1st Pilates Class

Last night, I took my very first pilates class. I was a little intimidated. The class sounded hard, but I've heard a lot really good things about it. When I walked in the door, there was only one other person there. I asked her if she had ever done this class before. She had only done 1 or 2 pilates classes in general. She said she loved it though. I heard a lot of people saying that they had only taken 1 or 2 pilates classes, so I didn't feel completely out of the loop).

The class had a lot of core work, which I really need right now (remember summer of abs 2012, me neither). We also worked a little on the arms (which made it extremely difficult after doing a tough weight session 20 minutes before) and we did a medium amount on our legs. It was a very good class! I'm glad I chose to do this class (my regular spin instructor is on vacation). I can't wait until next week (he's gone for 2 weeks). 

When I got home, I was starving! I needed a snack stat! I ate a couple muffins while I watered the lawn and wrote this post. Leftovers were amazing (as expected)!

My brother is in town, so I get to see him, my nephew and my niece. 

Only 2 more days until the Color Run!!! Can't wait!! Anything I need to know for anyone who has already run it?

Well Deserved Lazy Day

Last night's Girls Night was a blast. We had so much food (mini burgers, salads, bread, you name it). Jason managed to sneak out and snag some food, too.

Of course, the best part was the dessert. These little things were heaven!

I was so tired after everyone left, I crashed shortly afterwards.

The plan for today was to spend the day in bed, catching up on Netflix movies. Jason made pancakes and we started watching Dexter. I love that show (and I'm only on season 1, episode 5).

I get bored super easy and can't sit still some times. So, the day in bed didn't last too long (only until about 2). I had to get up and move around and get things done for this week.

After I got some chores done, I made left overs for lunch. Yum!!

I think it's time to go back to bed to watch some more Dexter. I love gloomy, rainy days (when I'm not running in it).

What's your favorite show?

Food...

I wanted to run 6 miles today, but the side stitch had another plan. It started about 1/4 mile into my run. I couldn't get rid of it. Nothing was working. I ended up only running 2 1/4 miles. Then, I headed straight for the stair stepper. I climber 1.5 miles and burned 200 calories. I felt pretty dripping sweaty and ready to work the legs with my weights. It was still a pretty good workout.


Leftovers are the best thing. When you don't have time to make something new, just heat (or keep cold) and eat. Lately, I've been getting a little bit more miles in, which means less time at home (can't wait until my new schedule kicks in, I'll have less time at home). So, I had leftovers, once again (last time for this dish).

Also, I enjoyed a couple of lemon bars. I had no idea how much I liked these (especially since I've never had them before making this). I could eat the rest in one sitting (and need to run a million miles to work it off).

During the taper, I gained just a few pounds, and I am back to my "happy weight". My eating habits never changed (hit the weight gain) and since I never changed what I ate (except those few beers over the weekend) and am continuing to run, that's why I lost the weight already.

How do you get rid of a side stitch?

Feeling Strong

Today has been one of those days. Everything I touch breaks, or gets completely ruined. It's been like this all day long. I'm surprised I didn't get into a car accident on my way home. I've felt sluggish all day (it's been cloudy and rainy here). All I've wanted to do is relax and cuddle with the hubs. So, I made a choice. I chose not to go to the gym today. At first, I just wasn't going to go to spin class. Then, I was afraid that I may break my leg or something running. I think my brain needs this day off and I'm proud of it. I'll have my long run tomorrow (thinking about 10 miles). I've been feeling strong lately (picture taken Saturday afternoon). Especially since my 13 miler on Saturday. I'm still feeling good. That day, my legs were a little stiff, but nothing bad. I can't wait for the race (12 days)!! It's time for my yummy meatballs for dinner. I hope everyone that raced today is doing well!! Congrats to everyone!

Errands All Day

I have my plan (I think I mentioned before), that I am not eating any sweets, mainly not baking until after my race. My boss came in this morning and gave a chocolate bar (my favorite). I weighted my the donut and it was 1/2 pound. I can't ever turn down a donut, at least I haven't baked anything, yet (and don't plan on it). I just finished running some errands and I have some more to run when hubs gets home (aka: our cheap date). Just came home to grab a quick bite to eat. We're finishing our last bit of left overs. Tomorrow is our International dish night. I'm making Polish food. This is my last day of rest until my 13 miler (tomorrow). Tomorrow will be an exciting day! How are your Saturday plans?

I'll tell You How Stronge I Am

I've decided that since my the running has been cut down (because of work) on Mondays and Wednesdays, I would see how fast I can run a 5k on these days. Today, was another great beginning to my running week. I set another unofficial PR. New PR is 30.04. That's 19 seconds faster than last week.

After feeling like a hot shot, I headed over to spin class. An hour later, I walked out of that spin room with a lot more sweat on the ground than there was when I walked in. I love these classes. They really get me to push myself harder than I thought I could. This is how I feels after days like these!

Last night, we had left overs. They were so good! My plate was empty in no time!

When I go to the grocery store this weekend, I will be buying healthier things and more veggies. Not sure why, but they haven't been making an appearance lately. I think I'm going to be eating chicken sandwiches the rest of the week (piled with a ton of fresh spinach). But, I guess my "yummy foods" this weekend fueled me well for my new PRs!

What's your favorite veggie?

Half Marathon Minus a 5k

Last night, I had the Moussaka for dinner. Surprisingly, it tasted much better than the first night. It had more flavor and taste. It still didn't taste as good as I'd hoped, but better. Maybe it gets better with each day??


I had 10 miles on the schedule to run tonight. Well, I think it was the best run of the training schedule! I felt no pain (not even my rigged toe) and I can't wait until my next run.

I rigged my foot so my blister wouldn't be effected by the run. As I'm typing this, I realized I hadn't taken a picture, yet. I'll post one tomorrow. I out a normal band aid over the blister, then duct tape to make the band aid stay on. When I took it off, I could see a small blister on the toe to the right and the current blister was very slightly effected. This isn't nearly what it wold have been if I didn't do anything. I don't think I could have finished the 10 miles.

I will be icing tonight and hoping (most likely) to be back at the gym tomorrow for a 3 mile run and spin class tomorrow. Let's see how my feet heal.

How did you feel after your first 10 miler?

Overcome By Laziness

I was so tired last night. I think I was off and on sleeping since about 6:30 last night. I can't believe how tired I was.

For dinner, last night, we had left overs. I made this the other night and I never posted it. It was super easy to make. I bought the cook book at the Dollar Tree store.

It definitely tasted better the first night. It wasn't as creamy last night. Oh well.

I've been so lazy all day. I haven't wanted to do anything. This is fine, because I start the same old schedule tomorrow. Monday's are usually my busy/crazy days.

Only a few more minutes until my poll closes.

The Blister Won!

My hubby is a Veteran and this was his first Veterans Day off. After all these years, he finally gets one off. I'm so happy for him. He was so kind to bring me and my co-workers some donuts this morning. I splurged and had 2 donuts. They were so good. They were from my favorite donut shop down the street.

After work, as usual, I went to the gym. I had 7 1/2 miles on my schedule. I was able to run 1 1/2 miles miles before my foot started to kill me. I knew the blister was going to give me some trouble tonight. I was just hoping it was going to be at least 6 miles (or more) into my run. I had to limp off the treadmill and go home. It hurts to stand, walk or even run. I feel so defeated. I'm taking Friday (as planned), Saturday and Sunday (as planned) off from any sort of working out. I'm going to try not to put so much pressure on my foot as possible. It's kind of hard with the job that I have. I'm hoping to be keeping (or mostly) healed by Monday. I hope all goes well.


We're having yummy left overs for dinner tonight. I can't wait. My tummy is starting to growl. I'm finally getting hungry (since eating those donuts).

Here's a funny picture of us (mostly me). I'm posting this since I haven't had a lot of pictures on here lately. I have some fun plans for Saturday, so there will be a lot more then.

I hope everyone is having a good night and an even better dinner! Has anyone had any feet problems lately?

Short & Sweet

Today was a pretty calm day. Nothing new, at all. No working out (Sundays are my new rest day). I had pancakes (same as yesterday) for breakfast. I did find a recipe that I used to make my own coffee creamer. I tend to use more creamer than coffee. What you do is use 1.5 cups of milk (I used non fat), 1.25 cups of condensed milk and 2 teaspoons of vanilla exact. Blend everything together (in blender) until it is fluffy (about 2 minutes). I'm storing this in one of my old coffee creamer containers. I'm guessing this costs about $2 max. What a better deal than buying the creamer. Plus, I know what's in this one.

We just snacked on some home made fries (baked not fried). And, we're about to watch a movie and eat left overs. What a great night: healthy, home made dinner, a fire going and my hubby...all in one place. I love it when it rains!

I loved my dinner last night. It was so good and creamy and filling. I could have eaten the entire thing! I can't wait for dinner (and I'm not even hungry). This is what I'd rather be eating, though. For me, the rain brings out my junk food side. I would have loved to eat a burger for lunch and enjoy and nice cold beer in front of the fire right now. Oh well. I love my food I have been making.

Did you have any junk food this weekend?

Hilly Wednesday

This morning was a nice morning. I got up, fed the dog, ate my normal breakfast and headed out to work. When my boss arrived, he had a surprise for us. He made another batch of blackberry cobbler. He changed a few things up, but it tasted great! I was strong and didn't eat the entire dish. About 1pm, I had my banana for my 2nd snack.

After eating my standard whole wheat lunch, I went back to work. About 1/2 hour before I left, I enjoyed 1/2 bar of my Luna bar. This flavor was my all time favorite. It was Nutz Over Chocolate. It was so good, I could have eaten 10 of these bars. Candy bar for a snack!

The gym was pretty laid back. I ran hills today on the treadmill. I ran 3 miles at 6 incline for 34:28 minutes. Afterwards, I headed straight to my spin class. We had the new guy again. He was pretty good, I got a good sweat going during class. I think I wasn't into the music, or something. For some reason, I kept looking at the clock. Time did not fly by. I was probably in one of "those" moods where I didn't want to be there, but I forced myself anyways. I'm estimating that I burned about 500-600 calories at the gym today. It was a good day. I needed to burn off some of that cobbler.

Tonight's dinner was left over spaghetti with yummy veggies. It was just as good the second day as the first. I started getting caught up on my DVR. I think that if I didn't have the DVR, I wouldn't watch nearly as many shows as I do. Oh well, I do love TV.

Right now, I'm finishing up 1/2 of a strawberry Greek yogurt with fresh blackberries. I love this combo...so good!

I feel the need to bake, so this weekend will be a baking frenzy!! I can't wait until I decide what I want to bake. I'm seeing chocolate PB biscotti in my Saturday morning coffee. I can't wait to get back to my 9am Saturday spin class. I love that class. I think I love the fact that I get to go home and relax ALL DAY LONG and not watch the time. I love the weekends. This weekend will be great because we don't have a single plan (beside the normal working out).

What is your favorite Saturday morning activity (after your workout)? I love sitting outside enjoying with a warm cup of coffee and watching the leaves blow off the tree (of course more in the fall time). It's so relaxing outside at that time, when no one else is up, yet.

Is the weekend really over??

This morning, we got up at 9am. I had a cup of coffee with my multi grain cereal. We headed out with our Roxy girl to the lake, before it got too hot for her. Since she's a black dog, she gets extremely hot extremely fast. She loves playing in the lake with her soccer ball. It's her favorite!

When we got home a few hours later, Roxy girl got a bath to wash off the lake water. She loves her bathes!

I was feeling pretty hungry afterwards, so I decided to have some chocolate milk while I made a snack. I like a lot of chocolate!

For our snack, I made stuffed tomatoes (from my boss's garden). Here is the mixture that went inside: 2 pieces of baked bacon, 2 cloves garlic, Italian seasoned bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, zucchini, and squash.

Here's the baked bacon. I'll never make bacon in the microwave or on stove top again. Much cleaner and faster (I can go do other things while it bakes).

Here's the stuffed tomatoes. Yummy! So much flavor.

I also made baked zucchini. I followed a recipe from Food Network (that wasn't that good). It called for whole wheat flour, and corn meal. You use 2 egg whites for the binder, then dip in the flour mixture. Bake at 425 for 7 minutes, then flip and bake another 5 minutes. There wasn't much flavor. Next next, I'll use the bread crumbs and parm. cheese. I think that will be good!

Here's everything plated. I dipped the zucchini in non-fat ranch dressing.

A few hours later, hunger struck me. I hate needing food sometimes. Oh well, everyone does. If we didn't need food, just think about how much time would save... For lunch, I had an opened face egg salad sandwich (left over from Friday's dinner), and a handful of tortilla chips.

I was feeling quite tired, so I made an iced mocha. Cold coffee and chocolate. More yum! I had a lot to do today and needed a pick me up. (I'm still up and it's 1am, I shouldn't have done that.)

Dinner was another experiment...the stuffing mixture from the tomatoes (just larger quantity) and cooked 4 cheese ravioli. I poured a little spaghetti sauce on top with some more bread crumbs and parm. cheese. It was so good, I went back for seconds.

For dessert, I had left over apple crisp with some french vanilla ice cream. I heated the crisp up and laid the ice cream over top and watched it melt.

I am getting a little hungry. I think I'm going to try to pass on some food (since hopefully I'll be going to sleep soon) and will have a yummy (usual) breakfast tomorrow. Today was a rest day (post race). Tomorrow goes back to being a hellish Monday. I can't wait!!

What were your plans this weekend?