
I realize it is pitiful but I woke up ( not early) to go to training and I wasn't sure how long it would be or if we had a "lunch hour". We did get a half hour break so I had this granola bar and came home before 2... I will be making something shortly but I did grab some mini chocolate peanut butter cups for now..

Okay or Jeff will be making something as he just announced..


Body : REST! my quads and hammies are actually sore... but in that good way like " hey we should do that more often" kinda way...

Mind: Read a few pages of SFN and will read after I post this! I also have tomorrow to read and research...

Soul: I love the weekends because I get to spend them with Jeff and my friends and ( family sometimes) so being around my favorite people is always fantastic. Andrea and Nate ( the bride and groom) , Me and Jeff, and Brit and Tim are all planning on getting together later for dinner/drinks/??? debauchery ?

Happy Weekend All!

Grocery Store

Trader Joes and Lowes ( the only store here that sells chobani) are on the way to/from Jacob's so I figured I would stop on the way home since I needed ice cream for tonight's dessert ( banana bread ice cream sammies with butter pecan ice cream!!!)

I always do this...

Despite my list of Flour, Ice Cream here is what came home with me:

Wine for tonight ( pinot grigio)
Chobani x 3
Trader Joes Yogurt x3
The Ice cream for tonight
Whole Wheat mini wraps
Low Carb wraps
Whole Wheat pizza dough
Red and Green Bell Pepper
Lettuce (Butter and Raddichio)
Brussel Sprouts
Goddess Dressing ( havent tried the TJ brand of it yet!)
Bananas
Frozen Mango
Frozen Asparagus x 2
Frozen Bell Pepper Mix x2
Applesauce
Uncle Sam's Flax Whole Wheat Cereal ( I love this stuff - Ive been eating it for like three years now! )
TLC Kashi Crackers ( haven't had this flavor yet and I had a coupon for $1 off! cost me $1.50)
Organice White Wheat Flour
AP Flour
and how cool --- Frozen Steel Cut Oatmeal... This was at TJ and $1.59 for a pack of two servings. I assume it will be a quick heat up version and its a pretty good deal ( $0.80 per serving, 150 cal. )

All of this only cost $55... not bad!

Okay, I decided to make dessert for tonight after grocery shopping so that I can go to the gym a little bit later. My stomach is odd today- I wasn't even hungry for the Z bar but ate it and feel stuffed again. Sigh.... Well I know I will be making up the calorie deficit tonight with Andrea's chicken and wine and dessert ..

Banana Bread Breakfast

Banana Bread with Peanut Butter
Scrambled Eggs ( mostly white)
Sliced Banana( I made Jeff a smoothie, there was a little leftover so I put it in the bowl as an "icing")

Yum! Stuffed! I don't know why but I couldn't even finish all of this! I calculated the calories and it was only 230 plus about a teaspoon of peanut butter - so less than 300 calories and stuffed!

* ( i use a spoon that equals a teaspoon so that I can approximate peanut butter. It is so easy to under-estimate with peanut butter since it is so calorie-dense and Delicious!)

The Plan
Body: I am hoping to get a fantastic run in today or tomorrow but hope for today. I work with Jacob at his home from 10-12, so I will pack .... hmm.. thinking.... a Z-bar to eat after so that I can get a good workout in at the gym ( rain clouds outside) without being full or starving!

Mind: I'd like to get in at least 1 or hopefully 3 chapters of SFN...

Soul:

Andrea is planning girls night this evening-Hoorray!!!
She got in her program materials and needs "Stuffers" and she got paper to build a card box for the guestbook/gift table. I'm not sure what we will make but I need to call her on my way to Jacob's and see what to get.

* How fantastic, Andrea's wedding is at the Aquarium! What a great idea! We went down early in June to meet with the caterer and work out some details. So I can't wait to see it all together. The fish tanks are amazing and a great "decor" so kids can walk around if they get ansy during the ceremony.... during the horsdevours hour we can walk around and look at everything- I highly recommend it as a wedding ceremony/reception site all in one! Plus it is at the beach!!! BEACH in one week!

* moral dilema mentioned "tuesday " I believe*
Working with Jacob should be fun but also tough on me. I am concerned because I feel like I just can't devote the time he deserves and I don't know what else to do because I want to help him but feel like its not in "my best interest"... I hate to be "selfish" but at the same time, I have graduate school and books to read and nutrition research to complete and need to work on my own life before helping someone else's.. right?

I mean her father just passed away last week, all of jacob's other therapists have left when they told her they would stay, she lost me at my "Work" ( the school I worked at, jacob goes there in the afternoons and I was his therapist but stopped once school started for me) so she got stuck with a new instructor who I tried to train but she didnt pick things up quickly...

How do I let his mom "down" easily? How do I help everyone else without compromising myself?

Curl Up and ...goodbye thursday

So after the vet and before dinner all I felt like doing was curling up and reading. I hardly ever have felt like that but I think it may have been the cloudy day or all the running around I did today! As soon as I started reading, I felt like baking ( another cloudy day fav). So I decided to read another 10 pages then cook!

Dinner:
Baked Chicken Breast

Baked Sweet Potato

"fried" Zuchinni

Delicious!

Since I had to bake the chicken and the potato, I decided to bake banana bread tonight too (utilize the energy on the oven heating up etc).

I used Veganomicon's recipe but changed it because I didn't have applesauce or molasses. I also hate washing dishes, so I try to just make it all in the loaf dish I use.

One Dish Veganomicon’s “ Low Fat Banana Bread”
Makes 1 loaf
3 very ripe bananas ( I can never wait until they are ripe enough)
1/4 cup organic no-sugar-added applesauce or today I used ¼ egg beaters b/c I had no applesauce
1/8 cup Smart Balance Oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 cups flour (I used white whole wheat and AP combo)
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1. Preheat the oven to 350. In loaf pan, pour 1/8 cup Oil and coat the pan by swirling. Peel bananas into dish and smash bananas til smooth ( I like it chunky) with a fork. Add the sugar, applesauce (or egg or yogurt), and syrup and stir well.
2. Sift in the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Mix until just combined (don’t overmix this).
3. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown

The "one dish" way hasn't failed me yet but if you feel like doing it "right" i.e with the extra dishes, you can do wet ingredients in one bowl, dry in the other then mix em all together in a bowl, then put it in the dish.


Body:
35 minutes elliptical

Mind: Read more of Slow Food Nation (SFN).. its all about the slow food movement, increasing sustainability, knowing where you food comes from, how it arrives to you, "good, clean, fair" ...

Soul: I finally got to the Farmer's Market, and finally took Jack to the Vet, and finally got to reading some of SFN AND baked banana bread and made a delicious dinner.

Farmer's Market!

I kept meaning to go to the Farmer's Market but tuesday's class inspired me to finally visit a specific farm stand at the market ( and I wanted to get some fresh veggies). It was fantastic to walk around and see what they had for Fall as well.

Lunch:

Salad and Leftover Pasta and an apple



Pre Vet Snack

Jack post-vet visit. He needed his shots and he had a wart on his head that got removed! Thank goodness because he looks so much cuter without it! He has been very itchy but she says its just allergies! His eyes look creepy! Maybe its from the meds they gave him!

Wednesday

Body:

1 hour 45 minute Walk with Andrea ( I can't wait, in 9 days she is getting married at the beach!! Jeff's brother, sister, mom and stepdad, and us are renting a house for the weekend/week!)

When I got home I did strength training: Abs, Back, Biceps, Quads. I did some rehab for my knee ( orthopedic appt. next week).

I also cleaned all the floors with some new Pledge products. They have supposed allergen trappers- so far they seem to work great!

Mind:

Not so present today- but that's the point is Balance right? Both body and soul were "heavy" today so I do not mind NOT reading a ton or researching etc. I did do two suduko puzzles and wrote down a list of things I needed to get done (see below)!

Soul:


Walking was soooooo fantastic because I could catch up with Andrea and get exercise and take in lovely scenery. We made a plan to do it again thursday!

I deposited a check at the bank, returned DVD's , rented another, mailed a thank you note, cleaned all the floors, washed the guest room stuff... emailed back to "Work " about returning, made a doctor's appointment, ordered the book Organic Inc for class-

I know these seem like small silly things... but I have been sitting on all of this , procrastinating and pushing it all aside, mostly because it wasn't "urgent" stuff. It truly felt GREAT to get all these little silly things taken care of because as they build up and up, it bogs me down because I havent "finished"them.

Woohoo!
( I couldnt find my camera anywhere, it was upstairs in its holder ( of course where it is supposed to be!)


Breakfast:
Waffles, Strawberry Flax! Delicious! Much moister than the blueberry!

Lunch: Salmon and Wrap and Salad

Dinner: We went out to get free apps. at this local place- which is no longer offering free aps! Ugh! I had a glass of pinot grigio, one big piece of pizza and three small wings.

Thursday Morning Breakfast!

This morning's GLORIOUS breakfast:

Frozen Blueberries
Frozen Mango
Frozen Half Banana
- Heated all that in the microwave in a bowl
-Then put all this in another bowl:Chobani Plain
Cereal: Kashi Heart to Heart and Blueberry Oat Cluster Ground Flax
1 tsp Peanut Butter
Then I threw it all together!

Delicious, with Green Tea!

Off to the gym and tons more of errands! ( Andrea couldnt walk again today but we have exciting plans for tomorrow night!

Tuesday Food

Breakfast!

Here is what I did- I took a 1/4 cup pumpkin, whisked with 1/2 cup egg whites, sprinkle cinnamon- Microwaved for 1.5 minutes ( not done)... Swished it around to half the bowl, then took the Quaker Simple Harvest, Honey Almond Instant Cereal packet (http://www.quakersimpleharvest.com/qsh_products/HotCereal/vanilla/index.cfm)
( delicious!) and mixed it with water ( you could do milk) and mixed it on the other side of the bowl. Microwaved for another 2 minutes + ( power on my microwave sucks so most people this would not take as long!) I topped it with a frozen banana and it thawed from the steam/heat of it. I added peanut butter too but you can't tell because of the colors! I added slices of a gala apple along the side to make a whole serving of fruit!


Lunch: I took a shot with all the products today for lunch below so you could see. I had a salmon burger, thawed then put it in my toaster oven for about 7 minutes ( these were a GREAT brand- i do NOT like trader joes brand- too rubbery- these were very much like salmon in the shape of a burger!), I put that on top of a flat-out light wrap ( sundried tomato basil) and topped with Tomato Pesto Goat Cheese.... Veggies on the side!

(today's lunch was the salmon in the salad and wrap on the side and the product shots )


Dinner:
Whole Wheat Spaghetti, 99% lean ground turkey, Barilla Tomato Sauce ! Some cheese, spinach and cauliflower steamed... ( for me I enjoyed this- but it was a little bland)
I needed something quick and easy because I stayed after class for a prospective student information session to be videotaped for our Online Program Info on the website- I will post a link if they put me online! I was SO nervous! But as a thank you for doing it, I got a gift card to Whole Foods! How awesome is that!

Photo Wrap Ups- The Lake

Trees at the lake, I am hoping to get enough of the same shot in all different seasons for a present for Nana....

Sunbathing Turtles! Jeff using the potty on the "big boat" .. KC his sister is driving!

Breakfast Sunday Morning... Banana and Peanut Butter, Half an english muffin!

Before sunrise on the lake ..Saturday Morning

Infamous Breakfast Sandwich and Jack's Butt so perfectly placed

Protein Bar

One Fish, Two Fish!

I caught five fish on Saturday, and Jeff held them for me so I could take the photos but many came out blurry cuz of the excitement and jack and being in a little boat. So here is one,
We released all of them except the big guy , which Jeff saved and he caught another huge one monday morning- so Nana fried them all up with potatoes on monday while I was home..

Jack Stabalizing himself in the john-boat

Good to Be Back

Hi Readers! I missed you! I missed writing also. I came back from the lake, lonely once again since Jeff stayed for a few days. I ultimately had a fantastic time, we went to see a play! Arsenic and Old Lace ( it was so much fun to do that while there, since we hardly ever go anywhere!).

I came home with lots of what I had packed, but I did eat a few of those bars which were crucial to keeping me feeling balanced. I have fall break from classes now and I am trying to set up a follow up orthopedic appointment for my knee. The half marathon I was going to do is a month away. This past month I have still had knee problems but tried to keep up with intensity for training.

I realized how important running is to me, and it just makes me love life, love myself, and makes me feel more like a productive member of society. Not that I care for society ideals, but I just love how I feel about myself after running.

I also have to make big decisions about working, going back to the school I taught at that threw me out the door when my knee initially hurt- or working privately for one of my students which will require flexible hours (nights after classes, weekends that I go away/train for marathons/spend with friends & family)... or maybe work for Bath and Body Works, same flexible hours but a cool discount and probably not as much mental pressure... or not work... ( no christmas presents this year!)

Moral dilema time= my retreat into a cocoon like state.

I am trying very hard though to make the best decision I can, and I did have a "Get Organized" day yesterday before class and running...

Accomplishments:
- Bagged up the last 2 years of Magazine Subscriptions ( Shape, Marie Claire, Fitness) and will give them away or throw them out.
- that let me take a bookshelf into our "study/guest room" so that I could organize my school materials for fall
- Organized bills and health ins. stuff into a filer thing
-Cleaned out another box of clothes


Body:

Monday: Run 1 mile, Biked 6 miles, Strength: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

Tuesday: Run 6.4 miles, the first four miles were at 8:15 min/mile and the last 2 were at 7:30 min/mile... jogged easy the last 0.4

WOOOHOO!


Mind: fall break from classes
I need to read "Slow Food Nation" , entirely, and also buy and start "Organic, Inc." I also have to do research on the four projects I have due this semester!
#1: Yogurt
#2: Hyperglycemia, Insulin Signal Transduction and mRNA role in GLUT4 transporters
#3: Interviews on College Food Choices
#4: Native American Health Risks from Reservation Environments

Soul:
Organization, productivity, running, watching movies, cleaning, laundry, walking, fishing,