Saturday

Body:
Planning a trip to the gym, nice and easy though because the race on thursday morning really took it out of me! I am also hoping to get in some shopping if it is not too crazy out there.

Mind:
Working on the conclusion of my Metabolism paper which is due on monday. I have a final on tuesday but not sure if its something I am supposed to study for- we are going out to a diner that uses local organic foods - it cost me $40 - but I'm not sure how to study for that ? We will probably have to do a conclusion paper or something. I am planning to work a little on my paper due wednesday today or tomorrow and luckily, my research analysis is not due until friday!

Soul:
I did not go black friday shopping as I used to every year with my sister or mom. I was hoping too shop for fun but it seems like it would just be much more of a hassle, all the traffic, lines, people ( probably sick with "cough due to cold")

Jeff went to the football game to tailgate with family and friends- I was supposed to go but I just did not feel up to being outside in the cold all morning on top of that nothing alcoholic seemed appealing to me either- I was loving the idea of going to the football game- we actually had tickets- but not the reality of going. Does that make sense?

I hope they win, but I am sure I will enjoy my gym trip, some shopping, some me time.

...and then there was Pie

After we ate, we all did the dishes, sat by the bonfire outside, and then I came in to rest b/c I was exhausted!
and then I saw... the pies! 5 kinds, two apple, pecan pie, pumpkin pie and the best ever Banana Pudding Pie... it was exactly like banana pudding in the form of a pie- with a nilla wafer crust... I had a small slice of all except pumpkin

I slept for over 12 hours! I was soooo tired from all the exercise and knew I needed the sleep- otherwise I would have been up shopping with K C Mo at 6 am.

... it is tradition to have pie for breakfast the next day at Jeff's mom's. So My Black Friday Breakfast
Grapes, Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, and Banana Cream Pie ( fruit and veggies right)
I am not a "crust" fan- so for that apple pie I just ate the filling- Delicious!

 
 

I had some coffee as well and we came home I made a nice little snack to keep my metabolism up and going after that big huge "plug" of delicious dinner and pie last night.

Nonfat greek yogurt, cranberry relish, and some banana with flax butter- Up close

This relish is the best thing ever! so glad its a family recipe! 

Turkey Trot!

 
The morning air was SO cold!! Temperature at 8:30 am race start was 35* !!! I had to take my inhaler a couple times at mile 2 then again at the end of the hill series ( about mile 3) - THOSE HILLS WERE SOOOO HARD!!  The first two miles were the same as the last two but at a slight downhill slope to begin, then obviously slight incline the last two. The middle is what crushed me! I ran the first "Up down up down" then stopped and walked up then jogged down then had to walk up , jogged up down walked half way up then jogged the rest of the hill back up to the main 2 miles. I stopped again for water and mile 4 I just went all out- I wanted to pass every girl that I saw because I figured that was one more person I could get ahead of in my age group! I walked over 3 minutes ( I kept time on my ipod - I watched it for 1 minute during those hill times) . I finished 5.11 miles at 42 minutes 36 seconds!

I am very proud of that because with walking, I RAN faster than my overall pace 8:40 min/mile because that is based on the total time and I stopped/walked parts! Plus, I haven't been running for two-three weeks b/c of the respiratory infection- so super happy with my time! Woohoo! I am hoping now to work on that 3 minute stopping time so that I can cut the 3 minutes down for next race!  

Here was my pre-run breakfast: banana bread, lots of banana, some non-fat yogurt for a little protein, some peanut butter and pumpkin butter

 
I have to say I was hoping it would be great fuel- lots of carbs, a little protein, a little fat- I think it was fine especially with my performance. But, I did get a weird knot- I was burping up all the garlic and pine nuts from the pasta the night before( *note- no garlic and pine nuts the night before my next race!)

The best part: My mom, dad, brother and his girlfriend and Jeff all got to see me run!

After I cooled down my mom and i jetted over to Jeff's hockey game to watch him play...

Then we jetted back to the house to shower and head over to Jeff's parents for turkey day!
 
Once there we had some quick nibbles ( two whole wheat crackers, some dip, I had four squares of that cheese, and three olives total, green pepper strips, cucumber and celery, those two little pastry puffs were filled with bacon, cream cheese and some kind of jalepeno)
Everyone played a long game of cards and I helped make the corn casserole and then we played football!!!!

My legs were SO dead by the end of our game! Jeff and I played against his brother and friend- We each scored two touchdowns but Jeff's brother won ( It was totally because i couldn't run around anymore)..Dinner was of course fantastic afterwards

Here is the Table:

19.4 lb Turkey

My mother's cranberry relish ( SOOOO GOOD! fresh cranberries, pineapple, some oj,  a little sugar )
Butternut Squash
Mashed Potatoes
Jeff's stepdad made Rolls
Stuffing ( at the bottom )
Homemade Green Bean Casserole ( fresh mushrooms, fresh green beans, cream, butter, etc etc)
A family friend brought sweet potatoes with apples and cinnamon- yum!

And my ginormous plate:

I was soooo hungry! Butternut squash, cranberry relish, Turkey on top ( there was a roll that I ended up not eating under neath), Sweet Potato bits, corn casserole, green bean casserole.

I didn't quite finish the corn, butternut squash, the roll or the turkey but it was all delicious!

Jeff's mom tells this hilarious story every year and his brother and I decided to record it this year! Jeff's mom's mom (she turned 90 this year!) was there too, she had 8 kids ( so Jeff has 16 aunts/uncles!) - she is so hilarious too - you can hear her at the beginning of the video...
The video is in two parts and I am trying to figuring out how to add it on here- SO FUNNY!

Thanksgiving Eve Photos!

  

Breakfast:

Smoothie and Banana Bread with Flaxseed

Lunch 1: unpictured Zone Chocolate Almond Raisin Bar

Lunch 2: Tropical Oats

Oatmeal with Pineapples, Banana, Coconut and Peanut Butter

and then there was ... Dinner

To start (photo courtesy of my amazingly talented oldest brother):

Pomegranate and Arugula Salad: with toasted pecans and goat cheese ( and a decent honey balsamic vinegarette though I'm not a fan)

Big slice of yummy bread with rosemary and salt

Glass of Chianti

Entree: Mediterranean Primavera:
 

Angel Hair Pasta, ( I added grilled chicken), garlic, olive oil, oven roasted tomatoes, spinach, feta, PINE NUTS!, and caramelized onions ( I totally did not taste or see them). I barely ate a 1/4 of this. I tried so hard, I was all about carbo-loading and I ate almost all the spinach and got the pasta and was stuffed!

Here is Jeff's dish, which was a grilled pork chop with sweet potato lasagna?... it was layers of sweet potato with creamy cheese layers in between- it was delicious and gone in two seconds

Desserrrrrttttt...Cmon extra carbs when I know I will use them up tomorrow- Count this lady in yall! (my mom also got one to split with my dad but this baby was all mine... )

So yes, I was full but had a delicious bite and packed it up for home along with my leftover entree.
My Tiramisu

My brother's girlfriend Rachel got this brownie- It looks amazing!
 

Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting The Absolute Star of The Desserts:
Banana Brioche Pudding ( which Jeff picked and I immediately wanted!)
 

Body:
Rested up for my big 8k Turkey Trot to benefit The National MS Society tomorrow morning!!! Race starts at 8:30 am, 5.11 miles.
K C Mo is no longer able to run with me, she had some asthma-like problems on a run early in the week ( as I have had too all week!)
So I will be running solo with my newly uploaded ipod with Britney Womanizer, Jason Mraz I'm Yours, Pink So What and Kate Perry's Hot n Cold

However, I mentioned a guest post by K C Mo and she seemed to like the idea- so any time K C Mo I love you! That goes for you too Missy Mo!

WOOOHOO!! I am really nervous and scared and worried and excited and pumped all at the same time!

Mind:
Metabolism PAPER IS DONE! ( okay well not completely b/c of library closing, however, I just have to write a conclusion- sum up the ideas I already wrote- so no worries there). I can post it on here? any naysayers?

Soul:
Yah my parents! AND My brother and his girlfriend are coming to watch my race too. I feel so lucky to have family here with me these few days, that are baring the cold just to come out and support me... I hope my adrenaline gets pumpin for tomorrow because I want to run well for myself AND for them too! I want them to be proud, and I know they are, but still...

I am so excited to get a good workout in before Thanksgiving too! I bought a new dry-fit Nike long sleeve mock turtleneck to wear tomorrow to keep me warm and a dry-fit vest ... I bought a hat but I don't think I will wear it because I found the one I had that was similar ... now I have to find gloves before I go to sleep!

I hope you all have had safe travels or easy prep for visitors this week and have a wonderful thanksgiving!
GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE!

Bustle Hustle of Thanksgiving Eve

The library on campus closed at 12 ! Argh, I thought I would have until 1-2 but oh well, I finished everything for the paper except the conclusion because I had to leave.

I grabbed a zone bar for pre-shopping lunch- picked up my race packet, found some great running clothes for cold weather and then came home and cleaned the floors, did laundry, cleaned the kitchen , put away all kinds of stuff.

Tropical Oats

My post shopping lunch was a bowl of oats with pineapple, coconut and banana.

Now its off to dinner with my parents! Hooray they are finally here! We are going to this delicious italian restaurant!

Thanksgiving Eve

I uploaded (downloaded?) my ipod with new songs so I couldn't download the pictures from breakfast-

I had a delicious Banana, Strawberry Pineapple smoothie
1.5 cups organic 1% milk
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1 large banana
1 scoop protein powder (chocolate)
1 teaspoon peanut butter

And I had a slice of banana bread with some added flaxseed!
( I will download photos whenever I get home to clean!)

Today's To-Do List :
I am off to campus to finish up my Metabolism Paper
Maybe get some work done on the other papers/research projects I have
Some shopping ( a running shirt for cold weather)
Pick up my 8k Turkey Trot race packet
Clean Up the house a little
My parents arrive this afternoon
Dinner with Jeff, my parents and my brother and his girlfriend

Discussions Topic: Ways to Conquer Bingeing

So I have had friends that have dealth with over-eating, binge-eating disorder, etc. I would love to work with people with eating disorders someday, and I thought this would be a helpful post for anyone that may be interested.

I know with Thanksgiving less than two days away, lots of people are travelling or at home expecting lots of food, family, and travelling. For me, this is usually a source of stress for several reasons. It is always a struggle for many to view food as fuel, eat to nourish yourself and socialize to nourish relationships- To be in a situation such as holiday eating, throwing that out the window, "endulging" without guilt associated can be quite difficult for many people.

Focusing on getting to know your family, catching up with the people you may not get to see so often, meal preparation and how fun it can be to "get in the kitchen" with the family can be more rewarding than gobbling up enormous amounts of food.

I usually try to eat what my favorites are so that I fill up on what I truly want instead of just a bunch of food for the sake of its availability. As in, you end up with piles of mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole but you don't really like potatoes. Three quick tips for healthy holiday eating:

1. eat favorites first
2. never deprive yourself
3. don't go overboard - enjoy everything that the holiday is about, not just the food!

There WILL be leftovers, there WILL be another opportunity to eat, you CAN try something and NOT like it and NOT eat the rest of it.

You do not need to clean your plate to be a successful person, you do not need to please people by eating the food they made.

Below is my adapted version of a post from the amazing, inspiring Seeleelive over at For the Love of Peanut Butter ( on my blog list! ) I wanted to add some more tips that I think are very helpful to conquer bingeing behavior. I truly feel that a resource like this list should be available as much as possible, everywhere, anywhere, it can only mean thereis a better chance someone who needs it will read it.

THINGS TO DO INSTEAD OF BINGEING: IMMEDIATE

• Call a safe friend and explain your problem.
  “Safe” can have different meanings for everyone. There are people in your life that are fantastic people, great shopping buddies, fun going-out pals. But that does not mean they would be the right person to support you at this time.

These are examples of NON SAFE:

• a person that would say “I can’t believe you ate that much, I know you were working hard, I wish you wouldn’t have…” (defaulting blame onto you)
• a person that automatically gives advice “ You should throw out all your food, You should run off all the calories, You need some serious help” (while they are trying to help, they are only making judgements, which are not helpful)
• These people may be great friends to hang out with for shopping but they are not the people that can help you get through a binge.
  

Examples of SAFE:

• A person that does not avoid phone calls, that will answer your call when you need them and listen to what you have to say without placing judgement or their suggestions on you
  
• A person that has recovered from an eating disorder and has offered to help others should they need it
  
• A therapist you trust
  
• A non-objective friend or relative that you trust

More Immediate Tips:

• Postpone the beinge for 15 minutes. Set your timer. Brush your teeth. Do your nails…Clean the bathroom toliet, kitchen floor, garbage etc.
• Remove the binge food or Remove yourself from the situation.
• In panic situations, relax with deep breathing on the spot. Then think it through. What are you feeling? Can you handle what is going on? Are you safe?
  
• Leave the environment that is encouraging the binge- go to the bathroom, take a walk around the shops, office, sit in your car, get out of your car- leave that toxic environment if only for a few minutes to boost your self-esteem, reset your mind!
• Get your mind on something else. Turn on the radio, check the weather, do a load of laundry, play a game of cards, play Suduko!
• Get some physical activitiy. Punch a boxing bag or scream into the pillow. Beat your bed with a tenis racquet. Tear up useless catologues. Give your body healthy expression!
  Crying can be a great release.
• Write in your journal or tape record your thoughts. Think: what is the pay off to this binge? What will I achieve? Say out loud to yourself: THE ANSWER IS NOT IN ...THIS (BAG OF CHIPS)
• List the foods you are fantasizing about, tear up the piece of paper, then seal the pieces in an envelope and throw it away.
• Create panic cards with step-by-step directions on what to do in difficult situations.
• Stop yourself in the middle of a binge. This may seem impossible, but it can be a very powerful accomplishment. Breathe peace into your body.
• Stop yourself and idenitify your REAL hunger. Write down your most spontaneous answers. These are your legitmate wants and needs. Often we try to fill the emptiness from the wants and needs with food, find what you are really “hungry for”
  Are you hungry for love? Find something like a pet or someone you can love ( doesn't have to be a boyfriend/girlfriend, how about an elderly person at a nursing home, a terminally-ill child, maybe someone at a homeless shelter).
• Improve yourself and love yourself so that others can love you more fully.
  
• Are you stressed out? Will eating that cake take away the deadlines, bills, lack of appreciation or only delay it longer and make everything worse?
  
• Are you giving more of yourself than you want? Give back to yourself in ways you need it- NOT FOOD- give yourself attention as in a new haircut, a magazine subscription, exercise, manicure, a bath, meditation time
  
• Are you not challenging yourself? Are you bored? Challenge yourself with more work, new work, new activity, new situations- challenging yourself to eat plates of food is not going to make you feel like you achieved anything but stomach pains and weight gain.
  

THINGS TO DO INSTEAD OF BINGEGING: SHORT TERM

• Pamper yourself: get a manicure, a facial, a massage, new clothes, a hot bath. Take care of your body: don’t abuse it! You only have one body in this lifetime, reminding yourself that your body is a temple and should be treated with the best nutrients can often help.
• Relax with yoga, meditation, or another technique. Let your mind be still and your emotions calm.
• Cultivate more friends who are sensitive, compassionate, and capable of uplifting you. Sometimes it is good to talk to someone who has worked at overcoming an eating disorder
• Give yourself permission to eat what you crave. Eat what your body needs and wants, not what you want to shove into it to avoid something else. If the food is a trigger and has a high probablity of setting off a binge, avoid it until you can feel 95% safe that you will not binge afterward.
• If you really want to eat something that may trigger a binge, or know you will be in a situation that “requires” it ( think work party or a food oriented get together) do it with a capable support person who understands your goal is to increase self-awareness, and not to binge.
• Talk to your family members about your childhood. Work towards healing issues that are rooted in resentment, anger, etc.
• Eat what is considered “healthy and normal”. When you are hungry, think “Would a healthy-minded, normal person eat this?”
• Go to a cultural activity. Check out your local free newspapers for happenings, you can check out your city website for events also.
• Make lists about your life-values, beliefs, accomplishments, dislikes, needs, and priorities.
• Practice saying NO to others. It is your fundamental human right! It also gets easier with practice. You are the one who knows your own limits and boundaries. Be assertive.
• Get busy with a project after eating a normal, healthy meal. Collaging, crafting, reading, writing, anything that you can enjoy and be engaged in while your body digests its fuel.

THINGS TO DO INSTEAD OF BINGEING: LONG TERM'

• Begin a long-term journey:
  Focus on those areas of hunger from the immediate list and short term lists- add to them and expand on them.
• Get involved in volunteer work, helping others will help you feel better about yourself. Feeling better about yourself will decrease the chance of bingeing
• Learn something new. A foreign language. CPR First aid. Musical Instrument. Painting. Clay- Pottery Making. Writing. Yoga. Dance. Intramural Sports. Knitting. Crafting. Scrapbooking. Photography. Blog Writing! Home Improvement- rewiring electricity, interior design, feng shui. Pilates. Power Walking.
• Think about what you can spend your money on, other than binge foods. Spend it, expand on your interests because the more you spend on other interests the less you have to spend on binge food- be careful though- don’t go bankrupt!
• Read, magazines, research articles, internet sites, browse stores online for more ideas that can foster a healthy relationship with something OTHER than food!
• Buy a pet! Taking care of a pet can be very challenging but very rewarding. Make sure you research prior to choosing a pet.

Study Snack! I could feel my blood glucose dropping as I was writing about ... blood glucose! How odd!
I haven't had one of these in what, two months? So yummy!

Dinner!
Jeff made me egg whites (2) with crumbled turkey sausage and cut up fresh bell peppers. I had some inside a mini whole wheat trader joes tortilla (deliciously chewey and only 50 kcal!) and a scoop of cottage cheese (friendship- i like their whipped better but cant find it anywhere) to cool off all the hot sauce i squirted everywhere.. This was only about 200 calories, so I was happy knowing I was making..

Banana Bread! Dessert- a slice with pumpkin butter and cottage cheese.

It totally does not look fantastic but it TASTES fantastic! I used an edited version of the Vegicomman (spelling?) Lower Fat Banana Bread...
Scrumptious

My paper is more than halfway complete, with references already read and in there too and I already know the second half of material I just need to get it in there! woohoo!

Savory Oats, Attempt #2 COMPLETE SUCCESS

Body:

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Can you tell I am excited? I ran 5.15 miles in 42 minutes!
It was hard, the first mile was easy - i was like this is so awesome this is so awesome- and then I started coughing and was thinking to myself "I can I can I can I can" every step of the way until the 5 mile mark.

Sigh... my quads are super sore from yesterday's lifting but I am fairly confident by thursday (rest day tomorrow) I will feel fine!

I am a little sore all over, just in that lovely " ooh we missed you exercise" kind of way.

Mind:
Heading to work on paper- metabolism paper only today- lots of reading and then writing- Hyperglycemia Cell Metabolism this is your warning, I will conquer you !


Soul:
I love running I love running fast I love running slow I love being able to run I love runner's high I love that my knee did not hurt one bit I love running

I am so excited for my parents to come here - It takes off SO much stress from me and I can relax and conquer the (world) I mean, metabolism paper.

Pre-Run Fuel:

English Muffin
Nonfat Cottage Cheese
Pumpkin Butter
Banana
Flaxseed Butter

Savory Oats Lunch:

In this order, I re-arranged from yesterday


3/4 cup Leek and Potato Soup
1/2 cup irish oats
Trader Joes Poultry Seasoning (which actually contains all healthy spices and no salt or chemicals!)

Heated up in the Microwave for 2 minutes..let cool while I seperately heated up 1/2 cup frozen spinach and broccoli. Drained out any excess water and added it to the oat soup... Added some chopped red pepper, parmesean and pork from last night

Heated it all up for another 1 minute...

YUMMMMM!

So I had an apple and pumpkin butter on the side but then since pork and apples go so nicely together- I threw in some apple into it to.




I would recommend this to anyone and everyone!

Brussel Sprouts and Bourbon Salmon

Body:

Biked 8 miles as a warm up

Then Strength Training:

Squats... 3 sets of 35 lbs

Leg Extensions... 3 sets of 10 lbs

Hamstring Curls..4 sets of 40 lbs

Chest Press...3 sets of 25 lbs

Tricep Extensions ( overhead and press-down) 4 sets of 18 lbs

Shoulders... bent over flys.. 4 sets 7.5 lb dumbells

Then Cardio: Elliptical 30 minutes (but I am going to run tomorrow!!)

Mind:
I was itching to get out of class today!! Argh! I like the professor but sometimes I feel so , well, un-challenged in my classes. I mean I understand that all these papers are tough work and everything i am doing is difficult, but during class I just feel so un-challenged. I would rather be working on my papers/presentations/projects.. you know, the good stuff!

I don't mind now because no class for the rest of the week!

I found tons of articles for my Metabolism paper and am really focusing on getting it "over with" in these next two days , So I can take my mind off of it and focus on the other two I need to work on!

I did work on my project today for Research Methods class ( the analysis of our interview) which will be fun to finish up!

Soul:
Woooohooo!I am so excited that I got to workout, finally, oh it feels heavenly!
I can't wait to find out which muscle groups are sore tomorrow! (in that good "oh you havent used me in a week" way)

I left class and discussed driving to my parents with my mom. I do NOT want to end up like two weeks ago, so stressed out with big projects due one after another. Driving out there tonight, working out there all day tomorrow and wednesday wouldn't exactly be fun for my mom (although she would love the company). And.... if I didn't get work done, then it would just build up stress on me. I like pressure, and deadlines but NOT stress.

So, my dad suggested they drive here so that they can watch my race on Thursday morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How perfect! He never is up to make the drive and they didn't get to see me run as planned for earlier this month AND that means I can run tomorrow morning, register and get my packet, Start/Finish a good draft for my metabolism paper and be able to fully enjoy their visit wednesday/thursday.

Plus, as if it could get any better right!?, my mom was mentioning on our shopping trip last weekend how much she feels isolated in their new house out in the middle of no where really. She is so used to "big" city living , Pittsburgh, Buffalo NY, Chicago... living in agriculture central is such an adjustment! I am so happy for her if they decide to come out here so she will have a chance to stop at stores etc. for a change!

Dinner:
I bought a piece of Bourbon Salmon from Fresh Market on the way home from campus. It was for sure not the best I have had by any means, but I have had worse. It did the trick for tonight but I highly doubt I will ever get it again from Fresh Market. Once home I threw brussel sprouts ( pre-washed, in a microwaveable bag from Trader Joes) into the microwave for 3 minutes. Dropped them onto my toaster oven pan , drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper- roasted for about 10 mintes. I also cooked creamy parmesean and herb rice ( uncle ben's all natural) as a side.
I LOVE brussel sprouts this way- I seriously could just eat the whole bag myself.


So the not so good stuff- I bought a piece of cooked rosemary pork for Jeff - since I am not a fan of pork and he is not a fan of salmon- and I found a hair in it when I got home to plate. totally not mine at all- super long and black... EW! And she overcharged me at 1.4 lbs and 8.99 a pound, it was $17 for the pork... Argh! I also noticed while at Fresh Market, there is NO organic produce- and NO local produce... How is it "Fresh"????? if everything is imported from places like italy and california it can't possibly be fresh, and since none of it is organic- its all pumped up with hormones- How is that Fresh? I , for one, am not a happy camper about Fresh Market.

Anyone work for Fresh Market or care to chyme in on Fresh Market ?

Savory Oats Attempt #1

Lunch

So I have no idea what's "wrong" with me but I am totally super craving Vegetables and Fruit! I came home from a fantastic workout and wanted vegetables, protein and some whole grains... really.. that is what i was craving!

I put frozen broccoli and spinach into a bowl and heated it up for about 2 minutes in the microwave. I really did think to myself, okay so what about protein and grains? protein- eggs. grains... hmmm.. oats... But How?

I went into the fridge, pulled out the organic potato and leek soup, parmesean cheese and cage free egg whites. I added about 1/2 cup of soup to the broccoli and spinach ( yah more veggies!) and then added 1/2 cup of irish style oats .... Great! A liquid for my oats to soak up! So then I topped it with 1/2 cup of egg whites ( TJ cage free in a carton) and Mixed it all really well...
Sprinkled with Poultry Season ( hooray for turkey day)and microwaved for another 5 minutes. Sprinkled it all with lots of Parmesean, a little salt and pepper-

Prior to microwaving...After sprinkling with lots of cheese....... yummmmmmm
It was definately something I never have made before or heard of or seen. This soup was an excellent liquid for oats rather than water or milk if you are aiming for savory oats! The texture was like a casserole, but only all super healthy ingredients! ( okay okay the parm cheese and poultry seasoning aren't the epitome of health but not all that bad either...)

I liked it enough to want to make it again- Stay tuned for future versions!

Monday!

Body:
Heading to the gym right now (8:08am), I am prepping myself for early workouts since I will be running tomorrow morning and then thursday morning at 8 am is the 8k Turkey Trot!

Mind:
Early workout means I can spend most of the day getting my metabolism paper started!

Soul:
I have hated being unable to workout. I love movement, and exercise. It is such a big part of my life that being sick was a double negative because I was forced to rest for a week - I know it sounds silly to most people. When your body adjusts to running 10-13 miles in a workout though, NOT exercising is just as hard on top of feeling crappy.

I am planning on leaving class about 5:00-5:30 so that I can head out to my parents, however, if I have to stay for the whole class- I am not sure if I would head out at night- which will mean I head to campus to run then drive out to my parents tomorrow.

Breakfast:
I decided on this banana just to fuel my workout at first, but then realized I HATE eating two breakfasts- I won't be hungry for lunch and then i have to eat late... etc. So I had a Thomas' Light high fiber English muffin ( Thanks Melissa!! She gave us an extra bag of them) with pumpkin butter and Nonfat greek yogurt (plain) but I added frozen blueberries to it last night..

Happy Monday to All!!!

Sunday Funday

Body:
I rested after we got home and I felt SO excited about monday morning and going to workout!

Mind:
So I read through several articles and have a few more sources/direction for my metabolism paper- Good news.. it only has to be 6 pages!!! So I really can focus on one particular topic- not sure if I want to do increased insulin resistence in skeletal muscle or Beta cell failure. ( which gradually gets worse and thus increases insulin resistence) . I think I might do both, but either way I feel much better about getting that done in a week and getting my other paper done in a few days, and getting my project analyzed for Dec. 5th.
Wow.

Soul:
Jeff looked over at me about 8:30 and declared that he wanted cookies ( we had been seeing cookie commercials on TV). So we both went into the kitchen to figure out what kind we could make.

We decided on blondies and we worked together so perfectly! It was so sweet and fun- This is him pouring the batter into the pan...

The Final Dish
mine with pumpkin butterI suggested I make salads to go with the cookies because I truly wanted a veggie-full salad after all that fried fish at lunch...

Best Salad Ever! Fresh bell pepper, a pickle, TJ American mix with romaine, carrots and raddichio (you can't see the edamame and egg whites for protein)

This was such a WONDERFUL Day! The fish we caught, baking blondies together, and after this we watched a movie together ( Jeff recorded it so we could watch it together from the beginning)
Transporter 2... it was pretty good and I havent even seen the first one... apparently there will be a third!

Photo Wrap Up (of the Lake)

I can't wait to show everyone pictures of our fishing.. but first,

Sherry by the fire on Saturday evening

Nana's Thanksgiving Dinner: Duck La`Ronge, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, Peas, Parsnips and I brought a Pinot Grigio- Venetian Moon ( at Trader Joes)...
I love her sweet potato casserole, I had that as my dessert because it was SOO delicious!

Pre Fishing Breakfast (unpictured) Banana and Peanut butter...

Both Jeff and I had on three pairs of pants, and three sweater/sweatshirts! It was FREEZING!
We had been fishing a long time when all of a sudden Jeff says "I caught one! And Jack has a hook in his leg!" So I helped Jack while Jeff reeled in his striper ( striped bass) and we called Nana to tell her we had "lunch" if she wanted it... There is his first, 22 .5 inches

And then we were on our way back slowly because we both said we have a feeling like we are going to catch more... sure enough about 30 seconds after we said that to each other- My arm nearly got taken off AND Jeff had one on his too . Both of us at the SAME TIME!! Here is mine: I am giving mine a pretend kiss! 23 inches!

Here is Jeff with his first (right) and second (left)

We took all three back to Nana's and had a big ol fish fry.... fish and chips with vinegar (of course!)

We are back home and Jeff's football team won yesterday against their biggest rival- not only did they win- they KICKED BUTT!
We kicked butt on fishing too- That was the most fish we have ever come home with at one time, especially stripers too!

Body:
I am feeling much much better, but not sure if I can workout yet. I know I want to run on tuesday, probably out at my mom's and then run the race on Thursday. As long as this congestion goes away, I will be good to go!

Mind:
So much work to do for school, I may run up to campus for a few hours
-Metabolism Paper
-Research Methods Assignment
-Minority Health Reflection Paper

Soul:
I caught a big fish! I caught a big fish! And Jeff caught 2 big fish!!! Wow! I finally feel better thanks to this medicine and I am either going to see my mom and dad or my brother- so either way it will be a great week. I am going to try to leave tomorrow from class so that I can get up early and run at my parent's on tuesday morning. That way I can also get a good nights rest and work on my paper tuesday and wednesday, then head back to raleigh wednesday night. I love running and can't wait to get out there again!