All Day Happy Hour

The reason I only had 1 spoonful of ice cream last night was because I find that sometimes eating ice cream late at night causes me tummy aches in the morning.

Yet, I still woke up bloated and burpy (when I say burpy, I mean I feel like I have burps stuck in my chest. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with my acid reflux/stomach issues). Perhaps it was the late night plain yogurt that did it to me? haha.

Anyways, it was hard to scarf down food when I already felt pressure and full. But I needed to before my long run!

2 pieces of Ezekiel cinnamon raisin with a special nut butter, vanilla-pear butter, and a whole giant banana (I ate the rest of the ‘naner separate).

I had to break into this jar of almond butter, I swear!!!

The only nut butter I had open was my chocolate hazelnut butter, and I really wasn’t feeling that on cinnamon toast. This Justin’s maple almond butter was bought on super sale, and meant to be saved for a while.

Oh well.

Anyways, on to my run. My legs felt dead the whole time. From mile 1, all the way until the end. Tired tired legs.

My whole left side was also screaming at me. My left knee had a slight pain. My left butt cheek occasionally had a sharp pain. And towards the end, the bottom of my left foot was aching. WTF left side – what was your deal??  Cardio wise, I felt fine!  Never gasping to dying for air.

Don’t worry, I didn’t push through any horrible pain. And if I hurt later on or on my next run, I’ll rest up. But I am worried I need new orthotics and that was the cause of my left foot pain. Oh the joys of money.

I decided to cut my run short at 11.5 (I wanted to do 12), but after a short break on a bus stop bench, I decided I could push through another .5 mile easily enough. 12 it was!

Distance: 12 miles
Time: 1:53.05
Average: 9:25

• 1 – 8:38
• 2 – 9:13
• 3 – 9:13 (I’m so damn consistent, I can’t stand it)
• 4 – 9:26
• 5 – 9:08
• 6 – 10:01 (bummer. So close)
• 7 – 8:55 (woah missy!)
• 8 – 9:59
• 9 – 9:49
• 10 – 9:27
• 11 – 9:51
• 12 – 9:22

During, I fueled with my usual peach rings (I had 4 at mile 5.75), and a new find I got on sale at Target.

I brought along 2 little balls, and had 1 at mile 8, and another at mile 10.

These were actually pretty tasty. Stats:

I do feel that their recommended amounts per hour are a bit high though:

I really felt like a post-run beer.

Unfortunately it was 10:43 am.

Fortunately, I didn’t really care.

Yes – before 11 am. It is Thirsty Thursday, after all. I actually only drank half if that makes any difference.

A 12 mile run also deserves a long awaited pumpkin spice light frappie. Especially since I had a giftcard.

Sidenote: $4.35 for this thing? Are you kidding me?!?!? That’s a bit ridiculous.

Too sweet. Less pumps next time.

For lunch, all I really wanted was leftover pumpkin bread pudding. (BTW – I’ve totally been picking at this all week unpictured. It’s bomb). But I knew I needed more substance to my lunch.

I’m not sure why I added more bread and some chocolate filled crisps and called that substance.

On second thought, I added some feta to the hummus bread.

Mmmm pumpkin pie bread pudding.

At work I snacked on some of my new favorite granola.

And then ran some errands. Guess what’s right next door to the bank?

That’s right. It was pretty small – only $1.50 worth of yogurt. I honestly thought about not posting about this…WHAT?!?! Why should I be ashamed that I had a frappie in the morning and froyo in the afternoon? I shouldn’t. And I’m not. It was delish!

More snackage. Or dinner appetizers. However you want to look at it.

With ketchup and hummus for dippage.

Once I awoke from a glorious nap, all intentions of making lasagna went out the window. Something easy instead was required.

Whole wheat sweet potato gnocchi with pumpkin pasta sauce and some feta cheese. I thought about adding veggies to the mix, but nixed the idea. It’s a good thing I had those carrot fries. And that pumpkin definitely counts as a vegetable.

Come here my little pretty.

The sauce was phenom. The gnocchi was blah. No sweet potato flavor at all.

I’m now enjoying a cup of cookie dough coffee at 8:00 pm. Why? Because, like I said. It’s Thirsty Thursday. And I don’t work at 6 am tomorrow like I do the rest of the weekend.

Therefore – a great reason to go out on the town.

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Sad sad empty jars

This is always a glorious sight!! OIAJ anyone?

Unfortunately I ran into 2 problems:

1. I have no oats.

2. It would be quite difficult to dig my spoon into this monstrous jar.

So I had to use my last almond butter remnants on my toast.

I try to make toast look appealing on an Iphone camera. Really, I do. But it’s hard.

Especially sandwich thin toast And since that’s my only form of bread in the house – well. Sandwich thin toast it was!

I then headed out on my first run in almost 3 4 weeks. I honestly can’t remember if it’s been 3 or 4 weeks, and I don’t really feel like figuring it out right now. Hmm…

Distance: 3.75 miles
Time: 37:10

With a few walking breaks – it was pretty tough. Gah. I’m super behind on my half training now. I was up to 10 miles before I had to take a break, and those long runs were still tough. Now I have…8 weeks to work my way back up until my half. Including taper time. We’ll see!

Good news is my side stitch/pulled ab muscle/odd side pain was barely barely noticeable! I’d say it’s about 98.5% better than what it was at the peak. It only slightly hurts now if I push on it.

Post-run lunch was another chicken pesto wrap. Frozen section at Costco.

Hope you’re not sick of these yet. I still have a few in the freezer.

Darn it. Another empty nut butter jar?

This time I used the last of my cashew butter to make my snack – CB&J sammy. Enjoyed at the beach.

I came home starving, devoured a yogurt (unpictured – mucho sorry!), and headed out to pick up some black shoes for work and get some necessary groceries. My little fridge section has looked sad the past couple days.

Pssst that’s the egg white salad container I got from Costco. It’s delicious! Reminds me of those Trader Joe’s egg white salads.

Seriously, not much to work with.

Ahh much better 😀

I’m staying at a friend’s house (actually it’s the house I lived in my past 2 years) for the next 1 1/2 weeks. So I didn’t want to get TOO much food. But I do need some stuff!

Dinner was quick, cheap, and easy.

Pasta pasta pasta! I mixed in some canned green beans.

It was a ton of pasta, but I was still hungry an hour later and cooked up my cauliflower.

Don’t judge.

I want to leave you with what I managed to look like at the end of yesterday. Babysitting + not caring about your looks + slightly hungover leads to this attractive ‘do:

Apparently I also thought I was slightly ghetto.

First day of the real job tomorrow!! Wish me luck 😉

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12 hour workday

This post was written yesterday and meant to go up last night, but my computer was having problems. Let’s just pretend for a second that it’s Wednesday night. But even better because once you finish reading you can realize that it’s in fact Thursday and almost the weekend!!

Happy Hump Day friends!

Today I had to fast for another appointment I had, so I packed my breakfast to go.

Overnight oats eaten in the car on my drive to work.

Dangerous? Perhaps.

Delicious? Yes.

• 1/3 cup oats 1/4 cup oat bran + 2/3 cup almond milk
• 2 big scoops of plain yogurt (probably ~ 1/3 cup)
• 1 T chia seeds
• Raisins
• Cinnamon & a squirt of maple syrup
• Justin’s honey PB

Then this morning I topped it with some Life cereal and Nature’s Path gluten free maple crunch cereal.

I like this flavor much better than the gluten free Vanilla crunch. But I’m still not a huge fan of the odd aftertaste.

Once at work, I snacked on pita chips

and carrots during the morning.

And finally broke into my lunch when the kiddos went down for their nap. Yup, another frozen meal. I have a good stash of them in my freezer I’ve gotten very cheap. I’m always trying to whittle down my food stash to prepare for Whole Foods when I go home next week. Can’t wait 😀

I’m not going to lie when I say I actually have really been liking these Spa Lean Cuisines! This was quite good! Loved the peanut sauce.

I laughed when I walked in to wake up the baby this afternoon.

Just fell on over in her sitting position.

Comfortable, no?

And some diet crack might have been consumed. Necessary to get through 12+ hours with some little ones 😉

Dinner was leftovers from last night –

• WW pasta
• Boca burger patty
• Sauteed mushrooms
• Artichoke and pesto pasta sauce (Safeway Select brand)

Hello processed sodium!! 😉

And a couple snackies once I got home and lounged in front of 8 singing men (American Idol obvi).

Chocolate fig vitatop + yogurt + honey peanut butter.

Lots more PB than what appears in the picture entered my mouth. No worries.

And 2 dates with more peanut butter.

I should’ve given up nut butters for Lent. I have a problem.

Guys – the other night I came home and my roommate was making pancakes for dinner. Sounds like my kinda girl right? Except she was making them on my nice pan, which she was constantly spraying with PAM. This made me cringe because

1. I was told not to use PAM on nice pans since it’s builds up and eventually leaves a sticky residue.

2. I have a pancake griddle she could’ve used!

This was my pan after a night of soaking 😦

Scorch marks and gritty buildup all around. I googled, and found different suggestions so I tried soaking it last night with a ton of dishwasher detergent. We’ll see if that works.

I know it happens, and she didn’t do it on purpose, and I’m probably being anal/over-reacting. But it still makes me sad!

Anyone have any suggestions and techniques you’ve used to clean pans like this?

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Make New Friends…

But keep the old. One is silver human and the other gold polar bear…(you’ll see…)

Thanks for all your suggestions as to what to do with my time off work!  Yesterday, I was very productive 😉

3 mile run completed.

Alcohol is purchased for our friends’ party on Friday

Nails are painted Sunsparks Orange.

(I know you all wanted to see a picture of my feet)

Book is read and finished! Time to start a new one.

Picked up the mail. New Laras that I won in Mary’s giveaway!

I could smell the tropical one as I opened the package. Mmmm.

Oh…and I’m growing a new friend.

I’ve always wanted a pet polar bear, but my mom said no 😦

There he grows!

Hi buddy!

I’ve also been productive in eating. A. Lot.

Cinnamon-raisin banana french toast. Slice 1 topped with sunbutter & pumpkin butter. Slice 2 topped with vanilla Chobani.

And can’t forget those carmelized bananas.

I had the weak caffeine munchies so a bowl of fruit was also devoured.

Mid-day snackage of Bluebran Vitatop with Earthbalance PB:

That right there is an attractive picture.

Add in another large bowl of fruit. And green smoothie.

I didn’t eat nearly enough during the day and was beyond hungry for dinner. That hunger that just makes you literally wolf down your food in one breath? And then you just keep stuffing your face to feel satisfied even though your food hasn’t registered yet? And then it hits you like a brick and you have a hard time breathing?

Yeah, that hunger.

Bowl #1 of leftover pasta topped with veggies along with the last of my sweet potato chips:

Bowl #2 was a repeat of bowl #1. Yes – a whole ‘nother bowl of pasta. Plus 2 bowls of spinach salad.

Later that night I tried to re-make banana soft serve. Frozen bananas + frozen mangos + cacao nibs + some almond milk went into my Magic Faux-bullet.

It was delicious (especially topped with some Sunbutter), but it still didn’t work out too well. I had to add liquid, and keep stopping the blender to shake it up a bit. Why won’t this work for me?

This morning, I meant to have something light. I’ve been feeling weighed down in the morning and blech!

Oh fruit & yogurt? Perfect! Tips to a light breakfast:

1. Don’t use up an entire carton of yogurt if you plan on consuming a week’s worth of fruit at the same time.

2. Don’t have a muffin on the side.

3. Don’t enjoy 3+ cups of coffee liquid that fills the precious space in your stomach for food.

3. Don’t….oh, who am I kidding? It was delicious 😉

Yogurt mess with 1 container pomegranate Chobani, 5 fresh figs, 1/2 container of strawberries, 1 entire peach, some flax, sprinkling of cereal (in the middle). Yes – huge.

Who can spot the lucky penny?? Wait – is heads or tails lucky? Ehh I always called tails when it was flipped so take that ‘heads’!

Oh yeah – and I added a few dabs of strawberry preserves.

With a banana bomb muffin on the side – Sunbutter spread throughout the middle.

So, how was the anticipated pomegranate yogurt? (I know that’s what you’re thinking – even though you’ve read reviews about it already on several other blogs). I liked it! Some people had issues with the crunchy seeds mixed in, but I didn’t mind them. There were actually less than I thought there would be. Other people also said the taste wasn’t pomegranate exactly, but more strawberry. I agree with them there. I did remind me of the strawberry flavor, but I am not a fan of the strawberry, while on the other had, I did enjoy this one. Yummm!!

Now…as soon as I can stand (just kidding folks), I’ll be heading to the gym. Yes – the gym is now open and ready for use! Good thing, because as much as I was enjoying the track (har har), my knees have been feeling it lately. Stair-machine time? Yay my favorite 😉

What will day#2 of no work bring me? Stay tuned to find out (since my life is so exciting, I know).

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Night of G’s

Gossip Girl or Greek. Gossip Girl or Greek. I think GG wins out. I can always watch Greek online (thank heavens for online TV now!).

Ever since seeing this brie pasta dish that Jenna made a while back, I’ve been meaning to make it myself. I’ve had brie cheese to use up for a while. Enter my own modified version of this brie pasta dish!

Mine ended up being a lot different than the websites recipe. My modifications:

• No pancetta or bacon
• No fettuccini – I just used what I had
• Less brie than it called for (I didn’t have enough – but it was still delicious)
• Completely forgot to get shallot at the store, so used red onion instead

It was delicious and creamy!! I think I used a bit too much water, though. And I also added some garlic salt at the end which I feel changed the whole flavor. I wouldn’t do that next time. I definitely recommend this very easy and yummy recipe!

I had this along with a small spinach, feta & poppyseed dressing salad.

Still in “clean on the freezer” mode, I whipped out some waffles for breakkie. Along with a small bit of strawberry Chobani (what was left in my container) for a small protein boost.

Topped my Kashi honey oat waffles with some figgy jam (just mashed fresh figs), banana slices, and a bit of Sunbutter.

Oh…and syrup. Duhhh.

Kept me full for, oh 2-2 1/2 hours. Yeah, waffles never do it for me. Couldn’t wait for the kiddos to go down at work so I could whip out my lunch!

Some leftover lentil & bean “chili” with 2 dolmas. Topped with a teeny bit of sour cream.

And strawberries.

Unpictured – small sliver of pizza, 1/2 PB&J cookie at work

3 kiddies were a handful again. Especially when they stunk up the house at the same time with their dirties! Phew!

Apparently I don’t work for 3 1/2 days now (until Friday night). She cut my 8-hour Wednesday. Lady lady! Stop canceling on me! College girl heading into her last year (aka want to spend all my money on fun rather than save it) needs her mulah!

Few questions for y’all to get your week started!!

1. What one show are you all looking forward to most this fall?

I have so many, there’s no way I can decide. Greek is definitely one of my faves though, even though it already started! I always have a tv “schedule” but then it gets all thrown off with studying, work, and last minute plans. Like I said, at least there’s online TV!

2. What should I do for the next 3 days off?

I have some “to-do” things, but anything particularly fun I should add to my list?!

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