It's what's for lunch...

The best lunch ever....







Yes, down to the beets too!

mmm Good

I LOVE smoothies. L-O-V-E them. I like them even more when you make your own. Yes, I am back on that kick again. Tonight I made a mango-banana smoothie. If you like mangoes and bananas, I think you would like it. Here is my recipe, but please feel free to make it any way you like.
1/2 cup fresh frozen mangoes
1 fresh banana
1 cup non fat vanilla yogurt
1 scoop whey protein
I put all the ingredients in a blender and blended until the consistency I liked. Yes, you did read that right whey protein. With all of the cardio and weight lifting I am going to do to get myself in shape I need to make sure that my muscles get the protein they need. The whey protein I use is strawberry flavor, and we got it at Wally world. You can taste the strawberry, but not the protein powder. The frozen mangoes substitute for ice cubes.

Workout..

You know what I love about working out...how it makes me feel after it. I might not like it while doing it right now, but I know that will change too. I was never really a runner growing up, but there is something energizing when I see the little numbers on the treadmill slowly change. I feel completely different after running than before I start...it feels like my stress level plummets completely during the race. It's like my body says to me, wait, you don't need this anymore and off it goes. I also know how much healthier I feel after I workout. Yes, I know that I am carrying more weight than I should, but I also know that I have lost 18 pounds since Jan. I try not to focus on that so much, but I know how far I have come, and how much further I want to go. I want to be a healthy weight, healthy by my standards, not society per se. Because quite frankly, I am an athlete, or well once was. There is no way that this 5"3" girl can get down to 115 pounds and not look like I am starving. So, I want to get a lot lighter, but still be healthy. I know I can do it. I gained a workout friend who will keep me motivated because she wants me to keep her motivated. We are going to try to hang out a lot outside of work, and hopefully, the weather will clear up by Thursday so we can go bike riding. Oh, today she said she loves to swim...be still my beating heart. I need.to.swim before camping, besides, I think cross training will do me some good. Anyway, not much else is going on here. Hubs has a job interview tomorrow for another part time job, so fingers crossed here. I work tonight, then am off until Friday night. Looks like the middle of the week will be a "normal" days, that will definitely include working out and eating right. Hope your Monday leads to an excellent week!

Races..

Now that I am back in the saddle again with running, I thought that it was important to pick out some races as goals. I am trying to enter one race a month from May until the end of the year. My big race is in Sept, but other than that, mostly 5Ks or one 10K race. Let me know if you want to join.
First race: May 1, 2010 First Annual Run for Rich 5 K race then...
May 8, 2010 May Day Run/Walk 5K and 10K in Williamsport then...
June 5, 2010 Balloon Chasers' 5 K and 1 mile fun run/walk in Hershey Park (maybe we can go to the park after the race?) *sorry that I don't have a link for the race, it wasn't loading.
I haven't found a race for July yet, but I did find one for August...
Aug 29th is the 2nd Annual Run Wild at the Lehigh Valley Zoo 5k
Sept 19th is the Rock n Roll half marathon in Philadelphia and finally
I have penciled in ...
November 21st, the Coney Island Boardwalk 5K Turkey Trot

Hopefully I will be able to participate in all of these races. Wait, scratch that, I know I will. Now that I have a GOAL... I know I CAN do it!

Happy First Day of Spring..

Today is the first day of spring! Yay!...to bring in my fav.or.ite time of year, I wanted to let you know that Rita's opens today.

and this year, they have a new flavor...PEEPS! Yep, those little marshmellow treats are now a Rita's flavor. If get my studying finished today, AND I get to the gym...Rita's here I come! How will you bring in spring?

21 days...

Until opening day with the Iron Pigs! Penguin and I went down there to pick up our tickets yesterday for the game June 18th, for when they play the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Yankees. Yesterday was such a beautiful day and I wish the weather was going to be like this forever.

It looks like it is starting to become baseball season and that makes me so excited. Last year Penguin and I went to our first major league baseball game together, we went to a game during spring ball, we saw the LAA Angels play the Texas Rangers during Cactus league baseball. We are excited to be going to see the... and continue a fun tradition of sitting on the lawn! We didn't make any games last year, but at $6/ticket we definitely want to make it to more games! We are looking right now to see if we can go Opening Day...doesn't that sound great!

Oh, and Happy Belated St Patrick's day! Hope you wore your green. Here is a pick of Penguin and me...wearing our Luck 'O the Irish

Saving goodbye...

Yesterday, Penguin and I went to Brooklyn for a sad reason. While I was not really up to going because 1, I had just gotten off of work, and 2 it is currently allergy season and I felt like no mood to be around people. However, we NEEDED to be in Brooklyn. See, Joe's nephew George... (sorry about the picture quality, I forgot my camera and had to use my phone)
...is getting ready to deploy to Iraq. While he doesn't leave until April, it was very important for us to be there. See, Penguin now works weekends so he won't really be able to go and see him unless it's during the week. Anyway, I sucked up how I was feeling to the best of my abilities to show George my support. George is important to Penguin, as he was one of the best men in our wedding. Anyway, I thought that it was really important that he knows that we all support him, even if we don't all support the reason. Anyway, I made it until about 3pm, then I felt like the floor felt out of my world, I couldn't breathe out of either nostril and I started hacking. George said he understood us leaving early, and I really hope he knows how much he will be in our thoughts for the next 12 months. Penguin says we will go out there again one weekend before he leaves after he gets off of work, I just know that nothing will replace this day. It was good to see the in-laws again, I just hope next time I am feeling better. Anyway, George, until you come home, you will be in our thoughts and in our prayers. God speed and stay safe!

It's what's for dinner this week...

Sunday was supposed to be stuffed chicken, but I don't have all the ingredients. So, I am substituting the menu. Here is the menu (in the works) for this week,

Sunday- Planet Hungrywood Sweet & Cap'n Crunchy Chicken recipe from HungryGirl

Monday- Hamburgers with a recipe from Weight Watchers.com

Wed- Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash recipe from Weight watchers.com

Yeah, looks like I have a lot to work on..good news is Penguin is off during the week so he can share the cooking with me!! YAHOOO!!

It all starts with an "M"

Meat pie...that starts with an "M" and that was what was for dinner. It was actually really good, and I am getting better at making my own crusts. Here are some pictures, enjoy!

Motivation, yep that has an "M" too. For some reason, a motivation bug climbed up my tushy and gave me the push I needed. I went to an actual running store and got properly fitted for running shoes. And what a difference it makes to have the right shoes! I wanted to get Nikes, but they weren't wide enough for my feet. It's alright, though I found a this site to log my workouts! Now, not only am I holding myself accountable for eating, I am also holding myself accountable for working out.

Next, the important part of training for any sport, is having and setting goals. With First Strides, I train to run in a 5K race. But then what? Hopefully there will be a 10K that I can run, but now I have set my eyes and my goals higher. So, with my new running shoes I was able to run 1.5 miles today, and it felt good. I have never been able to use the elliptical for more than 5 minutes without my toes feeling numb so I never thought I would be able to run 1.5 miles. Then, I walked a 1/2 mile to cool now. I am so proud of myself. I never thought I would do it. And now...I am hoping to run in the Inaugural Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in Philadelphia in September. September 19th to be exact. So here's to happy feet and manymany miles.

Comfort food

What's your comfort food? To me, home cooked food is definitely comfort food no matter what it is. However, my favorite of all comfort food is macaroni and cheese. I don't know what it is about it, but eating it makes me feel comfortable, relaxed and at ease. I got an even better feeling tonight, when I made it myself and it turned out not only edible (I am still afraid it won't be) but actually quite good, if I am allowed to toot my own horn. I know that all I did was follow a recipe, but I still did make it myself. I am proud of me because since Sunday, I have cooked every meal except one. I even have a menu planned for the rest of this week, which I will share with you. I am even starting to go outside the box, OK just one foot, but I am even planning meals that don't require the slow cooker. Yep, I am trying to slowly branch outside of that "comfort" and slowly build beyond slow cooker meals. Here is the menu for the rest of this week...

Thurs: Hamburger Pie recipe courtesy of Weight Watchers magazine with fries, I am having homemade butternut squash fries, and Penguin, yeah I bought him store bought regular fries.
Fri: Tuna steak with broccoli- tuna steak prepared per package and broccoli steamed
Sat- Steak with sauteed mushrooms and onions
Sun- Stuffed chicken breast recipe courtesy of food network.

Hopefully Penguin is on the same page as me and will enjoy the choice of menu options that are both healthy and will hopefully be tasteful. I am not sure what got over me, but I really prefer to cook at home as opposed to going out, and if Penguin will continue to be cooking strike, I am ok with that, hopefully Penguin will just stop being so picky. I know that there are foods that people don't really like, but most people don't like them after tasting them at one point or another. I am not sure where his dislike is based on, but I know that I will try something once. If I didn't like it, but it is offered to me a different way, I gussy up and try it. If I still don't like it, then at least I know I gave it a fair share. Penguin, if he didn't like it once, then that is it. I just wish as I am on my goal to healthier eating that he would embrace it and try new things. Who knows, maybe he will. On the note of eating healthier, I have officially lost 19 pounds since I started ww in Jan. I am hoping now that I am on a mission to eat better, I will now stop making up excuses to miss the gym. I am also still doing that running program First strides and hopefully that in addition to going to the gym will get me to feel better about myself and by the time of the family reunion camping, I will not be embarrassed to see myself in a bathing suit.

What's do you find comfort in?

What on earth has happened?...

I am concerned, very very concerned. I am starting to love cooking. Yep, you read that correct, yours truly is actually like to cook. Granted, I am not doing anything above and beyond except following a recipe and putting the ingredients into a slow cooker, but still, it feels like such an accomplishment to me. I know that I am not as good as my sister R, heck she was my lifeline today about where to get Fontina cheese, which by the way you can get at Wegman's. (Thanks again R!). Hopefully, I will feel more comfortable and more qualified to move beyond the slow cooker cookbook and then I can move onto the Joy of Cooking. Outside of mixing the ingredients and putting them into the slow cooker, I actually had fun today planning the meal and what we were going to eat with main course. Like, my grandmother got us a food chopper and I loved putting the veggies into it and chopping them for the salad. Please, someone get the thermometer, I must not be feeling well! It actually felt energizing knowing that I had a hand in picking everything out that we are going to eat tomorrow. In the meantime, I hope Penguin doesn't get sick of the slow cooker and all of its magic! Oh, and in case you were wondering, for dinner tomorrow is Slow cooker Mac and cheese.

Has spring arrived?

Did I miss the memo? Is spring here already. I saw this today while driving to the bank (it's the thermometer for my car) and immediately cracked the windows open.

Yep, you are reading that correctly, it says 50 Degrees!!! Hello spring, oh how I have missed you!

On another note, today was Penguin's first day of work which I am totally excited about, but that means it is also my turn to cook (yikes, remember last time?) I am so totally worried that I will burn dinner again. For dinner I turned to the book my sister Rockle got us for Christmas, and will be attempting to make the Salsa Chicken. Hopefully, my cooking it for the minimum time that is suggested dinner will be edible. I am going to serve it with brown rice and a salad. Here's to hoping that spring is sticking around, and that I won't ruin another meal!