Weekend Recap Thus Far

Hi friends! How has your weekend been? Mine has been going swimmingly for the most part and I'm just now getting a chance to check in.

Friday night I hosted 8 friends for a little dinner party to celebrate the fall. T'was lovely and more to come on that this week including recipes for everything that was served!

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling not quite on my A-game after a few glasses on wine the night before. There was no time to wallow though because I had things to do and people to see.

I had a lighter breakfast of half a large pear chopped up and topped with a bit of almond butter and a little egg sandwich on Udi's whole grain bread with a light schmear of Trader Joe's roasted red pepper spread.

I then made my way to Sweet Green for a blogger meet up. Emily just moved into the area and organized this gathering of 20+ bloggers and readers in the area. I enjoyed chatting with people and making new friends! I'm always amazed by the community that is built around blogging - what an unexpected yet amazing bonus!

I was all decked out in my Texas gear in honor of our biggest rivalry game of the year. Texas was playing the University of Oklahoma and I was hoping for a beat-down...

before that though I had a bit of shopping on the agenda. In need of some fall items I found great success at the Gap.

Then, it was game time. I met up with Lauren (Fred) for our traditional lunch and game watching at Champps. I got the BBQ Chicken salad with about 100 modifications to make it gluten free and made it through half before calling it quits. I also feasted on this plate of waffle fries (x5) - I finished breakfast around 11:30 and it was 4 - 4:30 by the time I ate this. I was hangry!

Sadly Texas did not play its best and we were not victorious. There's always next year once the freshmen get their acts together... I hope...

By the time I got home I was bummed about the game and tired so I called it a night. I never really got hungry for dinner but I did snack on some leftover roasted veggies and rice.

This morning I headed out to to the farmers market first thing for a couple of things. I was out of fruit so I restocked on apples and pears. Yes, I love my Envitote and no, I don't have any regrets about looking like a hot mess on my way to the market. It's Sunday morning people!

I had a simple bowl of hot cereal with blueberries and chia seeds mixed in, topped with 1/2T peanut butter, cinnamon, and crushed almond slices. My body wanted nothing fancy this morning.

Now I'm working on blog stuff, procrastin getting ready to tackle some homework, and dragging my butt to the gym if it kills me. I am craving activity and am fed up with exercise falling by the wayside!

Do you go through exercise slumps? How do you pull yourself out? What's your favorite sports rivalry?

2 Part Weekend

Hi guys! Are you enjoying the long weekend? I know I am, even if some grad school stress is getting to me. I definitely don't like the feeling of knowing there's always something I should be doing for class. Ick.

I pushed those feelings aside though and have enjoyed my day so far.  I was up earlier than I had hoped for but in the end was glad to get some extra productivity time.  When I was finally hungry I grabbed my bowl of overnight hot cereal with some raspberries mixed in and topped with 1/2T peanut butter and had it alongside an egg white.

The rest of the morning was spent cleaning, organizing, and starting to pack for my trip tomorrow. I'm sooo excited to be heading to Dallas. I haven't been home since April. It's also nice because tomorrow marks the start of a second (and slightly longer!) weekend.

I finally got myself out the door for another walk / run. I gave myself 2 days in between running attempts as to not put too much stress on my foot. Because of Hurricane Earl, we have beautiful weather in DC - it was only 79 degrees when I headed out around 1pm. 93 minutes and 6.25 miles later, I was feeling much less stressed!

Lunch was quickly thrown together and made use of the last few fresh vegetables in my fridge. I had leftover Greek salad, extra romaine, leftover white beans (~1/3c), a dolma, and a grilled cheese on a piece of Udi's with red pepper spread and spicy feta (also leftover).

It's now time for Texas football - HOOK 'EM HORNS!!

I gotta rest up for a birthday party tonight!

What college team do you root for??

Snow Day!

Despite the end of Snowpocalypse 2 on Saturday evening, DC is still currently struggling to dig itself out of this mess before the next storm hits tomorrow! The temperatures are quite chilly but at least the sun is out!

I made myself leave the apartment for a short while yesterday, to walk and to take in the winter wonderland in the sun. There hasn't been much melting but where there was, ice returned once the sun set.

 

  

  

 

Last night I joined a few friends for Super Bowl 44 watching festivities. Congrats to the New Orleans Saints!! The game was exciting as was party-hopping (especially because it was all in 1 building and no bundling and re-bundling). I also learned something pretty cool about Drew Brees - in addition to loving Austin, TX, he eats gluten, wheat, dairy, and egg free! Pretty cool that he's become a serious pro-athletic without eating all of that stuff.

I found out late Sunday evening that work today is canceled and so far, I've enjoyed my snow day. I slept in, had a yummy bowl of BRM hot cereal with blueberries, PB, and fig jam, and completed my Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred workout.

Maintaining some semblance of a routine is helping me stay sane with all this winter weather!

Not sure what's on tap for the rest of the day, but I'll probably be venturing outside at some point!

Game Day!

In anticipation of the BCS Championship game with Texas vs. Alabama, I had planned some spirited eats throughout my day to stay excited for the big game. The last time Texas was in the National Championship game I had just had my tonsils out and wasn't really eating...

The day began with hot cereal mixed with 1 T of sweet potato, some raisins, cinnamon, a few drops of sugar-free syrup, and PB.


My snack around noon was a grapefruit before heading off to table at a student fair on campus. There weren't too many students (it was for new transfer students only) but I had a great time getting to know the other staff who were tabling in my area :-) I brought part of my lunch with me also (a salad) but was too busy talking to photograph the evidence.



Lunch #2 was a BBQ chicken "sammie" along with some carrots and celery. It tasted delish and held me over until my dinner around 8!


After work, 2 of my friends were fantastic enough to host a game watching party at their apartment. R cooked up some Austin style eats, including Trudy's fried avocados! I couldn't eat them because of a few ingredients and instead brought my own salad which I topped with some FF refried beans, sprinkle of cheese, and some tortilla chips.

Sadly, Texas was not victorious in the game. Colt McCoy was injured at the start of the game and wasn't able to play in his last college football game :( The freshman quarterback who stepped in for him did a decent job for a freshman and I'm already looking forward to next season. Hook 'Em!!

Miss New Booty

One of my favorite past times has always been shopping. Even if I don't need anything, I love wandering through stores, whether it's of the grocery, craft, or clothing variety. I'd say that my love of shopping started at an early age, when my grandmother took me out for a special day of lunch and the mall. My skills have been sharpened since and I still love spending days with my grandmother (whether or not shopping is involved)!


This whole thing probably sounds very shallow and vain. I'm sorry! I really don't consider myself to be extremely materialistic or that I have to spend money on things to enjoy life. In fact, the unemployed life has shown me just how little "things" matter compared to friends and family, love and support, health, and happiness!

Nevertheless, the return of winter brought me a strong reminder that I am in need of a few key items to make it through the cold few months ahead. Part of this stems from not having bought many winter items since I first knew I was moving to DC. Add to the mix my get-healthy kick of the past year, and I'm in need of some clothes that fit me properly.

Yesterday I spent a fantastic afternoon / evening / night with my friend and favorite shopping buddy, L. L and I are friends from home who became closer when we both moved to DC. L is a fantastic and frequent shopper and I love having a buddy to share opinions with and keep me company while shopping. L has known about my longstanding search for pants that fit, and we ventured out in an attempt (yet again) to try to find anything that would work.

I'm excited to announce that I did have luck, and I can't wait to put my new purchases to good use :-) AND, even better, I got fantastic deals on almost everything I bought which makes me smile even more. I got over $400 worth of clothes for under $190 AND I re-purchased a big ticket item at 1/3 of the original price I paid so I have another large refund coming back to me!! I normally don't like to share financial information like this but the deals I found were worth sharing. There are so many deals in the stores right now, and if you shop smartly, you can get items further discounted with special sales, coupons, etc.

My loot includes: 3 pairs of pants, 2 sweaters, a dress, and a few new bowls in warm colors!
Amidst all of my adventures, my food blogging has fallen by the wayside. I have made some smart choices and some not-so-smart choices. My goal this week is to get back on track and to log some extra time in the gym so that I go into the next 2 weeks of holiday parties and celebrations feeling happy and confident about being able to integrate healthy habits into my life.

Below are a few of my meals I did manage to capture. AND, during the nail-biting ending of the Texas game, I may or may not have consumed a late night serving of chocolate Chex!

Goals for today include: planning my meals and recipes for the week, finish cleaning out my apartment (which I began during yesterday's snow storm), a run plus some gym time (it's too cold to exercise outside today!), and some relaxing.

Happy Sunday!

homemade GF pancakes (using the recipe from Pamela's) with Smart Balance and a bit of sugar-free syrup, an egg white, and my new favorite pear - Comice kicked off my Saturday

Lunch was veggie chili and the last small square of cornbread leftover from Thanksgiving. Eats of the evening included: a garden salad, a small pan noodles from Noodles, and 1/3 of a rice krispie treat. Oh, and lots and lots of Chex!

This morning I wasn't too hungry so I just had a pear w/ a small drizzle of PB and an egg white w/ a sprinkle of parm. A bit later I had one of my leftover pancakes w/ Smart Balance and a couple of drops of sugar-free syrup. I'm still full from my late-night breakfast during the Texas game!

Challenges, Cooking, and Charming Weather

It's a very good thing that one of my pet peeves happens to be dishes in the sink. After 3 rounds of dishes today (multiple cooking adventures) it feels very good to be sitting on my couch with my feet propped up. Dinner was a mix of leftover Thai and black bean soup - need to clean out the fridge before my grocery store run tomorrow! I made a batch of veggie chili and cauliflower faux-tatoes for the week. They'll be featured soon, but here's a sneak peak:


Today I was extremely sore when I woke up and did some stretching while eating my breakfast. I then headed out to enjoy the beautiful weather we're having - no coats necessary!! I strolled through the Farmer's Market and then picked up a few essential items from Target. I had a couple of nibbles while I was at the market but was hungry and ready for lunch when I got home.

I made a gluten-free pizza using a brown rice tortilla as my crust. I baked it in the oven at 400 for about 5 minutes until crispy.

I then spread about 2 tbps of canned tomato sauce over the crust and then added some steamed veggies: spinach, broccoli, and bell peppers. I topped the whole thing with 1tsp of parm and 1 tbsp of reduced-fat mozzerella. Then, I baked the pie again for about 15 minutes until the cheese was melted and golden brown.

I ate most of my salad while waiting for my pizza and while I started with half of it, ended up eating the whole thing by the time I headed out again in the afternoon!

I met up with a friend and we walked to the White House and on the Mall. It felt sooooooo good to be outside in the sun with this amazing weather we're having. The trees are beautiful and we enjoyed some exercise and catching up on our lives.

Yesterday was a great football day - the Longhorns creamed UCF, 35 - 3. I had some salad with 1 c of Amy's black bean soup and a few brown rice tortilla chips.

After the game, it was time to get outside and move. For Day 2 of my Bob Harper challenge I completed 5.2 miles of running intervals. I ran for 1 min., walked for 2. There were a few stretches where I ran longer, one for almost 5 minutes (a personal victory!)!! I did the mileage in 68 minutes which puts me on track to complete the Turkey Trot in 1hr 30min. I really hope I make my goal!

I babysat last night so I came home, stretched, showered, and ate dinner before heading out. It was a low key night and I nibbled on some raisins while I was out. Since I was hungry when I got home, I had a slice of toast with PB which was the perfect dessert.

Bob's Challenge Re-cap:
Friday: 21 minutes, treadmill (1.6mi), 20 minutes, stationary bike (4.8mi), 22 minutes, elliptical (1.85mi) plus 6.35mi of walking during the day
Saturday: 5.2 mi interval running, 68 minutes
Sunday: 6.2mi walking, 3 hours (with some photo-taking, grocery shopping, and girl talk mixed in!)
= success!

It's off to bed - I'm pooped and will need my energy for a busy week coming up!

Blue and burnt orange!

It felt good to sleep in this morning after adjusting back to normal life after the flu and yesterday's long work out. My legs are a bit sore after yesterday's 3-pronged attack for hour #1 of my cardio challenge so I'm hoping to stretch a bit before getting in hr #2 today. I had my yummy hot cereal with a new fruit add-in - blueberries! It was delicious and perfect for a crisp fall morning. I also had an egg white w/ 1 tsp. of reducded-fat cheddar.

1/4 c Bob's Red Mill GF hot cereal
1 c water
1/3 c frozen blueberries
sprinkle of each: raisins, dried cherries, sugar-free maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1.4 tsp PB

On today's agenda:

• cheer on the Texas Longhorns against UCF
• yoga / stretching out my legs
• cardio hour #2 (hopefully outside if it warms up a bit)
• errands
• babysitting tonight

HOOK 'EM HORNS!!