Two for One

How lucky are you? Two days worth of living in one post! I was super busy with work last night and didn't get a chance to report on my day. Here's what happened:

Wake up. Let dog outside. Eat banana raisin cashew-butter oatmeal for breakfast. Drink a cup of green tea. Score softball. Eat baked potato soup and a salad for lunch. Bake bread. Work out (walk/jog) for 30 minutes. Eat some almonds for a snack. Back to softball. Eat a pack of yummy almonds and then somem gummy fruit snacks (yuck yuck yuck-- can we say artificial flavor?). Report on softball. Cook dinner (portobella sloppy joe, salad, sweet potato fries). Back to work. Finish work (about 10:30). Eat dessert (dark chocolate, orange, chamomile tea). Tea. Bed.

Now, today was a little bit calmer. Since Kobe and I went on a long walk later in the  morning, I let him outside before I made a bowl of blueberry oatmeal with Better 'N Peanut Butter. I ate that with a banana. Before Kobester and I headed out, I put a batch of Italian Lentil soup in the slow cooker, which was ready for lunch. I ate a bowl of that with brown rice, a salad, and an orange. After lunch, I got some chores finished around the house, and went to score a women's lacrosse game. After the game, I let Kobe outside again, and snacked on some almonds while I wrote the game story. Then it was back to softball to collect results and then back home. For dinner I had some leftover sloppy joe mixture with brown rice and leftover sweet potato fries. For dessert, I had a peanut butter sandwich cookie, an orange, some dark chocolate and tea.

Needless to say I'm beat. I had photos to post but am too worn out to hook up the camera. I''m off to bed early tonight to get rested up for another busy week!

Frigid Friday

My feet feel like blocks of concrete. Cold concrete. I spent about 2 1/2 hours outside today, and my feet were actually pretty toasty inside 2 layers of socks and fleece-lined shoes, but as soon as I got home, took off the shoes and socks, my feet got so cold and still haven't warmed up, despite the fact they're now enclosed in warm fuzzy socks. I think I'll take a shower in a few minutes and see if I can't warm them up.

Since I knew I was going to do weights after this morning's walk, I ate a banana before heading outside to brave the 20-something degree temperature. When Kobe and I got back, I did Get Ripped. Breakfast was 2 scrambled eggs, toast with jam, and an orange. Lunch was the last of the Mediterranean Soup and a few craisins. My afternoon snack was a small pack of pretzels and a few walnuts and almonds. Dinner was leftover black beans with brown rice a little sour cream.Since it's Friday, I splurged on dessert: 2 peanut butter sandwich cookies and a few squares of dark chocolate with a cup of tea.

Well, I'm off to finish the laundry, take a shower, and (maybe) relax! Tomorrow's an early day since I've got to stat a softball game at 9:30 a.m.-- it's going to be another cold morning!

Cookies and Wine

Today was stressful. On days like today, I am thankful for two things...

...wine...

... and cookies.

Now, if only these two things could solve all my problems (not that I have that many, but I'll take what help I can get).

Today started out like any other with a morning walk, which I followed up with some yoga. Breakfast was a bowl of raisin and Better 'N Peanut Butter oatmeal and a banana. For lunch, I had a pickle, a big bowl of Mediterranean Soup, and a few craisins. My afternoon snack was an orange. Then, finally, it was time to come home from a stressful day at the office.

Now, I try to keep tabs on my emotional eating, but I REALLY needed some comfort food, and conveniently I had picked up my two boxes of Girl Scout Cookies this morning. I decided that since I was going to run jog, a little cookie wouldn't hurt. I opened the box of peanut butter sandwich cookies, and pulled out my treat.

Can you believe this little cookie is 50 calories? At least it satisfied a craving without making me feel guilty.

After my cookie, I was charged up for my workout. I moved onto to week 5 of the Couch to 5K program, so after a 5 minute warm up, I ran jogged 5 minutes, then walked 3 minutes, and repeated the pattern two more times. Afterwards I did some yoga to stretch out.

After exercising, I indulged in a glass of wine. Dinner was leftover black beans and a baked potato. Dessert was a few craisins and an orange with chamomile tea.

I'm off to do some laundry and enjoy a night off from work!

Update

Here's my dinner post:
Salad, 3 chicken fingers, and half a baked potato, and honey mustard sauce

Dessert was a very small scoop of ice cream with some chocolate chips, M&Ms, Reeses Pieces, and *SPRINKLES*! I'll probably have a tootsie roll pop with some tea after work.

Quick Recap

Here's a quick update of the day so far. I've got a basketball doubleheader to work tonight, so I probably won't get to post again.

Exercise: 

• Morning walk with Kobe
• Cleaned the house

Food:

• Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, toast with jam, banana, green tea with honey and lemon
• Lunch: craisin & feta spinach salad, Mediterranean soup, craisins for dessert
• Snack: hmmmm, haven't thought that far ahead yet
• Dinner: Fatz catering at the basketball games

I'm about to run home and walk the pup around the block. See you tomorrow!

Recap

Today was unseasonably warm, which meant not bundling up like an eskimo this morning, which meant Kobe and I finished our walk a good 5 minutes ahead of time, which meant I got finished with my weight workout early, which meant I could get lunch cooking in the crock pot.

After getting the ingredients going for Quick Mediterranean Soup, I cooked some Better 'N Peanut Butter and raisin oatmeal. Oats on the stove are so easy. For a single serving batch of oats, just bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add:

1/2 cup of old fashioned oats
Pinch of salt
Raisins (as many as you want)

Knock the heat down to low and simmer the oats for about 5 minutes. Remove and stir in a tablespoon of BNPB.

I also had a banana with breakfast (as usual).

My soup was bubbling away when I got home for lunch, and since I'm low on salad, I just ate a big bowl of soup with a few craisins for dessert.

My afternoon snack was an orange, a few wasabi/soy sauce almonds, and a pickle. Dinner was the same as last night (black beans and a sweet potato).

Today's workout was the morning walk with Kobe and the express version of the Firm's Time Crunch workout.

I'm off to post volleyball results.

What is that?

You probably took one look at this picture and wondered, "What is that?"

That, ahem, would be my dinner, and while it won't win any food style awards, it gets a perfect 10 from my tummy. It's leftover black bean smash with guacamole, and some baked sweet potato fries spiced up with cumin and a little bit of cayenne pepper. Mmmm, mmmm!

Lunch was also ugly-- I haven't had time to make any soup yet this week, so I had leftover beans and a spinach salad. I snacked on an apple and some dill pickle cashews. Breakfast was toast with jam, two scrambled eggs, and a banana.

It was pouring down rain this morning when Kobe and I went for our walk, and it was so miserable we ended up cutting it short. Once we got home and both got dried off, I hopped on the treadmill to make up for lost distance with a 10 minute stroll. I followed that up some yoga.

After a fairly stressful day at work, Kobe and I went for a short walk around the neighborhood, and then I hit the treadmill again for a walk/jog session.

While the sweet potatoes were roasting in the oven, I set out the ingredients for Mediterranean Soup.The plan is to throw everything the crock pot tomorrow morning, set it to high, and have soup to eat for lunch.

Suddenly Sunday

The weekend has really flown by-- guess that's what happens when you're busy. Now that I'm finally finished with work, I'm relaxing a bit by watching Supernatural season 2 on DVD, and later I plan to watch some of the USA vs. Canada hockey game.

The weather was beautiful again today, so I didn't mind sitting outside all day watching softball and lacrosse. Kobe spent a lot of time this afternoon in the yard, which he passed chewing sticks.

Today I took as a rest day, so no formal workout for me. Tomorrow, Kobe and I will (probably) end up walking in the rain, and the I may do an upper body/abs workout. In the afternoon I'll probably get a walk/jog session in.

The day started with a bowl of Better 'n Peanut Butter and raisin oatmeal and a banana. Lunch was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a Jonagold apple. I snacked on some soy sauce & wasabi almonds and a pickle. Dinner started off with a craisin and feta salad, and then the main meal was leftover sweet potato fries, some baked corn tortilla chips, black bean smash, and some guacamole (just mashed avocado, lime, and salt). Dessert was a few squares of Green & Black dark chocolate and an orange.

Awesome workout

Today I had a kick a@@ workout. I just knew that I was going to kick some rear end on the treadmill today even before I stepped on it this afternoon. I had so much energy, and I even bumped up the pace a bit and still finished strong--  it's time to make the jump to week 5 of the Couch to 5K program.

Today was super busy at work-- softball started at 9:30 a.m. this morning, lacrosse played at 1 p.m., and then I had to post stories for baseball, softball, tennis, basketball and swimming. Whew- I'm beat.

This morning Kobe just got let out in the yard. For breakfast, I had a big bowl of (Better 'N) Peanut Butter and Banana Oats sweetened with a tablespoon of brown sugar, and a cup of green tea with Splenda.

Since I had to eat lunch at the fields, I packed a peanut butter & jelly sandwich and a Jonagold apple. I snacked on some soy and wasabi almonds this afternoon. Dinner was a spinach salad, leftover chicken, sweet potato fries, and some sauteed zucchini and onion. For dessert, I ate an orange, four small squares of dark chocolate, and a piece of a knock-off crunch bar that really wasn't that great.

It was gorgeous outside today-- sunny and 50-something degrees. Kobe and I hung out in the yard for awhile this afternoon just enjoying the great weather.

I'm hitting the hay in a few minutes-- tomorrow's events start at 9:30 a.m., so I've got to be up and at 'em early.

Fabulous Friday

Today was absolutely gorgeous! 60 degrees and sunny. Kobe and I headed outside when I got home from work. He moseyed around the yard while I read another chapter of The Outlander.

A lot of birds have been out and about lately. Yesterday there was a pair of blue birds in the backyard, and today I saw a couple of bright red cardinals, a wood pecker, and really pretty finch that had a blush head and chest. Kobe likes to chase the birds if they land in the yard, so they tend to keep their distance when he's outside.

Tonight for dinner I ordered takeout, which I rarely do because I feel I can cook a better, healthier meal at home and food is so overpriced when you eat out. Like tonight, I ordered a roasted BBQ half chicken and a baked potato from Fatz Cafe, and it cost about $10. If I had cooked the same meal at home, I could served an whole chicken, 4 baked potatoes, and green beans. But, I had a gift card to use so I decided to pick up dinner.

When I got home, I put the chicken and potato in the oven to keep warm so I could eat a craisin and feta spinach salad with a couple of Fatz rolls.

These poppy seed rolls are so good-- they're deep fried. I actually only ate one. 

I also had a glass of Shiraz wine with the chicken and baked potato.

Trader Joe's has good inexpensive wine. Of course, it could be good because I don't know that much about wine. But, my mom says it's a good thing to like cheap wine :-)!

Since I had a glass of wine with dinner, I skipped the ice cream for dessert and went for an orange, dark chocolate, and honey vanilla chamomile tea.

I had a great workout this afternoon-- I did the upper body interval workout from Results 10 Days to a Better Body. The downside is that my arms feel like they're going to fall off.

Despite having a great workout this afternoon, I was beat this morning. It took me forever to get to sleep last night (my brain wouldn't settle down) and then I had really weird dreams. After Kobe and I walked, I did some yoga, and then made some oatmeal with raisins and Better 'N Peanut Butter.

For the first time in a month, I didn't have any soup in the house, so I had to get creative for lunch.


I started with a salad with pepperocini peppers, balsamic vinaigrette, and pickles (yeah, I know all that sodium, but I love salty foods).

For the main dish, I sauteed some zucchini and onion and mixed it with about 1/4 cup of leftover meat sauce, and tossed that mixture together with some macaroni and seashell pasta. I topped it off with some Parmesan cheese. I didn't finish it all because 1/2 cup of the dry pasta cooked up A LOT.

On a side note, I found some really yummy almonds at the grocery store today. I was actually looking for glazed walnuts, which of course our Gaffney grocer didn't have, when I saw these:

 

Wasabi and Soy Sauce Almonds! (Sorry, I can't figure out how to rotate the photo.)

These are really good-- they pack a lot of heat, but they don't leave your mouth burning. The days are definitely numbered for these nuts. 

I've got to be at work bright and early tomorrow-9 a.m., for a softball tournament, and then an afternoon lacrosse game. Hopefully I'll have time to squeeze in a run when I get home.

Whoa

Once again, the winter Olympics have amazed me-- the downhill skiers reach speeds of 80+ miles per hour! I don't even drive that fast on the interstate, and these women are FLYING down mountains at this speed in spandex and a helmet. Whoa.

Despite watching the fabulous athleticism of these athletes, I'm still huffin' and puffin' through my treadmill workouts. Since the house appraiser came today, I spent about 30 minutes after the morning walk straightening up and cleaning the house. After that, I did a 15-minute yoga session for relaxation from the Yoga for Stress Relief DVD. After work, I had to get one of my walk/jog sessions in. I can't say that I enjoy jogging, but it's getting easier, and I feel great once I'm down with  my workout. Jogging is such a great stress reliever-- I don't think about anything else going on when my feet are pounding the treadmill. I think I'll do one more week 5 Couch to 5K session before moving onto to week 6.

Of course, all that jogging gave me an appetite, so after my workout I had a big dinner. I started with a feta and craisin spinach salad, and then ate a roll and a big bowl of Goode Bean Soup while watching Samantha Brown of the Travel Channel vacation in Vancouver. That woman has the world's best job.

A chocolate craving hit me after dinner, so I had some super dark chocolate with my orange and tea. 

I also ate a bowl of soup for lunch with a piece of bread, and snacked on an orange at the office and some dill pickle cashews when I got home. Breakfast was a bowl of blueberry oatmeal with Better 'N Peanut Butter and a banana. 

Tonight I've got to post some swimming results, and hopefully will get a chance to read some of my book. Since I'll be at Limestone all day Saturday and Sunday, the plan is to leave work early tomorrow and get my errands finished.

Wild Wednesday

Today is a super busy day at work-women's lacrosse this afternoon, men's basketball at home tonight, and just for fun let's throw in a softball doubleheader, baseball game, and two tennis matches (which are all fortunately away, but unfortunately require stories).

Here's a quick recap/preview of today:

Workout-not really a workout, but lots of activity. Walk with Kobe, then 45 minutes of vacuuming & mopping floors
Breakfast: Blueberry oatmeal with Better 'N Peanut Butter, banana, green tea with honey
Lunch: Soup, salad
Snack: Apple & some craisins
Dinner: Leftover couscous and chicken
Dessert: Orange & tea, tootsie roll pop

Best Day of the Week

Today is the best day of the week. Because it's Tuesday? No. Because it's leftover night? No. Because it's laundry night? No. Because there aren't any sporting events to write about? Yep, you got it!

A night off couldn't have come at a better time. First of all, Lost is on, and second, I'm super tired. I felt pretty good until after I ran jogged last night, and then the weariness hit me like a load of bricks as I nearly dozed off several times while watching the Olympics last night. I got a good eight hours of sleep, but that didn't seem to help.

At any rate, I dragged my rear end out of bed this morning so Kobe and I could walk (which we did in 20-something degree weather-Michigan, we're gonna be ready for your winters!). When we got back, I did three sections from Gilad's Express workouts: Warm-up, Hips & Thighs, and Shoulders. He doesn't have you use much weight (I used three-pound dumbbells for the shoulders), but your muscles burn! After Gilad fried my legs and shoulders, I did one segment from the Firm's 5 Day Abs and a short stretch.

Breakfast consisted of two scrambled eggs, toast with blackberry preserves, and a banana. Lunch was a spinach salad and a bowl of black bean soup. I snacked on an orange this afternoon at my desk. Dinner plans include leftover couscous with grilled chicken.

Despite not having to write any stories tonight, I do have to come back to campus for a meeting, wash a couple loads of laundry and straighten up the house (the appraiser is coming on Thursday). So much for a complete night off!

Ho hum...

Today was another ho hum Monday. Nothing exciting happened, just a calm day.

Kobe and I went for our usual walk this morning and I did the AM Stretch DVD when we returned .For breakfast, I had 2 scrambled eggs, toast with blackberry preserves, and a banana. Lunch was a salad, a small bowl of black bean soup, and some leftover sweet potato fries. Some craisins helped satisfy my sweet tooth.

Since I only have two apples left, I snacked on an orange at my desk. When I got home from work, Kobe got to play in the yard, and I got to wipe off his muddy paws. Then, it was time to run! (And yes, I'm still doing week 5 of the cardio coach program.) I did a short stretch before fixing dinner: gnocchi with Meaderville spaghetti sauce. Then I ate an orange and had a cup of tea before hopping in the shower.

Tonight I've got to post basketball results, so I'll probably watch some Olympic coverage. In the  meantime I'm watching a No Reservations marathon on the Travel Channel.

Who would have thought....

Today I have spent several hours watching the Olympics coverage (I'm watching the pairs figure skating right now). Which leads me to a question, "Who decided it would be fun to wear spandex, a thin plastic helmet, get on a sled, lie flat on your back, and speed 80+ miles per hour down a steep icy hill with hair pin turns and call it a sport?" I guess someone did, but I can't imagine the amount of courage (or insane-ness) that drives these athletes to compete in the luge or mogul skiing or snowboarding. On the other hand, the skating events (especially the speed skating) are so beautiful to watch since the athletes are so graceful and their movements so smooth. As someone who considers herself a huge klutz, this degree of athleticism is spectacular.

So, watching all these world-class athletes should motivate me to work on my own fitness level, but today that simply wasn't the case. I didn't get to bed until 11:30 last night (I started watching the women's mogul skiing event), I woke up at 7:30 a.m. and took Kobe on his usual walk. From that point on, I was very lazy. Sure, I managed a load of laundry and cooked lunch and dinner for myself, but mostly my rear end has been planted on the couch.

After our walk, I had two scrambled eggs and a slice of toast for breakfast. I was out of bananas (oh, the horror), so I made my weekly trip to the grocery store, and then stopped by Starbucks for a medium, decaf, skim, hazelnut misto. The aroma of the drink filled my entire car, and it was a great treat to have mid-morning with a banana.

Since the coffee filled me up, I didn't eat lunch until 1 p.m. I'm still trying to use up the food in my pantry, so today I pulled out a package of couscous.

I had bought a couple of zucchini at the store, so I sauteed one of those with an onion...

 ...and then added about 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce.

 Then, I mixed the couscous and sauce together and topped it with some grated parmesan cheese. Yummy!

I also had an orange after lunch.

This afternoon I snacked on some dill pickle cashews (I saw these at Target on Thursday and had to try them). They weren't bad, but didn't have the dill flavor I was expecting.

My valentine's day dinner was a grilled chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries and a pickle. I also had a big spinach salad before the main meal.

Dessert ended up being the usual orange with some 85% cacao dark chocolate with some tea and honey.

Tomorrow it's back to the old grind again. My plans are to walk Kobe in the morning and do a long stretching session, and then run after work.

I'm going to watch the Olympics until about 9 p.m., and then I'm heading to bed to read a new book, The Outlander.

Ready to Run!

I haven't run all week because my right knee has really been bothering me and I had a head cold. Today, I am sniffle-free and my knee brace was on, so I was pumped to get a great workout in. I repeated last week's Couch to 5K training session:

0:00-5:00: Warm-up
5:00-8:00: Jog (5.1 mph)
8:00-9:30: Walk
9:30-14:30: Jog (5.1 mph)
14:30-17:00: Walk
17:00-20:00: Jog (5.1 mph)
20:00-21:30: Walk
21:30-26:30: Jog (5.1 mph)
26:30-30:00: Brisk walk
30:00-35:00: Cool down

This is my new the knee brace. I was skeptical that a thin strip of fabric would solve the problem, but it helped a lot! I was pain free (and still am).

For lunch, I ate a salad with yellow peppers, feta, and olives. I finally finished off the curried chicken and lentils with a some leftover rice.For "dessert" I ate an orange.

This afternoon I have to head to the gym to prepare for "Officials Appreciation Night" at the basketball games (fingers crossed that it goes well and the refs aren't complete idiots). Since I'll be watching basketball all night, my dinner plans include:

Feta & craisin spinach salad
Peanut butter & jelly sandwich
Apple
(and maybe a Tootsie Roll Pop)

Winter Wonderland

Kobe and I stayed up late last night watching the Olympic coverage. (Well, late for me-for all I know he stays up all night and sleeps all day.) It fell a little flat for me, but I sympathize with the program's director since he had to follow the Chinese opening ceremonies which were spectacular.

We got a couple of inches of snow last night, which made for a very pretty landscape outside. (And not to mention my work load got cut in half since all the outdoor sports had to cancel their games. Oh darn.)

Kobe had a great time outside this morning and got to have lots of fun rolling, running and playing! He's going to love Michigan winters when we get up there.

 Here are a couple videos and some photos of "the beast" wreaking havoc outside:

 

This is just a front, he's really not ferocious.

For breakfast, I cooked stove-top oats with blueberries, brown sugar and butter (yeah, I feel a little guilty about putting a pat of it in my oatmeal, but breakfast sure was tasty!).

I'll be hitting the treadmill in about 30 minutes to get my walk/jog workout underway.

Great video about the livestock industry's impact on the environment

It's snowing!!! (Again...)

It's snowing here again-- even more exciting it's actually sticking to the ground. Kobe had a great time outside running around-- hopefully he'll get to play in the snow tomorrow morning.



After Kobe played outside this afternoon, it was time for a snack (pickles). After starting a load of laundry and watching some TV, I ate a huge spinach salad with red peppers, olives, and feta before heating up my dinner of leftover rice with chicken and lentils (yeah, I'm still eating leftovers and I'm down to only one more serving left in the freezer).

Since Kobe and I had a long week, we both got dessert. I had a container of Edy's chocolate chip ice cream with a cup of tea.

And Kobe had a rawhide.

This morning got off to a good start since my head cold is going away and I could actually breath. Before Kobester and I headed out for our walk, I ate a banana. When we got back, I did one of the segments from Leslie Sansone's 5 Day Slim Down.

For breakfast, I cooked a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries, and then added a pretty big squirt of honey and some Better 'N Peanut Butter. Today I had a lunch meeting, so I ate a salad and slice of mushroom and green pepper pizza.

I was craving a soda this afternoon, so I succumbed to temptation and drank 1/2 a bottle of diet coke with some almonds and walnuts.

My plans for tonight include watching the Olympics coverage, and then posting a wrestling release. I'll leave you with a photo of the cutest pup in town:

Get outta town!

Today was exciting because I got to take a trip to the big city of Spartanburg! I had to go pick up some stuff for an event at the basketball games this weekend, and since Publix was on the way back, I stopped there to pick up one of their sub sandwiches- ham and swiss on wheat with pickles, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, and spicy mustard. Even the half size was HUGE! I didn't even need to eat a snack until I came home from work, and then I ate a banana.

Kobe and I walked this morning, and then I did the Firm's Tough Cardio Mix. I had eaten a banana before heading out with the dog, and after my workout I scrambled two eggs and ate those with a slice of toast.

After letting Kobe run around the yard after work, I did PM Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss. For dinner I had cheese and pepper pizza with a big spinach salad that had red pepper, feta cheese, and olives. Dessert was tea, and orange, and a few pieces of dark (85% cacao) chocolate.

Windy Wednesday

It was a windy day today- really windy and only 30 degrees. I don't have a lot of time to post, so here's a summary:

Workout: walk with dog, cleaning the house

Breakfast: banana, 2 eggs, toast with jam, cranberry juice
Lunch: split pea soup, salad
Snack: apple, craisins, pickle
Dinner: lentils with wild rice
Dessert: tea and orange

Hopefully I'll write more tomorrow!

Cold coming on...

A cold is coming on... I can feel it... Slightly achy joints and a stuffed up nose. (Fortunately, I've had both of my flu shots so at least I know I won't get terribly sick). Not even my lunch of my favorite salad (spinach with craisins, feta, and glazed walnut) and a half of a Better 'N Peanut Butter and blackberry jam sandwich could raise my spirits today.

I finally got a decent night's sleep last night, except for the fact that my alarm went off way too early this morning.After I drank some water and ate a banana, Kobe and I headed out. After Kobe went through his daily beautification process, I still had time to get in another workout. I was planning on running this today, but my right knee is bugging me. According to one of our athletic trainers, its probably my Iliotibial band, so I went ahead and ordered a knee brace. Since running wasn't going to happen (and I was feeling worn out) I did a two-mile indoor walk DVD.

Breakfast was two scrambled eggs and a slice of toast with blackberry preserves. I have a meeting at 12:30 today, so I didn't have time to go home for lunch (poor pup, he'll be alone all day). My afternoon snack will be a Jonagold apple.

Dinner plans tonight include spaghetti and a salad. I need all the vitamins I can get!

Worn Out!

I am worn out- the stress of a busy work schedule and selling a house is starting to get to me. I haven't been sleeping well, and after Kobe and I walked, I went back to bed for another half hour.

Breakfast was oatmeal with raisins and Better 'N Peanut Butter. I ate lunch at  my desk: a spinach salad with feta, green olives, and red peppers with dressing, and two slices of leftover pizza. I needed a pick me up after lunch, so I had a Starburst. I snacked on an apple and pickle over the course of the afternoon, and then had black beans, green pepper, onion, and tomato stir-fried together over rice. Then I had an orange and tea.

I also updated Goode Taste with a really chocolatey cookie recipe: Rocky Road Whoppers. Click here to check it out!

Super Bowl Sunday

This Super Bowl Sunday ended up being super busy. Since I was up until midnight on Saturday,  Kobe took the day off from walking (okay, so I wanted the day off), so he got to run around the yard this morning. Then, I made a trip to Wal-Mart and came home to eat breakfast. My breakfast was blue: I mixed frozen blueberries in with my oats as they boiled, and then added some honey. And don't forget the banana!

After breakfast, I cooked a batch of tomato sauce, washed a couple of loads of laundry, and did week 4 of Couch to 5K. I've been awfully anxious the past couple of days (this time of the year at work is stressful), but I felt SOOO much better after working out. Then I did a yoga sequence.

Lunch was more chicken and lentils (and there's still more left in the freezer) and a baked potato. The oranges I got at the store last week were so good, I had one after lunch. After washing a sink-ful of dishes, I baked some special treats: valentine cookies for my hubby, blondies for the Super Bowl get together, and pizza crusts for dinner. And gosh darn it if some of those chocolate chips and some of the batter didn't find their way into my mouth.Next came more work: DISHES!

Finally, I hopped in the shower about 3 p.m., made the bed, got ready, let Kobe out in the yard, put the laundry away, snacked on a salad, and headed over to a friend's house to watch the Super Bowl.I had a beer during the first half of the game before heading home to post a story about baseball.

Dinner was a couple of slices of pizza with bell pepper, parmesan, and feta cheeses. Dessert was (another) orange and half of a rocky road cookie.

Hopefully I'll get the baseball story soon so I can post it. It's an "early" bed time tonight: 10:30 p.m.

Pantry Pilfer

My pantry is a little out of control. I have WAY to much food in it for one person. Here's a tour to prove my point:

Not only is there a spice cabinet...

There's also a spice rack...

Here's the rice/pasta/snack cabinet...

Top shelf: pasta; Middle shelf: cous cous, rice, tea, honey, pasta lentils.

And two more views of the pantry...

 

Rice, canned soup, toothpicks, popcorn, macaroni, dried milk and potato flakes (for baking)

 

Canned tomatoes, pickles, brown rice in the back, chicken stock, salt, cocoa powder.

Let's not forget the freezer...

Rolls, soup, leftover lentils, frozen veggies, meat sauce, ham hocks, cranberries, semolina and whole wheat flour, cookies, and ice cream

And the freezer door...

Cashews, walnuts, coffee, sesame seeds, bacon, ice pack, two containers of bread crumbs, limeade, pine nuts, peanuts, and flax seeds

And I didn't even show you the "baking" cabinets with flour, salt, candy, and sugar.

My action plan to cut the pantry down to size: pick an ingredient from the pantry each week and make meals around it. This week's star ingredient is canned tomatoes. My action plan is to make a big batch of pasta sauce tomorrow, eat pasta a couple of times this week, and make a pizza for Super Bowl Sunday tomorrow. That way I can make the crust from scratch, and top it with the pasta sauce.

Kobe and I went for our usual walk this morning-- he's looking quite dashing since he had a bath yesterday :-). We almost had a run-in with a Chihuahua, but fortunately the yappy squirt stayed on its porch.

It was back to oatmeal for breakfast (with pumpkin, raisins, cinnamon, and Better 'N Peanut Butter mixed in). Of course I had a banana and a cup of tea.

This morning I went to the grocery store and post office. When I got home, I did a little cleaning and started the laundry.

Lunch is going to be leftover lentils (I've been eating that all week and there's still more in the freezer).

I've got to work a basketball doubleheader tonight so I'll need to fix a sandwich and apple to take to munch on. I'll probably make a craisin, feta, and walnut salad. Mmmm....

I'm off to do the laundry!

It was Friday night

It was Friday night and I headed over to some friends' house to eat dinner and watch Fringe. Dinner was really good-vidalia onion hamburgers with cheese and sweet potato fries. After dinner, there was cheddar cheese popcorn to munch on (so good). When I got home, I had some work to do, so I ate a chocolate chip cookie and an orange, and drank a cup of tea.

I didn't get to bed until almost 11:30, so I was really glad to sleep in on Saturday.

It's Friday! It's Friday! Woo hoo!

Yay! It's Friday! Yay!

Today was an eventful day at the Goode house. First, Kobe and I got our morning started by walking in the POURING rain (and yes, we pushed through and got in our entire walk). After returning home, toweling off the dog, and taking off all the rain gear, I did the express workout from Hard Core Fusion.

Breakfast was different this morning! I had 2 scrambled eggs, honey wheat toast with blackberry preserves, and a banana. Lunch was a spinach salad with tomatoes and Parmesan cheese and a bowl of curried lentils and chicken.

Before heading to work, I dropped Kobe off at the vet's so he could get a bath. He hasn't had one in a very long time and he's way too big for me to get into the bathtub. At 90 lbs., if there's somewhere he doesn't want to go, I can't force him to. I can't wait to pick him up, he's like a big fluffy teddy bear after he's had a bath.

While I was at home for lunch, I straightened up the house in anticipation for the home inspectors' visit this afternoon. Hopefully everything will go well and we'll be one stop closer to getting it sold!

oops

Oops. I didn't post yesterday. I feel like a slacker. But, I had other things on my mind. In a nutshell, here's what happened yesterday on the health front:

Exercise
Morning: Walk with Kobe, Week 4 of Couch to 5k,
Evening:PM Stretch

Food
Morning: banana before my walk/workout, oatmeal, orange
Lunch: split pea soup, salad, pickle
Snack: pickle
Dinner: curried lentils and chicken with rice
Dessert: blueberry  Tootsie Roll Pop, tea sweetened with Splenda, orange

Toss and Turn...

As I mentioned yesterday, I stayed up late last night (until 11 p.m.) to watch Lost. The problem with the show is that my mind is always racing after seeing it, trying to figure out what in the world is going on. Last night was no different-- it took me forever to fall asleep, and then I tossed and turned all night. I was sure I was going to be exhausted today, but I've actually been pretty alert.

After my early walk with Kobe, I vacuumed and mopped the house. It's better for me to do it during the week, that way I have more free time on the weekends. Plus, cleaning counts as physical activity :-).

Anyways, here's my food journal for the day:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with pumpkin & Better 'n Peanut Butter, banana
Lunch: Salad with feta and balsamic vinaigrette dressing, chicken and lentil soup, few raisins
Snack: Jonagold apple
Dinner: salad with craisins and feta, chicken and lentils over white rice (I know white rice isn't as nutritious as brown, but I had to use up the rest of the bag)
Dessert: orange, tea

Hopefully I'll get the volleyball and basketball results soon so I can go to bed. Tomorrow is another busy busy day!

Top of the morning...

I did not want to get out of bed this morning- I was toasty under the covers, and rain was awaiting Kobe and me on our walk. It would have been so easy to hit the "off" button...

But, it wouldn't be very fair to my faithful companion if I slept in on our morning walk, so I dragged myself out of bed, layered up, put on the rain gear, and headed out. We walked about a mile in the rain, and since I was still tired I decided to go back to bed. And I did. And I slept for another hour.

Breakfast was the same 'ol, same 'ol (oatmeal and banana), lunch was the usual (soup and a salad), and my afternoon snack also lacked creativity (a jonagold apple). 

Fortunately, I don't have to work tonight so I can devote ALL of my attention to the Lost season premier. I cannot wait I cannot wait I cannot wait! (It's my favorite show :-), and this season we're suppose to find out what is going on on that darn moving island!) The downside is that the premier will last until 11 p.m., so I'm not going to feel any more energetic tomorrow.

There is another sunny side to no work tonight situation-- I can get my running workout in. Tonight I'm moving on to week four of the Couch to 5K program. It's sure to be a hard workout today, but I'll power through.

After my workout I've got a good dinner to look forward to: leftover black beans/tomato/onion with smashed avocado and a baked sweet potato. And don't forget my nightly orange and cup of tea!

A little extra

This afternoon I planned to do an upper body workout, an abs workout, and call it a day. But as I was preparing to workout, I felt the need to do a little cardio, just to really get my heart rate up. So, I popped in Karen Voight's Half and Half DVD, and ended up doing the entire workout except for the lower body part (my knees have been a bit sore lately because of the running).

Before I ate dinner, I had a couple of snacks that included a Jonagold apple, some cheerios, and a couple of pickles (I love love love pickles, and the jars were buy one get one free at the store today!) For dinner, I cut up a sweet potatoe, roasted it in the oven, and topped it with black beans, chopped tomatoes and onions seasoned with cumin and little cayenne pepper, and mashed avocado. YUM! I also had a cup of tea and an orange.

Ice on the ground...

Despite most of the roads being cleared and offices open, there was still snow and some ice on the ground. Kobe and I had to navigate 15 treacherous feet of ice on one section of the road this morning, and I'm proud to say we came through still standing on two legs (or four paws).

Yoga was on the agenda this morning, so I did the Pure Tranquility DVD.Breakfast was pumpkin (Better 'n) peanut butter oatmeal and a banana. For lunch, I had a baby spinach salad with cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette, and a small bowl of split pea soup. Then I  snacked on a couple of raisins to satisfy my sweet tooth.