Monthly Archives: November 2013

Feels Like Winter

Food for Thought, Workouts, , ,

Happy Hump day evening! It was a long and busy day, so I’m just now checking in. Thankfully I’m home tonight and have time to catch up! Plus I even had time to put together a pot of homemade soup that’s simmering on the stove right now. Recipe to come!

Workout, Part I

This morning I woke up early to get on my workout clothes and head out for my typical Wednesday morning run. On the schedule for today was 5+ miles. The forecast was looking gloomy, so before I even left my bed, I checked out the weather radar. It didn’t look so good! The temps were in the 50’s, but our entire area was covered in green blobs of rain. So I opted to go to the gym to run as far as I could tolerate on the treadmill.

I got through 3 grueling miles before I absolutely had to get off that thing! I did some abs and got in a good stretch before I finished my workout with one mile on the Elliptical. When I headed out of the gym, it was raining and I could tell the temps had dropped. A lot. It felt like Winter had arrived while I was working out! And from the weather forecasts I watched while I was on the treadmill, the cooler temps were going to keep pushing into Springfield throughout the day. Definitely feels like Winter today!

Breakfast

I quickly showered and got ready for my work day when I made it home from my less-than-exciting treadmill run. It was better than nothin’ though! And once I made it to my office, I was hungry for breakfast. I had prepared a batch of overnight oats to bring to work with me. They weren’t my best ever, but they filled me up!

photo(101)I also had some yogurt on the side for extra protein.

image(5)This new flavor is Blended Orange Creme. If you like orangey stuff, you would love it! I gobbled it up in about 30 seconds flat I’m sure. 🙂

Lunch

Lunch started right when I walked in the door because I was starving! I grabbed the first thing that I could find in my fridge. Hummus!

photo(132)While I had lots of this stuff with baby carrots, I made a quick wrap with chicken, spinach, and spicy mustard.

photo(102) image(6)I put in extra spinach. I was feeling guilty for not having a big salad like normal. It did the trick!

Workout, Part II

The rain cleared up as the day progressed, and the temps kept dropping. This presented the perfect opportunity for me to run outside and try out some of my cold weather running gear. I headed out right when I got home for a quick 4 mile run in the dropping temps. 38 degrees feels a lot different from the 50 degree temps that were here this morning! But the run went by fast, especially since I knew I had a hot shower waiting for me at home. 🙂 This brought my mileage for the day to 7 miles which is all I wanted to accomplish with this second workout. Woot for staying on track with my half marathon training!

Now tonight we’re just relaxing as I whip up a new recipe. American Horror Story has a new episode tonight, too! I probably won’t stay awake through the whole thing, but my DVR will make sure I don’t miss it. Have a great night, everyone!

Beginning the Sugar Detox

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Good Tuesday morning to ya! Hope you had a good evening yesterday. I spent my night cooking, doing a little laundry, and taking Mac for a walk in the dark. This time change is messing with me! I like the sun being up earlier, but I don’t appreciate it being dark as I drive home from work at 5 PM. Oh well….so begins the Winter months. 🙂

I also spent some time last night trying to catch up on the last few episodes of American Horror Story. Any fans out there?? Nick and I are pretty obsessed with this show and have watched each season/series since it started.

american-horror-story-coven-2Creepy! The current series, Coven, is about some young witches that have been brought together in a small ‘school’ made just for them to learn to control their powers. I had missed the last 3 episodes, but thankfully my trusty DVR let’s me catch up whenever I have time! If you like spooky stuff, you should definitely check this series out.

Sugar Detox Time

Well, it’s that inevitable time where I must detox my body and jump back on the healthy-eating wagon completely. Starting with Halloween and through my birthday weekend, I ate whatever I wanted and however much I wanted without much guilt or thought. But Halloween is over and my cookie cake is gone. So today begins my complete sugar detox to get myself back on track!

I’m not one of those naturally thin people that can eat whatever and not gain any weight, so I have to constantly keep myself in check to maintain a healthy weight and make sure my pants will still zip. Today when I got dressed, my dress pants still came on, but they are not as loose as they were before the weekend, that’s for sure! So I started my day off with some oatmeal, fresh raspberries, and yogurt.

photo(131)Like always, the hot oatmeal with raspberries mixed in was my favorite part.

photo(130)I also tried to keep it light last night by having some quinoa and veggies for the main part of my evening meal. I made enough so I can have it for lunch today too!

And sadly, the giant bowl of Halloween candy will be coming to the office with me after lunch so I can give away the last of my sweet temptations.

photo(118)I tend to think I have a lot of willpower when it comes to eating healthy, but this bowl of candy in my living room is killing Nick and I slowly. So I figure I’ll just get rid of it to ease our minds and our bellies. Let the sugar detox begin!

The holidays tend to be killer on the waistline, so I’m trying to be extra motivated to keep myself in check right up until Thanksgiving and then again until Christmas. I refuse to have to buy bigger pants just because of holiday indulging! And hopefully between my Jazzercise classes and training for the half marathon, I’ll be able to at least maintain a healthy weight through the new year. Send your motivation vibes my way!

As for the rest of my Tuesday, I have two Jazzercise classes right after work.  I love working my classes into my half marathon training plan as my ‘cross training’ days. I thought it would be hard to train for a half marathon while teaching 6 classes a week, but it’s been great so far!

I hope you all have a great day, and I’ll chat with you soon!

White Christmas and Crepes

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, , , ,

Happy Monday, everyone! Hope you’re having a marvelous start to the week. So far, so good on my end.

I was very spoiled this year, and my birthday festivities continued throughout the weekend! Saturday morning started out on a great note – with a long run!

Screen Shot 2013-11-04 at 9.57.11 AMWoohoo!! 10.4 miles = the longest run I’ve had this far. I felt awesome and although this was longer than what I had on my training schedule, I decided to keep on pushing since I was feeling extra spry that morning.

When I returned home, I had a package waiting for me on the doorstep.

photo(122)A birthday gift from my best friend, Emily! She shipped me some fun socks and a DVD + a cute doggie bday card. She is the sweetest, and it makes me so sad that she lives in St. Louis so we don’t get to be together too often. But this gift definitely made my day brighter!

Crepes for Lunch

After my run and gift opening, I took a quick shower before my mom and sister-in-law (also named Christine) arrived to my house around 11 AM. We headed out for a nice lunch (along with Nick!) in downtown Springfield at the Aviary Cafe and Creperie.

The Aviary is a tiny, cute, and eclectic little cafe that serves the BEST crepes in town. Everything is homemade, fresh, and extremely flavorful. I’ve eaten there a handful of times and have never been disappointed! I also love the atmosphere since it’s small with limited seating, so I thought it would be the perfect spot for our lunch.

We started with some (unpictured) fried brussel sprouts. They were amazing and kinda strange at the same time! My  mom and I loved them, while Christine and Nick both only tried one bite. 🙂

Then it was onto our savory crepes for our lunch entrees! I had a breakfast-filled crepe and a side salad.

photo(129)It was filled with bacon, eggs, and cheese. It tasted like an awesome breakfast all wrapped in a thin pancake! Loved it! Plus I thought the protein would be good for me after my long run. I ate every last bite and even helped out everyone else in finishing their plates. Do long runs make you hungry? Because they turn me into a bottomless pit. 🙂

Nick had a crepe that was filled with shredded beef and bleu cheese crumbles in a spicy and savory sauce of some sort.

photo(128)It was all delicious as well. But my favorite part came next: dessert crepe!

photo(127)We ordered a caramel apple crisp crepe to split for dessert. It was AMAZING to say the least. That homemade caramel sauce basically made me swoon. And since it was my birthday weekend, they let me lick the plate and eat all the leftover gooey goodness!

photo(126)White Christmas

After our lunch, we headed over to Juanita K. Hammons Hall on the campus of Missouri State University to see White Christmas, the musical. I had asked my mom for tickets for my birthday a month or so ago, and she obliged to get tickets for us all to go together. I love Christmas; I love the movie; and I love musicals, so I was basically excited like a small child on Christmas morning when we arrived!

Myself with my mom and sister-in-law!
Myself with my mom and sister-in-law!

photo(124)Nick was such a good sport to go along with us gals for my birthday. I know he probably didn’t love all the singing and dancing as much as I did, but he was still happy and tried to act excited for me. 🙂

Our seats were kinda up in the nosebleeds, but we were perfectly centered and had no issues seeing everything on stage.

photo(125)It was a long show – we were done and outta there around 5 pm. But it was totally worth it. I think getting to see this musical with my family is probably one of the best gifts I’ve gotten in a while. It was a special day that I won’t forget anytime soon!

My mom and Christine headed home once we got back to my house, so Nick and I decided to just relax and be lazy until we were hungry for some dinner around 7:30. We went out for a late and casual dinner at Big Whiskey’s and then went to visit one of Nick’s buddys who was having a few friends over for a game night. It was fun to see some old friends, but I was tired so we headed home fairly early to get some rest. Birthdays are fun but can really make an old 24 year-old tired!!

As you can tell, it was a fun and food-filled birthday weekend! I’m trying to get back on the healthy-eating wagon today, but the leftover Halloween candy is making it hard! It’s my goal to have lots of fruits and veggies with every meal this week to help my tummy get back to normal.

I’m thankful to have tonight off to relax and rest my tired legs. My long run is really catching up with my backside today! Ouch! Rest days are our glute’s friends. 🙂

Have a great day!!