One Hundred

It was my workout of choice for the day.

A workout that my body was in desperate need of.

It has been driving me absolutely crazy that I cannot seem to get back in to a good routine.  I start the week with great intentions and then seem to come up with an excuse every day...

Weather, fatigue, working late, fatigue, the gym is too crowded, and the most common.... It's too cold to get out of bed so I should just go back to sleep.

But I rallied myself today.  I ALWAYS feel better after a workout and I just kept telling myself that as I set up my make shift gym.

I decided to go with the "One Hundred Workout".

And luckily, we have just about every thing that I need to perform every part of it at home!

I even embraced the 60 degree weather ( My sis had to embrace negative 43 today!!!) and did most of the workout outside.

100 jumping jacks is the PERFECT way to warm a person up!

My "gym" consisted of a mat, an exercise ball ( for crunches), boxing gloves, a jump rope, a punching bag, and our back yard "track".

And, of course, good music!! My Ipod is the most important piece of equipment!

After the jacks I did:

90 crunches ( with multiple rest breaks!  OW!)
80 walking lunges across the back yard
70 leg lifts ( to work my lower abs)
60 jacks
50 crunches
40 walking lunges
30 leg lifts
20 jacks
and 10 minutes of boxing the heck out of the bag.

I also ran one random lap around my back yard and ran to and from the garage when necessary.

It was bananas.

What was Kev doing during this crazy display of workout insanity?

He was picking up pine cones and blowing the drive way and cleaning the pool and every other ridiculous chore that takes up the majority of his day off.

At least he had some entertainment.

And other than the fact that it hurts to laugh right now ( holy abs!), it was really a lot of fun and a great way to get re-motivated.

I WILL stick to the program this week!  I'm not going to give myself an option.  :)

I continued to brave the outdoors for my lunch.  I figured that I was already so hot and sweaty that the "cold" wouldn't bother me.  ( It kills me that I've become so cold natured!)

But I was wrong.  I was literally shivering about half way through my lunch.

So annoying.  Especially to my Alaskan sister.

Cleaning and unboxing and organizing and taking the trash filled the rest of my day.

Dinner was stuffed peppers.  And the one on the left might possibly be the biggest one I've ever seen.

I filled Kev's with brown rice, ground beef, cheddar cheese, corn, jalapeno, onion, and green onions.

Mine was all of the above MINUS the beef and cheese.

Baked at 375 for 40 minutes.

They were o.k. by themselves but better with hot sauce poured all over them.  And I realized that I forgot to put black beans in mine - so, I through in some leftover edamame for protein.

By the way, I'm loving our grocery bill this month!  When only one person is eating meat and dairy, $$ stays in the bank.

Here's to another successful week of the cleanse!  Today started my third week.



Winner Winner Chicken Dinner



It was another great day!

For cleaning and cooking and crock pots!

I feel like we are still celebrating Christmas around here.  Every box we open comes with a surprise, a story, a laugh, or a question of why the heck do we have this.

Good times.  I tell ya.  Good times.

We started off our day with a hot breakfast.

Eggs- in- a- hole for him.

 Eggs on Ezekiel bread for me + a grapefruit!

 Kev had asked me in advance for that breakfast... and in fear of it diminishing my supply of eggs... I went out and bought two more dozen.

Two more dozen. ( We already had two dozen in the fridge)  For a recipe that called for TWO eggs.

He noticed it right away and called me out on it.

He knows me too well.

I just can't stand the thought of running out of eggs!!

Right after breakfast, I started on dinner.  It was another crock pot recipe from Real Simple ( Feb 2012).  It was the one featured on the cover..

 Chicken Pot Pie.

 It cooked for eight hours.... while we were being busy bees.  And then just when we finished and got cleaned up... dinner was served.

I only had to cut a sheet of puff pastry and bake the squares for 10 minutes.

 The finished "pie".

 All together now...

I enjoyed another delicious black bean burger with lots of veggies on the side.

Now, Kev has BBQ and chicken pot pie to keep him full over the next couple of days.

And I have no excuse not to get to the gym at night!  I have a 5K coming up in three weeks and I haven't run in forever!  Not to mention that I'm itching to try out my Garmin that I got for Christmas.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Productive

It is such a great feeling!

This weekend off has been very successful so far - successful in crossing "to-dos" off my list.

The day started off with a thunderstorm.  And the need for me to put my boots on to run out to the postal carrier to retrieve a package....

 I have never met her before - and she is probably hoping that she will never have to meet me again.

PJ bottoms, cowboy boots, a giant sweatshirt, ball cap, and smudged mascara.

It's called "working from home" fashion and I'm not ashamed of it.

In fact, I stayed in the outfit - including boots!- until 8PM this evening.

My boots help me to focus.

I begin my chores in the kitchen.  It was so nice to have time to focus on preparing meals for the week.

I got an easy and awesome ( according to Kev) recipe out of the latest Real Simple magazine.  I tried to find a link to it - but couldn't.  You will just have to go out and buy it.  I broke down and got a subscription because I love the magazine so much.  Organizing, Decorating, Fashion, and most of all... the recipes.  They are usually pretty simple and healthy - or can be made healthy. 

And so far they have all been winners.

Crock Pot Pork BBQ was on the agenda today.

 I chopped the onions, threw in the other ingredients and covered the meat. 

Crock pots are pretty awesome!

Then I made some broccoli slaw to go with it.  I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream to make it acceptable for my cleanse.

Next I made the BEST black bean burgers EVER...  By Emily at The Daily Garnish.

 I've written about them before - they are seriously so good and easy!  A food processor is all you need... and voila! you will have six meals worth.

Thank goodness I don't get sick of eating the same thing over and over and over!

I also made a Detox Salad from Oh She Glows.  But haven't taken a picture of it yet.  It will also be eaten for multiple meals.

After cleaning the kitchen, I did three loads of laundry, cleaned my closet, and FINALLY finished unpacking every last box in the attic!!

The attic is still not complete - but it is SO much better.  At least we know what all we have and where it is.

Our upstairs inventory is pretty interesting, random, crazy, and weird.  Which I guess pretty much describes the two of us.  :)

Then it was finally time to eat!  The house smelled so good all day.

 Kev's sandwich.  BBQ + marinated onions + pickles.

 My black bean burger on an Ezekiel bun with broccoli slaw...

 + spinach + romaine + tomatoes + mustard.

It was incredible!! The best meal I've had all week!

Speaking of my meals... I realized that some of you might not know about or remember my cleanse last year.  So, I feel it necessary to tell you what I am not eating in addition to taking the supplements.

Which will explain why I am not eating the same meals as Kev.

I have cut out:
-caffeine
-dairy ( with the exception of one cup of plain Green yogurt a day)
-processed foods
-alcohol
-refined sugar
I have also decided to cut out meat this time around.  The cleanse definitely suggests cutting out red meat and eating organic chicken - but I'm attempting to go meat free this month.

I've just completed one week and so far so good....  even though I have had some major cravings ( pizza!!) .  It usually takes my body a week to adjust and then it becomes a routine.

And now it is time to check some shows off of my DVR list.  I feel like it is never ending.

Loving and Not Loving

Things I am LOVING right now.....

1.  Grapefruit!

I had not had grapefruit in sooo long.  At least until the day after Christmas.  I bought ONE to share with Kev as a side to our breakfast casserole.  I wanted to recreate our tradition as best as I could since we were not eating at my parent's for Christmas breakfast. 

Growing up, we would eat the grapefruit "old school" style.  Meaning in bowl form.  My Dad would cut around each little section so we would easily be able to scoop it out.  But due to the fact that my Dad was not at our house that morning and my inability to prepare a grapefruit without butchering it, I decided to cut it in to wedges.

Thus began my new obsession.  ( I just got home with 10lbs. worth!)

I have since had one to eat every day.  It is the perfect accompaniment to salty eggs and toast.  And I do not remember grapefruits EVER tasting as good and juicy as they do right now.  I used to eat them because it made me feel like a grown up and it was fun.

Now I eat them because they are scrumptious!

2.  Cleansing my attic!!!

This was my SECOND truck full ( the inside of the truck is packed, too!) of the day.  ALL TRASH!! Can you believe it?  ( And yes, I tied down the tarp by myself - Holla!)

And I have another truck full to go to Good Will tomorrow. 

My attic is thanking me right now.

My sore, grimy body is not.

3.  Coconut Water.

My favorite sparkling water - La Croix - has come out with a coconut version!  Every sip makes me think of a beach vacation - especially because it tastes amazing in a Skinny Girl Pina Colada ( in place of the coconut milk).

I had heard rumors on line that it had  been seen in stores.  I searched and searched and told every one that I knew.

Chelsea actually found me a case and gave it to me for Christmas.  I have yet to see it in stores even though I look every single time that I go.

Chelsea must be magic.

Things that I am NOT LOVING right now....

1.  My beloved Cinnamon Hill is closing for business.  Even though the beautiful home has changed owners multiple times - these owners were my favorite.  I am so sad for them.  And sad that my Mom and I won't have a special place to eat lunch.

I guess we will just have to see what the future holds...

2.  My newly discovered cold natured body!! I have always been hot natured.  ALWAYS.  Never wearing coats.  Sweating in the snow. Sleeping without blankets ( except for one on my head).  And now I am just chilled to the bone every second.  Does this have something to do with age?? Do you become cold natured to make you more grateful for the hot flashes?

I think of my siblings and their families that are living in the coldest of cold places on Earth... and I know that I could never handle it.

Meat seems to be the only thing that gives me the sweats these days.  And meat is one of the things that I am doing without for my cleanse.

Thank goodness Kev doesn't mind me sleeping in a burrito consisting of a winter coat, socks, gloves, and a doubled up down comforter.... with the heat in my mattress on full blast.

3.   Hmmm.  Well, I can't think of a third one.  Except for maybe my lack of working out... but that will all be remedied next week.  Because it just has to be!  Other than that, I'm loving just about everything right now.

Life is good.

Decluttering

We are in the midst of "The Great Decluttering of 2012".

And if you are in to that kind of thing... then it is just as fun as it sounds.

I actually love cleaning things out and reorganizing and throwing things away.

Which means our house is in a little bit of disarray right now.

I've never been a good one for focusing on only one task until it is complete.  It is the multi-tasker in me.  Five projects at once... now, that's more like it.

Our main project is the attic... which I've told you about.  It seems that we never finished unpacking when we moved in - and are having a delightful time rediscovering some treasures.

Then there is the kitchen.  The guest bedroom.  The closet.  And me.

Surprisingly, I'm the easiest project.  Because of my trusty cleanse.

Welcome home, Cleanse Smart.  It is so good to see you again!

I'm sure you remember that I did this same cleanse last year and achieved great results.  I truly felt amazing and was able to get back on track with healthy eating/living.

I figured why not do it again.  And start the year of right.

It seemed easier than finishing my resolutions.

Which, by the way, I've decided to give myself until January 31st.  If February 1st starts the new year of retail... then it is probably best for me to be on the same schedule as well.

I am giving myself 30 days to finish the house projects because that is the length of time for the cleanse.  Then I will begin anxiously awaiting the Spring weather and all of the hot sunshine that comes with it!

Remind me that I said that in the middle of summer when all I can think about is scarves and boots and fireplace fires....and cold weather.

And now I'm off to clean out my car.  We are trading vehicles tomorrow so I can take a ton of stuff to Good Will and the dump.

Kev + dirty cars do not mix!

We hope you have a great weekend!

Paint and Pour

A night out with a friend + paint + wine = the perfect way to spend a Tuesday! 

Or any night for that matter.

I've been hearing about these fun events for a couple of months now.. so when a Groupon popped up for a "paint and pour" - I was in.

Chelsea got one too and we set a date.

You can actually choose which class you would like to attend based on the picture you would like to paint.

They provide the canvas, the paint, and the instruction.

We provide the snacks, the wine, and the willingness to have a great time!

You can read all about it here:  Palmetto Paint and Pour.

This was our "picnic basket"....

4 kinds of cheese, 3 kinds of crackers, 2 bottles of wine, and 1 container of spinach dip.

Yes, it was only for two people.  And yes, I brought the majority of it back home.  But it is good to be prepared!

We were the first to arrive.....

The instructor, Jana, was awesome!  She managed teaching a class of 16 people by giving excellent instruction and advice ... all with a sense of humor.

Me with my completed painting...

(Please don't ask me what is going on with my hair.  It is has been very muggy around here and my head has adopted a permanent afro.)

Chelsea with her painting...

It was really so much fun!! I would LOVE to do this again!  It was so interesting to see how, even with the same instruction, every one's painting turned out a little bit different.

I'm adding this idea to the entertainment business my cousins, Angela and Carrie, are going to start!  I've got it all planned out in my head... I just have to get them on board.  :)

The Celebrating Continues...

I promise that we do more around here than just celebrate.

Like chores.  And sleeping.

But it just so happens that celebrating is in my blood.  I was raised to celebrate things from losing a tooth to putting your shoes on the right feet. 

It doesn't have to be a big party with gifts and balloons and clowns <= in fact, NEVER use a clown for celebrating!  Unless it is Halloween and you want to ruin every one's fun.

Food is really all you need.

And comfy clothes.

We continued our anniversary weekend with Fish Tacos on Saturday night.  I didn't really have a recipe for them ( even though there are so many online) so we just winged it.

Tilapia and Mahi Mahi were the fishes of choice.  Salt and Peppered and grilled.

I roasted some cabbage....

Sliced, drizzled in olive oil, salt and peppered, on 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

It was my first time doing this - but I got the recipe off of Pinterest and it looked amazing.

Now it seems that I see a new recipe for roasted cabbage every day.  I guess it has become all the rage.

It was DELISH.  But seeing as Kev only used a little on his tacos and is not interested in just eating it by itself - it became a little overwhelming to finish. 

Next time, I will roast half of one.
Kev also grilled some corn so we could use our corn holder thingies that we received for Christmas!

The fish tacos were smothered in hot sauce for added fun.  And I baked a couple of Alexia onion rings on the side.

If you haven't tried Alexia onion rings ( or ANY of their products) then you are missing out tremendously.  They do fried food the healthy way even though they taste anything but healthy.

And then came our final anniversary meal on Sunday...

It knocked my boots off!

Kev had been smoking ribs ALL DAY while I was at work.  He had a little station set up outside and everything.  The minute I got out of my car in the driveway, I could smell them.

Ahhhhhhh.  Meat.  ( Think Homer Simpson)

Kev used some Dinosaur BBQ Wango Tango Habernero sauce mixed with some Peach Chipotle sauce.

THE.RIBS.WERE.FANTASTIC!!

And by fantastic, I mean out of this world! 

I have my very own personal Bobby Flay!!  Score!

He served them with a side of baked sweet potato ( we eat sweet potatoes all the time in all different ways - but it had been a very long time since we had just had one baked with a little butter!)  It was so good.

And then I threw some cabbage on my plate for good measure ( and because I had - and still have- a ton of it!)

The ribs were being eaten so fast that we ( KEV) made a pretty big mess...



Sauce ended up on the tea pitcher.

I'd say that's a good sign that the meal was delicious!

At least that is what I tell myself when I spill food on my clothes, floor, counter on a daily basis.

We really had the best weekend long celebration!  Thank you so much for all the kind comments and well wishes! 

The past 17 years have been AWESOME!

Seventeen and Counting...

Hmm.  That sounds like a good title for a t.v. show....

Anyway, we decided to make our anniversary a weekend celebration.

#1.  Because we LOVE to celebrate more than anything as long as it involves food, pajamas, and being in our house.

#2.  Because I had to work two of the three days and therefore spreading the celebration out over the weekend required minimal work and just made sense.

And

#3.  Did I mention that we love to celebrate more than anything?  Because we do.

And I believe that being married seventeen years requires it!

I had Saturday's and Sunday's meals planned out to the last detail... but Friday's plans were up in the air.  We wouldn't be getting home until later - ( I had originally planned to go to the gym but *cough* haven't made it all week *cough*) which meant that I wouldn't have enough time to pull together a nice meal.

I was telling someone about our engagement at The Olive Garden and it hit me.  I should recreate the meal that we had the night Kev proposed.

Plus I had an Olive Garden gift card in my wallet that was starting to collect dust.

So, I checked the menu.  I got directions to the one closest to my place of work.  And the plans were set.

*Random Bit O' Info*... we got married on a Friday night!

I also went to Publix to get a slice of white cake with white icing!  My absolute favorite cake of all time!! ( Except for I did notice that they have a new flavor - Caramel Pecan Crunch cake - It sounds like it was made just for me.  I almost got it for free because I was causing such a scene by yelling for it to "GET IN MY BELLY!")

They just happened to have these precious miniature cakes about the size of the top of a wedding cake so I ended up getting that instead - after I MADE SURE with the lady that it was definitely white cake.

The Olive Garden that I went to was SO nice!  In fact, it is the nicest one that I've ever been in.  Everything was so organized and spacious and beautiful - a perfect spot for renewing vows.

I will hold that thought for our twentieth. 

Even though we all know that if we EVER decided to renew our vows - it would be on our back porch while we were grilling something and jamming out to eighties tunes.

I arrived home with only "some" of the food spilling out in my back seat when I turned a curve too fast.

Just like old times.

And this is what was waiting for me...

A merlot.

Something that usually I cannot stand the taste of - but realized after drinking this that walking the wine aisles to search for the one with the cheapest price is not the best idea when you want to become a wine connoisseur.

It was light and delicious and paired perfectly with our meal!

Kev did good.

The infamous Olive Garden salad... with extra black olives in mine because Kev can't stand them.

The meal was good.  Pretty much how we remembered it.

And the conversation was great!  In fact, I think the t.v. stayed on mute through the majority of the meal!  Holla!

Then it was time for dessert.  Our favorite cake... that turned out to be CHOCOLATE!!!!

Ugh.  At first I was so disappointed.  But we just decided to pretend we were eating our groom's cake and enjoyed it anyway.  It definitely wasn't as good as the white - but it was still pretty darn good.

Kev thinks cake is always better served with a tall glass of milk!

We debated on re-enacting the cake "smash in the face" that sometimes happens between a bride and groom - but we opted out due to the fact that I had already washed my face once that day and was unlikely to do it again.

Chocolate cake on a pillowcase is not the easiest thing to get out.

Kev knows from experience.

It was the perfect "first" celebration of the weekend!  Low key - just how we like it.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have Kev in my life!

And cannot wait to see what the future has in store for us!

Dreams Really Do Come True!

From this......

 ( I will never get tired of the hilariousness of these weddings pics!)

 To this.......

And still going strong!

Seventeen years.

Seventeen years of awesomeness!

I couldn't ask for a better partner in life!

Happy Anniversary Kev!!

2011

The Year Of Change.

After days of reflecting, that is the only way I can think of to describe it.

There were two types of change.  Good change and necessary change - ( which ended up being good).

My family changed by growing tremendously!  Three babies and two marriages.

I changed my first diaper after 10 years.

I changed  KILLED my PR for my October half marathon.

I stopped taking my health for granted and changed my attitude on the importance of preventative measures.

My "favorite meal of all time" changed to Dinosaur BBQ - which resulted in a week long meat sweat fest.

I changed the way I shopped to save more money.

I changed the way I felt about cilantro!  <= LOVE!

Some days I felt like I was going through the change.

I changed my body by pushing myself and learning new types of fitness.

Oh.  And I changed jobs.  After eight plus years.  It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make.

That change reiterated to me how supportive and awesome my friends and family are.

I couldn't have done it without them!

Ultimately, it was a FANTASTIC year!  A year that left my heart SO full and thankful and looking forward to what 2012 has in store for us.

It is going to be a GREAT one!

As far as how we spent our New Year's Eve...

It was calm and quiet and just the two of us.

Just the two of us with enough party food to feed an army....

Because we don't know how to celebrate any other way. 

Cheese and crackers....

Dill Havarti and Chipotle Colby.  With French baguette toasts and...

Cranberry and hazelnut crackers.  They were very good but didn't really pair up with anything I was serving. 

I think they would be great with a green salad or chicken salad.

Buffalo Chicken Wontons... YES PLEASE!

I've decided that every day should include a wonton.  Because they are just that good - no matter what is inside.

And luckily, Kev has become the wonton cooking champ.

I stuffed them with rotisserie chicken, hot wing sauce, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, and salt and pepper.

We dipped them in spicy Ranch dressing.

They are just as good cold as they are hot.

Mushroom risotto pastries..

Wow.  Delish!  Obviously, I didn't make them but purchased them from The Fresh Market.  If you love mushrooms then these will be your next true love!

And filet on top of horseradish + green onion + cream cheese on top of a toast point.

We had other foods planned... like cheese fondue with all sorts of things to dip in it... but honestly, there is only so much that two people can eat.  So, we will save it for another day.

Or maybe another New Year's Eve... because, right now, I am only seeing green in my future.

It has been a pretty delectable holiday season if you know what I mean.

After dinner, we watched Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve... and braced ourselves for the midnight fireworks extravaganza that was about to take place in our neighborhood.

And extravaganza it was! I stood in the front yard and witnessed an entire sky lit up with celebration. 

It was glorious!  And a fitting farewell to The Year of Change.

Happy 2012!!  We wish you all the very best!!!