Monthly Archives: October 2013

Tuesday Blues

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, ,

Happy Tuesday gang! I hope your day is going better than mine. From the title of this post I’m sure you can tell that I’m having a case of the Tuesday Blues, and I’m not loving it.

This morning came wayyyyy too early. I woke up at 5 AM and couldn’t fall back asleep. This was supposed to be my day to actually sleep in! Sadly, my body didn’t understand. I decided to get up and start my day early with Mac on the couch drinking coffee and going over some new Jazzercise songs I learned last night. I was thankful for the few extra minutes to work on downloading my music and going over the routines for tonight’s classes, but I would have gladly stayed asleep in bed instead. Oh well.

I downed lots of Cheerios and coffee during my extra hour this morning, but it all went unpictured because, well, it was 5 AM. I got in the shower at my normal time of 6:30 and made it to work feeling extra lively with all the caffeine pumping through my veins.

photo(81)I had some yogurt and a Honeycrisp apple at my desk, but I could barely finish the large apple. I’m not used to having big bowls of Cheerios at home before work!

I hit a brick wall around 9:30 from my lack of sleep and have been tired, grumpy, and icky feeling ever since. I’m a real delight today, to say the least. 🙂

The morning dragged on, and I headed home around noon to get some lunch and walk Mac. Luckily he was his normal perky self which added a little sunshine to my day! I still wasn’t feeling too hungry though, so I had a salad with lots of veggies…

photo(82)And some lowfat cottage cheese on the side for protein. Hopefully this will tide me over through my double classes this evening!

Thank goodness for Jazzercise on days like today. I need a good workout to boost my endorphines and pull me out of this funk! By the time my second class begins, I’ll be feeling back to my normal self I’m sure.

Half Marathon Training Update

As for my half marathon training, yesterday was my rest day which I greatly enjoyed! I relaxed at home all night with Mac without any guilt. 🙂 I’m still a little sore today from Saturday’s long run, but hopefully my classes tonight will help warm me up and stretch me out enough to be ready to run again tomorrow morning. On the schedule for tomorrow is at least 5 miles. I’ll try to tackle this in the morning before work while it’s extra cold. If I’m going to run a half marathon in January, I’ve gotta get this body used to the freezing temps! Wish me luck!

I hope you have a great Tuesday! I’ll see you tomorrow, and I promise to be in a better mood. 🙂

Crock Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Recipe

Recipes, , , ,

Hey there everyone! How was your Monday?? Mine has been long and productive! I’m thankful to have tonight off from teaching so I could be home to get some things on my to-do list knocked out!

Yesterday was a beautiful and sunny day here in Springfield, but I still decided to break out my Crock Pot! I love my free time on the weekends too much to worry about cooking a big evening meal on Sundays. So ‘set it and forget it’ cooking is a must!

On Sunday morning I hopped on Pinterest to find a recipe for some Crock Pot chicken that used ingredients I had on hand. I pieced a few things together and came up with a great combo that Nick loved!

crockpotchicken2This recipe is just about as simple as can be!

Ingredients:

IMG_2344

  • 4-6 frozen chicken breasts
  • 1 bottle BBQ sauce
  • 1 large can of sliced pineapple in juice
  • 2 tbsp minced onions
  • 2 tsps garlic salt

IMG_2345Layer your frozen chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. Then pour about half the bottle of BBQ sauce evenly over the chicken.

IMG_2346Sprinkle the minced onions and garlic salt on top of the BBQ sauce, and then layer the pineapple slices on top.

IMG_2347Pour any remaining pineapple juice over the top of the pineapple. Lastly, pour the remaining BBQ sauce over the top of the pineapple layer and cover it.

IMG_2350Set that baby on low…

IMG_2348And let it cook for 4-6 hours. It should start looking like this!

About 4 hours in!
About 4 hours in!

I gave it a good stir around the 4 hour mark, and then let it continue cooking for 2 more hours.

IMG_2362It’ll be nice and dark when it’s all ready to go! It’s amazing how well the pineapple slices hold up and actually soak up a lot of the BBQ sauce. They ended up being Nick’s favorite part! I served the chicken in whole breast pieces with a pineapple slice or two on top with some extra sauce as well.

photo 5Lots of chicken and pineapple chunks on my plate! Along with a few veggies…

photo 2The chicken turned out extra tender and was a big hit! I made a large batch so we would have leftovers to eat on this week.

photo(85)Yum yum yum!! This recipe was wayyy too easy. I think next time I make it, I’ll use crushed pineapple and shred the chicken at the 4 hour mark. Then I can serve the meat on some sweet Hawaiian rolls for a tasty meal that could feed a crowd!IMG_2362Whip up this easy and tasty meal the next time you’re in a bind for something different and quick!

I hope you enjoy slow-cooker cooking as much as I do. It’s a big staple around my house, especially during this time of year!

Have a great evening everyone. Comment and let me know how your Crock Pot recipes are turning out! Nighty night!

Jazzercise Pink Dance Party

Jazzercise, Workouts, , , ,

Happy Monday morning! I know we’re all excited to start a new week..right?? Okay, maybe not. I’m pretty exhausted and could’ve used about 3 more days of rest. Hopefully I’ll feel different after another cup of coffee!

Last night I promised you a new Crock Pot recipe that I tried out, but I want to back up before dinner yesterday for this post. I promise the recipe later today. 🙂

Yesterday morning started bright and early because I couldn’t sleep! I thought after my long run on Saturday that I would be able to sleep straight through to my alarm at 7 AM, but no such luck. I awoke at 6 AM with a rambunctious dog crying at the foot of my bed. Mac and I got up, got the morning paper, and set out on a quick 3 mile run to warm up my sore body.

The weather was around 40 degrees, and we met lots of other runners along our path. It was a nice little morning to be out and about I guess! We made it home in about 26 minutes, and I immediately sat down in our livingroom floor to stretch out my sore quads and glutes.

The rest of the morning continued on with some hot breakfast and lots of coffee!

IMG_2343I toasted an English muffin and spread it with raspberry jelly before topping one side with some colby jack cheese. I love the combo of salty and sweet! I also had some Greek yogurt on the side for extra protein.

Jazzercise Pink Dance Party

I did some grocery shopping and had lunch before heading over to Jazzercise for our Pink Dance Party! We hosted a fundraiser class for some students that are raising money for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. They are walking this upcoming Saturday in the American Cancer Society’s event. Everyone (not just Jazzer students!) were encouraged to attend and give a donation of $10. And of course, we encouraged everyone to wear pink!

IMG_2354Several members of our instructor team, including myself, volunteered to teach a fun Jazzercise Plus class that included a few more cardio songs and less body sculpting. We made sure we threw in as many ‘tata’ songs as possible!

IMG_2352Our turnout was fairly light, but we still had a great time! And my favorite part (besides the dancing)?? Cupcakes. 🙂

IMG_2356Yum! I had several of these tiny cupcakes and didn’t even feel guilty. We worked up quite a sweat during this special class!

IMG_2358I’m once again reminded of how blessed I am to be a part of such an awesome group of ladies. My friends from Jazzercise are some of the most fun and caring people I know!

And then after this fun class we headed to the London Calling double decker bus for an instructor meeting!

IMG_2361Cool, huh?! I think it’s pretty darn awesome. One of my fellow instructors is opening up a food truck here in Springfield called the London Calling Pasty Company, and this double decker is only part of their fun set up! If you like British food and are in the area, stop by London Calling starting this Friday! I can’t wait to try out some homemade meat pies. 🙂

Well I hope you enjoy your Monday! I’ll see you all later today!