Anyone that knows me knows that I am a music lover. I really do appreciate just about every type of music. Music is so therapeutic and can really affect your mood and/or attitudes.
I listen to music almost everyday all day at work. I usually have one ear bud in and am able to immerse myself in the task at hand. Of course, if I get way too much playing from the "Beaches" soundtrack, I'm most likely to start feeling a little sad. Hit shuffle. Problem solved.
I love music that makes me move. I find these types of songs very good for my walks. One ear bud in, playlist with the following, but not limited to, makes for a great walk!
Walk - Foo Fighters
Rain King - Counting Crows
Party All the Time - Black Eyed Peas
Back on the Chain Gang - The Pretenders
So What - Pink
Pose - Justin Timberlake
Bounce - Timbaland
Killing in the Name and Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine
Get Low - Lil Jon
Super Bass - Nicki Minaj
Beware (the JayZ remix) - Panjabi MC
Click Click Boom - Saliva
A Little Less Conversation - Elvis
Country Grammar - Nelly
Stronger - Kanye West
Getting a good workout in can be as easy as creating a playlist. I sometimes look up songs online to get the beats per minute. Obviously, the higher the number, the faster the song. When I walk with my whole library on shuffle, the slower songs tend to slow me down, significantly. What I typically do is create a specific playlist with the length I want to walk. If I take the same route, I can usually mark where I need to turn around and head back home. I DO NOT walk with even one ear bud in when I am walking with Ty. There is already way too much going on for me to have another distraction. I do the same when walking the pups. I only do it when it is just me, myself and I. Less distraction and seems safer.
When I get the opportunity to clean the house without Ty or Brett around, I play upbeat, fast music and I play it very loud. I can usually get accomplished in two hours what used to take me four or more. If the music is right, I can dance and clean at the same time. There is something to be said about running up and down the stairs as fast as I can without tripping, carrying bedding.
Ty and I used to dance a lot when we would get home from work/daycare. He doesn't like to dance nearly as much as he used to and quite frankly, he knows how bad of a dancer I am and I sense he is embarrassed for me when he sees me busting my moves.
I haven't tried using the same playlist for biking. Probably since my bike has still not moved since I first mentioned in this blog that I actually own a bike. As a matter of fact, my bike has become a beautiful fixture in which Brett hangs our brand new garden hose! It's lovely. Simply lovely!!!
On the topic of music, I just want to publicly say that I think Weird Al is a genius. I seriously do. Speaking of Weird Al, but not created by the genius himself is a parody of the song "We Are Young" titled "We Are Not Young." It is about people in their 30's and it really rings true. Check it out. And yes, like the song says, I did start a blog in my 30's. Wahoo!!!!!!!!
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you that have more music ideas for me, until next time...
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
We're talking food again...
I mentioned in a previous post about my coworker and the salads in the fridge and that I was giving it a whirl. Let me tell you that I LOVE this. I tore up one head of iceberg lettuce and simply added a bag of Rainbow Salad (shredded cabbage, carrots and cauliflower with bits of broccoli) in a container with a lid and voila! This made six rather large salads. I made the mix on Monday and by Thursday afternoon, I was eating the last of the bowl. The lettuce was the only thing that had signs of "aging" in the fridge with the rust marks along the edges, which as a side note, this proves that tearing the lettuce still makes lettuce brown. Anyhoo, the lettuce did not lose flavor or crispiness. The entire salad was still flavorful by Thursday afternoon. It was great! I will definitely be keeping my own pre-made salad in the fridge from now on. I am going to add some thinly sliced green onions and maybe some cucumber to see how that does. I love grape tomatoes, but I prefer to cut those up as I eat the salad, rather than put them in the bowl for the fridge because I think grape tomatoes lose flavor and texture once they are cut up and put in the fridge. FYI.
Since some of you have asked what exactly I eat on a daily basis, I am working on getting some meal ideas on here every so often. I'm thinking eating out as well as eating at home. I will throw in the things that I do to add the nutrients I need without having to cook separate meals for myself and Brett and Tyson. I'm working on it, so standby, I'll think of something catchy to flag these posts.
Let's talk tuna. I used to be a big fan of tuna. Five years ago when I decided it was time to lose weight, I went on a binge of tuna and frozen peas. True story. Now, I find that I don't like the smell nor the taste of tuna anymore. I've tried a couple of times and I am more likely to eat tuna if it is straight out of the foil pack rather than refrigerated. Once refrigerated, it takes all I have to not gag and barf on my plate. I will say that I do appreciate the tuna salad that I make when I eat it on toasted mini whole wheat bagels. It has been a while. I'll have to put my tuna to the test with that. Standby again on that one.
Something I believe to have merit is that the foods that you need to chew more make you eat less. The experts say it is because it takes "x" amount of time for your brain to know you are full. I think it is simply because you are fricken sick of chewing and your jaw is tired. That's just my opinion and I'm sticking with it. The things that come to mind are the protein bars (Market Pantry, my fave is fudge graham) that I eat frequently enough that most of the time, I want to throw half of it away because I'm bored with chewing, but still hungry. Salad is another thing that seems to take more chewing. If I eat a salad before a meal, I am less likely to overindulge in the meal to follow. Carrots are another good example. Think about chewing those puppies. It gets old, but is helpful in trying to control what you eat and how much. Scientific? I think so. There's also a study out there that says that you should chew your bites 30-50 times. Try it. It is hard and after a while all that goo in your mouth is just not appetizing. I'm guessing that aspect of it has something to do with controlling how much you are eating. That's my scientific opinion. Very scientific. Verrrrrrrrry.
Something that has recently been put into place is that once a week, Tyson and I are eating at my parents' house. This is extremely helpful in my whole meal planning - one less meal to make. I have spoken about my family's love for food. Perfect for me since my parents make some stuff that I just don't have time to do. I suppose their experience to be able to pull off more elaborate meals has a little something to do with it. Either way, I'm happy to have someone cook for me once a week. What a nice break for me from cooking and Tyson gets to wrestle with grandpa. Perfect.
I have also picked a couple of recipes from my Allrecipes.com Spinner app to try out. When picking the recipes, I based it off of ease, prep time, cook time and caloric content. I shall keep you posted on anything that I find delicious. I have also taken a couple ideas from a friend's blog about what she cooks for her family since she has a one year old son. I will keep you posted on the ones that I try from her ideas. I need to go finish my grocery list.
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to my friend blogging about food all the time, until next time...
Since some of you have asked what exactly I eat on a daily basis, I am working on getting some meal ideas on here every so often. I'm thinking eating out as well as eating at home. I will throw in the things that I do to add the nutrients I need without having to cook separate meals for myself and Brett and Tyson. I'm working on it, so standby, I'll think of something catchy to flag these posts.
Let's talk tuna. I used to be a big fan of tuna. Five years ago when I decided it was time to lose weight, I went on a binge of tuna and frozen peas. True story. Now, I find that I don't like the smell nor the taste of tuna anymore. I've tried a couple of times and I am more likely to eat tuna if it is straight out of the foil pack rather than refrigerated. Once refrigerated, it takes all I have to not gag and barf on my plate. I will say that I do appreciate the tuna salad that I make when I eat it on toasted mini whole wheat bagels. It has been a while. I'll have to put my tuna to the test with that. Standby again on that one.
Something I believe to have merit is that the foods that you need to chew more make you eat less. The experts say it is because it takes "x" amount of time for your brain to know you are full. I think it is simply because you are fricken sick of chewing and your jaw is tired. That's just my opinion and I'm sticking with it. The things that come to mind are the protein bars (Market Pantry, my fave is fudge graham) that I eat frequently enough that most of the time, I want to throw half of it away because I'm bored with chewing, but still hungry. Salad is another thing that seems to take more chewing. If I eat a salad before a meal, I am less likely to overindulge in the meal to follow. Carrots are another good example. Think about chewing those puppies. It gets old, but is helpful in trying to control what you eat and how much. Scientific? I think so. There's also a study out there that says that you should chew your bites 30-50 times. Try it. It is hard and after a while all that goo in your mouth is just not appetizing. I'm guessing that aspect of it has something to do with controlling how much you are eating. That's my scientific opinion. Very scientific. Verrrrrrrrry.
Something that has recently been put into place is that once a week, Tyson and I are eating at my parents' house. This is extremely helpful in my whole meal planning - one less meal to make. I have spoken about my family's love for food. Perfect for me since my parents make some stuff that I just don't have time to do. I suppose their experience to be able to pull off more elaborate meals has a little something to do with it. Either way, I'm happy to have someone cook for me once a week. What a nice break for me from cooking and Tyson gets to wrestle with grandpa. Perfect.
I have also picked a couple of recipes from my Allrecipes.com Spinner app to try out. When picking the recipes, I based it off of ease, prep time, cook time and caloric content. I shall keep you posted on anything that I find delicious. I have also taken a couple ideas from a friend's blog about what she cooks for her family since she has a one year old son. I will keep you posted on the ones that I try from her ideas. I need to go finish my grocery list.
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to my friend blogging about food all the time, until next time...
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Trisha. The Dancer.
I have mentioned a couple of times how awful of a dancer I am. Well, things have not changed in that department and in fact, they are most likely worse. I'm just not a good dancer. I don't even think I'm a good enough dancer to dance alone like no one is watching me. There is nothing sexy, seductive or graceful about the way I move. Nothing. It's pretty bad.
I never got to take dance classes as a child except for when my grandmother paid for me to take a dance/tumbling class at the local dance center. I loved it, except it sticks in my mind how at recital time, we were pirates and had these stirrup pants, white of all colors and they didn't want us to wear underwear under those pants. Ummm, every time I did a cartwheel, it felt like those pants were coming off and they were also made out of polyester which did NOT feel good on my nether-regions, so I did not go panty-less during recital time. I was 5. Yes, 5.
Anyway, as an adult, I thought it would be fun to take tap lessons. My mom sent me a check for my birthday in college to be able to take tap lessons, but by the time the next session started, I had a class during tap lessons. Poop. Fast forward to about 7 years ago and again, I wanted to take tap lessons. I signed up with some friends, bought some tap shoes and away I went. Yes, it was an adult tap class so I didn't look anymore ridiculous than I normally do. Let me tell you, there is serious leg muscle involved in tap dancing. It was hard, but it was so much fun to learn some basics. I didn't last too long in the class, I think I only took those lessons for about two months before I found out that they had a hip-hop class. Score for me!!!
The class was taught by a lovely gentleman with some seriously wicked awesome moves!!!! He was great. I had fun in that class. It was easy to follow and a good workout. One day, I got to class and he was not there. Something had happened and he couldn't make it to class on short notice. They would generally cancel class, but because this had happened before, they didn't want to cancel again. So, the BREAKDANCING teacher filled in and gave us a BREAKDANCING lesson. Yes, I am totally serious. There was a little girl there on that particular day, I think she was about 7 or so. She had come to hip-hop class to try it out to see if she would like it. Well, this cute little girl immediately latched on to me the moment she walked in. You know how some people attract cats or dogs? I attract kids. Maybe it is because I do crap like this making me appear younger than I am? I don't know, either way, I'm okay with it all. Anyhoo, we are doing these breakdancing moves and this one particular move, you were down on your hands, resting one knee on an elbow and the other leg was resting on the leg on the knee. Did you get that?! Good!!
I am trying and trying and trying to get this move because we aren't doing it to music or anything, we are doing it in slow motion to get the technique down. Little girl is right next to me and she is starting to get it. I keep trying and trying and finally gave up and without thinking, sat back, somewhat out of breath and said, "I can't do it." The little girl held the move, leg in the air and her little face looking up at me while I sit there being a big baby, says to me, "YES YOU CAN! You CAN do it, Trish!" Yeah, she seriously did. I honestly cannot make this stuff up. So, what do I do? I pick up my crap and leave class. KIDDING! I spent the rest of the class doing it all the best I could.
Fast forward a couple days when we are helping my grandpa move into his apartment. I could barely walk. We were walking up and down stairs, carrying stuff and my ENTIRE body, except my fingers HURT. Bad. Remember my jean-hiking dad? Well, he finally inquired as to my herky jerky movement and asked if I had a hard workout recently. I told him about the breakdancing snafu, blah blah blah. And here is the wisdom I receive from jean-hiking dad, "shit, Trish, you aren't sixteen anymore!" Really, dad? Really? Mr. Obvious.
Again, there I go, putting myself out there trying something new. It still took a couple more days to recover, but I sure as crap didn't sign up for breakdancing lessons.
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you thinking about taking breakdancing, until next time...
I never got to take dance classes as a child except for when my grandmother paid for me to take a dance/tumbling class at the local dance center. I loved it, except it sticks in my mind how at recital time, we were pirates and had these stirrup pants, white of all colors and they didn't want us to wear underwear under those pants. Ummm, every time I did a cartwheel, it felt like those pants were coming off and they were also made out of polyester which did NOT feel good on my nether-regions, so I did not go panty-less during recital time. I was 5. Yes, 5.
Anyway, as an adult, I thought it would be fun to take tap lessons. My mom sent me a check for my birthday in college to be able to take tap lessons, but by the time the next session started, I had a class during tap lessons. Poop. Fast forward to about 7 years ago and again, I wanted to take tap lessons. I signed up with some friends, bought some tap shoes and away I went. Yes, it was an adult tap class so I didn't look anymore ridiculous than I normally do. Let me tell you, there is serious leg muscle involved in tap dancing. It was hard, but it was so much fun to learn some basics. I didn't last too long in the class, I think I only took those lessons for about two months before I found out that they had a hip-hop class. Score for me!!!
The class was taught by a lovely gentleman with some seriously wicked awesome moves!!!! He was great. I had fun in that class. It was easy to follow and a good workout. One day, I got to class and he was not there. Something had happened and he couldn't make it to class on short notice. They would generally cancel class, but because this had happened before, they didn't want to cancel again. So, the BREAKDANCING teacher filled in and gave us a BREAKDANCING lesson. Yes, I am totally serious. There was a little girl there on that particular day, I think she was about 7 or so. She had come to hip-hop class to try it out to see if she would like it. Well, this cute little girl immediately latched on to me the moment she walked in. You know how some people attract cats or dogs? I attract kids. Maybe it is because I do crap like this making me appear younger than I am? I don't know, either way, I'm okay with it all. Anyhoo, we are doing these breakdancing moves and this one particular move, you were down on your hands, resting one knee on an elbow and the other leg was resting on the leg on the knee. Did you get that?! Good!!
I am trying and trying and trying to get this move because we aren't doing it to music or anything, we are doing it in slow motion to get the technique down. Little girl is right next to me and she is starting to get it. I keep trying and trying and finally gave up and without thinking, sat back, somewhat out of breath and said, "I can't do it." The little girl held the move, leg in the air and her little face looking up at me while I sit there being a big baby, says to me, "YES YOU CAN! You CAN do it, Trish!" Yeah, she seriously did. I honestly cannot make this stuff up. So, what do I do? I pick up my crap and leave class. KIDDING! I spent the rest of the class doing it all the best I could.
Fast forward a couple days when we are helping my grandpa move into his apartment. I could barely walk. We were walking up and down stairs, carrying stuff and my ENTIRE body, except my fingers HURT. Bad. Remember my jean-hiking dad? Well, he finally inquired as to my herky jerky movement and asked if I had a hard workout recently. I told him about the breakdancing snafu, blah blah blah. And here is the wisdom I receive from jean-hiking dad, "shit, Trish, you aren't sixteen anymore!" Really, dad? Really? Mr. Obvious.
Again, there I go, putting myself out there trying something new. It still took a couple more days to recover, but I sure as crap didn't sign up for breakdancing lessons.
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you thinking about taking breakdancing, until next time...
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Insanity
INSANITY WILL COMMENCE IN APPROXIMATELY 2.5 WEEKS!
I am really looking forward to it. I had a really rough workout the other morning. I was fine getting up and moving. I got up at 4:15 like "normal" then for whatever reason, I didn't get downstairs until 4:40! I honestly have no idea what happened and why it took so flipping long. Anyhoo, I started the DVD for the scheduled workout, a 45 minute workout, strapped on my Vibrams and five minutes into it, I felt I couldn't do THAT workout one more time. I really thought I was going to scream, that is how badly I didn't want to do that particular workout. No biggie, I'll just switch out DVDs and pop in a different one. I settled on a 20 minute HIIT workout, started that puppy up and edged my way to the couch and sat there and watched it. Yes. I really did that. I sat there and WATCHED IT. What the hell?! I at least waited until the DVD was done before I took my shoes off. Sigh. Fail. Workout fail. I can't believe I did that, though.
This morning was much much better! I got in a great workout and I continued to stretch and let the DVD play out. You know what I discovered on my TurboFire DVDs?!? INFOMERCIALS!!!! They were short, two minute infomercials, but infomercials nonetheless. I was stoked. I got to see that Turbo Jam has an updated version for maximum results and also the short infomercial for Hip Hop Abs. Yesssssss!!!! Let me just tell you that even though I did the first version of Turbo Jam, I found myself wanting the updated version even more! Then, when Shaun T came on with Hip Hop Abs, I couldn't help but want that one, too!!!! The testimonials ALMOST always get me. Would you believe that I haven't ever purchased anything from an infomercial before? It's true. As much as I like them, you would think that I would have a garage full of QVC and infomercial stuff. I don't. I just wait to buy the stuff "As Seen on TV" at the store. I've purchased plenty of that. Very true.
Okay, back to Insanity. I'm really really looking forward to starting something new. Chalene and I need to take a break from one another. I find myself not enjoying it as much right now. I'm guessing it is the same thing that happened between myself and Billy. I haven't seen him in a while, either. I think I get bored. When things are new and I'm trying to "master" them, it goes fast and I can hardly wait to do it again. I'm at the point where I know what Chalene is going to say, do and have resorted to counting the number of reps on each side and trying to find the "mistakes" in the videos. I've found quite a few. There is one where the cameraman doesn't get out of the panning shot of the group and there is one in the warm up where we do the same side twice. I've outsmarted the warm up one and make it happen for the other side. Heh heh heh.
Now that I have done each video multiple, many, multiple, many times, I don't feel like I get as great of a workout. I know the moves, but I get bored knowing what is coming next. Now, I have also formed opinions about certain segments and certain classes. There are some that I love and others that I don't care for, so if I let my mind take over, I'm like a child pouting and going through the motions just because. This madness must stop. I'm hoping with the new and scary Insanity that I will once again embrace the challenges I did 12 weeks ago with Chalene. I've also thought about combining the two and creating my own schedule using TurboFire and Insanity. We'll see how that goes and if I actually do it.
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you really wondering if I shop from the TV, until next time...
I am really looking forward to it. I had a really rough workout the other morning. I was fine getting up and moving. I got up at 4:15 like "normal" then for whatever reason, I didn't get downstairs until 4:40! I honestly have no idea what happened and why it took so flipping long. Anyhoo, I started the DVD for the scheduled workout, a 45 minute workout, strapped on my Vibrams and five minutes into it, I felt I couldn't do THAT workout one more time. I really thought I was going to scream, that is how badly I didn't want to do that particular workout. No biggie, I'll just switch out DVDs and pop in a different one. I settled on a 20 minute HIIT workout, started that puppy up and edged my way to the couch and sat there and watched it. Yes. I really did that. I sat there and WATCHED IT. What the hell?! I at least waited until the DVD was done before I took my shoes off. Sigh. Fail. Workout fail. I can't believe I did that, though.
This morning was much much better! I got in a great workout and I continued to stretch and let the DVD play out. You know what I discovered on my TurboFire DVDs?!? INFOMERCIALS!!!! They were short, two minute infomercials, but infomercials nonetheless. I was stoked. I got to see that Turbo Jam has an updated version for maximum results and also the short infomercial for Hip Hop Abs. Yesssssss!!!! Let me just tell you that even though I did the first version of Turbo Jam, I found myself wanting the updated version even more! Then, when Shaun T came on with Hip Hop Abs, I couldn't help but want that one, too!!!! The testimonials ALMOST always get me. Would you believe that I haven't ever purchased anything from an infomercial before? It's true. As much as I like them, you would think that I would have a garage full of QVC and infomercial stuff. I don't. I just wait to buy the stuff "As Seen on TV" at the store. I've purchased plenty of that. Very true.
Okay, back to Insanity. I'm really really looking forward to starting something new. Chalene and I need to take a break from one another. I find myself not enjoying it as much right now. I'm guessing it is the same thing that happened between myself and Billy. I haven't seen him in a while, either. I think I get bored. When things are new and I'm trying to "master" them, it goes fast and I can hardly wait to do it again. I'm at the point where I know what Chalene is going to say, do and have resorted to counting the number of reps on each side and trying to find the "mistakes" in the videos. I've found quite a few. There is one where the cameraman doesn't get out of the panning shot of the group and there is one in the warm up where we do the same side twice. I've outsmarted the warm up one and make it happen for the other side. Heh heh heh.
Now that I have done each video multiple, many, multiple, many times, I don't feel like I get as great of a workout. I know the moves, but I get bored knowing what is coming next. Now, I have also formed opinions about certain segments and certain classes. There are some that I love and others that I don't care for, so if I let my mind take over, I'm like a child pouting and going through the motions just because. This madness must stop. I'm hoping with the new and scary Insanity that I will once again embrace the challenges I did 12 weeks ago with Chalene. I've also thought about combining the two and creating my own schedule using TurboFire and Insanity. We'll see how that goes and if I actually do it.
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you really wondering if I shop from the TV, until next time...
Friday, April 27, 2012
Talking about food!
I posted on 3/31/12 about a work friend and her salads. Recap: she spends time once or twice a week prepping a big salad to be kept in the fridge for grab and go each day/evening. She said it sucks to spend the time doing it, but it is worth it.
So far, I am IN LOVE with this!!! I tore up a head of iceberg lettuce and put in a large bowl. Because Brett and I differ on our likes for our salads, I found a bag of "rainbow salad" in the pre-packaged salads section at the grocery store. It has shredded cabbage, carrots, broccoli and it seems like a couple of other things. The flavor was incredible. It added so much to plain old iceberg lettuce. I loved it. Brett actually liked it, too! We agreed that it was probably one of the best homemade salads we had in a long time.
You may be asking yourself, "why not just buy the already cut up salads already in the bag?" Well, I'll tell you. I think those salads taste funny. I think the lettuce tastes funny. The carrots... yup, taste funny. That is the number one reason that I don't like the bagged/prepackaged salad mixes.
I have also found that these don't seem to last very long in the fridge. I don't know if someone beats the crap out of these bagged salads before they put them on the shelves, but sometimes, it looks like someone ran over the lettuce with a skateboard. Some pieces are pulverized and some just brown and liquefied. Not very appetizing.
For about the same price as ONE bagged salad mix, I made the equivalent of almost THREE bagged salads. We'll see if we can finish it before it goes bad and truly make it worthwhile. I will update on this pressing matter of SALAD vs SALAD.
Last week was an off week for me in the cooking department. I'm not a bad cook and can usually get creative without freaking Brett or Tyson out with "new" stuff. This week, the only meal I made that was decent was homemade pizza. The other days were edible, but man, I could barely eat them because they just didn't taste good! Talk about bummer for putting forth the effort to only fail, miserably.
I'm taking a step back this week and seeing if I can start with simplicity again and elaborate as I regain my cooking confidence. I don't have a meal plan in place and that bothers me somewhat because I feel like I make the most out of the little time I have by planning ahead in this department. It makes things so much easier when I'm not scrambling to whip something up. When I put thought into the meals I make, I can make something more nutritious and healthy. Little thought = high calorie, low nutrition and high fat meals.
We'll see how this all goes. Eeek!
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to Ruthie and Adam who are reading this now, until next time...
So far, I am IN LOVE with this!!! I tore up a head of iceberg lettuce and put in a large bowl. Because Brett and I differ on our likes for our salads, I found a bag of "rainbow salad" in the pre-packaged salads section at the grocery store. It has shredded cabbage, carrots, broccoli and it seems like a couple of other things. The flavor was incredible. It added so much to plain old iceberg lettuce. I loved it. Brett actually liked it, too! We agreed that it was probably one of the best homemade salads we had in a long time.
You may be asking yourself, "why not just buy the already cut up salads already in the bag?" Well, I'll tell you. I think those salads taste funny. I think the lettuce tastes funny. The carrots... yup, taste funny. That is the number one reason that I don't like the bagged/prepackaged salad mixes.
I have also found that these don't seem to last very long in the fridge. I don't know if someone beats the crap out of these bagged salads before they put them on the shelves, but sometimes, it looks like someone ran over the lettuce with a skateboard. Some pieces are pulverized and some just brown and liquefied. Not very appetizing.
For about the same price as ONE bagged salad mix, I made the equivalent of almost THREE bagged salads. We'll see if we can finish it before it goes bad and truly make it worthwhile. I will update on this pressing matter of SALAD vs SALAD.
Last week was an off week for me in the cooking department. I'm not a bad cook and can usually get creative without freaking Brett or Tyson out with "new" stuff. This week, the only meal I made that was decent was homemade pizza. The other days were edible, but man, I could barely eat them because they just didn't taste good! Talk about bummer for putting forth the effort to only fail, miserably.
I'm taking a step back this week and seeing if I can start with simplicity again and elaborate as I regain my cooking confidence. I don't have a meal plan in place and that bothers me somewhat because I feel like I make the most out of the little time I have by planning ahead in this department. It makes things so much easier when I'm not scrambling to whip something up. When I put thought into the meals I make, I can make something more nutritious and healthy. Little thought = high calorie, low nutrition and high fat meals.
We'll see how this all goes. Eeek!
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to Ruthie and Adam who are reading this now, until next time...
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Hiatus. Bunk.
This previous week, Tyson got hand, foot and mouth disease. Yay. Everyone at daycare ended up with it, too. Yay. Well, before we knew what it was, I was kissing him like normal (as if anything could keep me from kissing him). For the second time in my adult life, I got hand, foot and mouth. Yay. I started the week off strong, working out everyday, then by Thursday, I couldn't do it. My throat was so incredibly sore and I was exhausted. I took Thursday off. Then, I got worse and ended up taking Friday off, too. For good measure, I took Saturday off as well. This was the longest I had gone without working out in a LOOOOOOONNNNNNNNG time. And of course I was watching what I was eating. No, not really. I was just eating whatever sounded good because nothing did sound good and I was just hungry and tired.
After taking three days off, I decided to start week 10 of TurboFire all over again. I started the week off wrong anyway because I apparently forgot how to read the fricken schedule in all of this. So, I'm still back at it, doing my thing as I started off last week.
What is funny, and maybe this was because I wasn't feeling well, is that while I was eating whatever and not doing any workouts is that I didn't feel like I missed being like that at all. I don't miss eating crap. Well, maybe a little at times. I sure didn't miss not working out. Did you get that? Good! It felt really weird not working out and not being conscientious about what I ate. My new normal is what I have become. I like it! I do like having something to look forward to in a workout and knowing how good I am going to feel afterwards.
So, if you miss a couple or a few days of your workout. So what? If you stray from the beaten path for a bit, so what? The important thing is that you get back up and get on with it. Refocus yourself and realign your goals. Maybe you needed a hiatus to stay motivated? Maybe you needed those extra cookies and burgers to realize that you don't really miss it? Get back with it! Stick with it!
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you that weren't thinking about cookies until now, until next time...
After taking three days off, I decided to start week 10 of TurboFire all over again. I started the week off wrong anyway because I apparently forgot how to read the fricken schedule in all of this. So, I'm still back at it, doing my thing as I started off last week.
What is funny, and maybe this was because I wasn't feeling well, is that while I was eating whatever and not doing any workouts is that I didn't feel like I missed being like that at all. I don't miss eating crap. Well, maybe a little at times. I sure didn't miss not working out. Did you get that? Good! It felt really weird not working out and not being conscientious about what I ate. My new normal is what I have become. I like it! I do like having something to look forward to in a workout and knowing how good I am going to feel afterwards.
So, if you miss a couple or a few days of your workout. So what? If you stray from the beaten path for a bit, so what? The important thing is that you get back up and get on with it. Refocus yourself and realign your goals. Maybe you needed a hiatus to stay motivated? Maybe you needed those extra cookies and burgers to realize that you don't really miss it? Get back with it! Stick with it!
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you that weren't thinking about cookies until now, until next time...
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
More footwear!
I am still in deep, passionate love with my Vibrams. I haven't come up with a name for my pretty pinkish-violetish shoes... yet.
I wanted to mention some more footwear that I really truly love. My favorite slippers are the Acorn moccasins in fleece or what appears to be Muppet fur. I have had many many pairs of these puppies and I have never been more satisfied with slippers before. I wash them frequently because I wear them outside, sometimes to retrieve a dog from the way back of the yard when he/she is barking, or to chase after Ty when I told him to stay on the deck, or I wear them in the garage or out to the mailbox. The sole is tough and like a shoe, but they are so soft and squishy on the inside. Back to the washing part - they wash and dry so well and no separate cycle needed. I just throw them in with jeans or whatever. Beautiful. I am sad to report that I will have to replace a couple pairs of my Acorn slippers. If you will recall, I noticed that my feet have slimmed down quite a bit. Well, since we are coming off of winter (or whatever that was that we had) and I wore slippers a lot during that time, I apparently had some chubbier feet than I imagined. A couple pairs are so stretched out that they look like I'm wearing mini footballs on my feet. It would take a few pairs of socks, layered, to make them fit properly. Oh well, I suppose I can get back some more slippers made out of Muppet fur. I would also like to mention that these slippers are great to wear in the house at the buttcrack of dawn and maneuvering around, atop and through dog toys that may or may not result in stubbed toes.
I used to wear Skechers all the time. No, not the thick soled tennis shoes, but ones that looked like bowling shoes! I had black, brown, cream, burgundy and a weird tan color that my sister dubbed "beetle" shoes. I loved these shoes, but sadly, just like everything else, they stopped making them. I have yet to find something comparable to the comfort and versatility of my bowling Skechers.
Since the Skechers, I have been on a quest for comfortable shoes. Anything goes. Again, I'm a fashion faux pas and not afraid to admit it. I go for comfort and practical. Always. Okay, there was one time that I was in a friend's wedding and my dress was pretty long. I had to get some heeled shoes. I found some strappy heels, chunky heels, though and in the store, I thought, "I can wear these for the wedding and change after the ceremony." So, there we all are, standing up in front of the church and my feet hurt so badly that I actually contemplated "fainting" to just be able to get off my feet for a few seconds. No, I didn't do it, I toughed it out and ended up paying for swollen, throbbing feet afterwards for days. Never again. Never.
In the last couple of years, I have discovered the pure heaven that is known as KSwiss Tubes. I honestly didn't know they still made KSwiss shoes until I saw them at the store. I thought they were strange looking, but would try them on since my favorite pair of shoes in high school was a pair of black canvas KSwiss shoes. They were so much so my favorite that PIC #2 ended up giving me her pair that she didn't wear after I had peed all over mine. That's a long story and not sure I really want to share that proud moment, either. You already know too much. Too much.
KSwiss Tubes are running shoes, but they are great for walking. Brett got me three pairs for Christmas this year and I've only worn one of the three pairs so far. I feel that it will be very soon that I will need to bust out another pair because I noticed a little knee pain in my walk today. This is usually indicative of needing a fresh pair with support and bounce. I'm not sure how you all can tell if you need new shoes, but I can tell the moment my knees or hips hurt that it is time. Once I get a new pair and upon wearing them for the first time, the pain is gone. I seriously thought for a while that I tore my ACL and was really bummed about it, then I tried a new pair of shoes and miraculously, the pain went away! The bad thing about wearing the same pair of shoes everyday is that they wear out faster. It is only 4 months into this pair of shoes and they are going to have to become my "play" shoes, whatever that means.
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you thinking of trying on a pair of KSwissers, until next time...
I wanted to mention some more footwear that I really truly love. My favorite slippers are the Acorn moccasins in fleece or what appears to be Muppet fur. I have had many many pairs of these puppies and I have never been more satisfied with slippers before. I wash them frequently because I wear them outside, sometimes to retrieve a dog from the way back of the yard when he/she is barking, or to chase after Ty when I told him to stay on the deck, or I wear them in the garage or out to the mailbox. The sole is tough and like a shoe, but they are so soft and squishy on the inside. Back to the washing part - they wash and dry so well and no separate cycle needed. I just throw them in with jeans or whatever. Beautiful. I am sad to report that I will have to replace a couple pairs of my Acorn slippers. If you will recall, I noticed that my feet have slimmed down quite a bit. Well, since we are coming off of winter (or whatever that was that we had) and I wore slippers a lot during that time, I apparently had some chubbier feet than I imagined. A couple pairs are so stretched out that they look like I'm wearing mini footballs on my feet. It would take a few pairs of socks, layered, to make them fit properly. Oh well, I suppose I can get back some more slippers made out of Muppet fur. I would also like to mention that these slippers are great to wear in the house at the buttcrack of dawn and maneuvering around, atop and through dog toys that may or may not result in stubbed toes.
I used to wear Skechers all the time. No, not the thick soled tennis shoes, but ones that looked like bowling shoes! I had black, brown, cream, burgundy and a weird tan color that my sister dubbed "beetle" shoes. I loved these shoes, but sadly, just like everything else, they stopped making them. I have yet to find something comparable to the comfort and versatility of my bowling Skechers.
Since the Skechers, I have been on a quest for comfortable shoes. Anything goes. Again, I'm a fashion faux pas and not afraid to admit it. I go for comfort and practical. Always. Okay, there was one time that I was in a friend's wedding and my dress was pretty long. I had to get some heeled shoes. I found some strappy heels, chunky heels, though and in the store, I thought, "I can wear these for the wedding and change after the ceremony." So, there we all are, standing up in front of the church and my feet hurt so badly that I actually contemplated "fainting" to just be able to get off my feet for a few seconds. No, I didn't do it, I toughed it out and ended up paying for swollen, throbbing feet afterwards for days. Never again. Never.
In the last couple of years, I have discovered the pure heaven that is known as KSwiss Tubes. I honestly didn't know they still made KSwiss shoes until I saw them at the store. I thought they were strange looking, but would try them on since my favorite pair of shoes in high school was a pair of black canvas KSwiss shoes. They were so much so my favorite that PIC #2 ended up giving me her pair that she didn't wear after I had peed all over mine. That's a long story and not sure I really want to share that proud moment, either. You already know too much. Too much.
KSwiss Tubes are running shoes, but they are great for walking. Brett got me three pairs for Christmas this year and I've only worn one of the three pairs so far. I feel that it will be very soon that I will need to bust out another pair because I noticed a little knee pain in my walk today. This is usually indicative of needing a fresh pair with support and bounce. I'm not sure how you all can tell if you need new shoes, but I can tell the moment my knees or hips hurt that it is time. Once I get a new pair and upon wearing them for the first time, the pain is gone. I seriously thought for a while that I tore my ACL and was really bummed about it, then I tried a new pair of shoes and miraculously, the pain went away! The bad thing about wearing the same pair of shoes everyday is that they wear out faster. It is only 4 months into this pair of shoes and they are going to have to become my "play" shoes, whatever that means.
Signing off for now, to all of you near and far and to those of you thinking of trying on a pair of KSwissers, until next time...
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