Shaking In My Sneakers

I am freaking out a little.  I did something that I’m not sure I should have and I’m really nervous.  But, part of me is super excited.  Oh, sorry.  I guess I should spill it… I signed up for my first 5K race!  *insert collective screaming*  I know!!!  This is a huge deal for me.  I have wanted to do one for a long time, but wasn’t sure if I could with my hip issue and all.  But, it has calmed down a lot and the doc said if I pre-medicate with some Advil before the run, I should be fine.  I just feel like I have to do it.  I have to show myself that I can, push myself out of my comfort zone and cross this sucker off my bucket list.  So, I did it.  The date is October 17.  I will be totally flipping out the day before, so mark your calendars to come back for the entertainment!  More to come…

Needless to say, I was itching to get to the gym and run on the treadmill.  I fueled up before leaving with half of a banana (is it me, or does this look kinda pervie ?)…

I got to the gym, headed straight to the treadmill and huffed out a 3.1 mile run in no time flat.  Not really.  It took me 50 minutes!  50!  That is sucky, I think.  Will all the other racers be yawning and waiting at the finish line for me???  Aaaah!

It was errands galore after that.  Thankfully, I brought an after-run snack in the car.  Banana Walnut Breakfast Cookies are yummy.  Recipe to come in Jen’s e-cookbook…

I finally made it home for a late lunch.  I made up Salmon Toasts with 2 slices of Trader Joe’s Organic Spelt Bread, a slice of Laughing Cow Light Cheese and smoked salmon.  YUM-O…

And had a nice little side salad with Kraft Light Cucumber Ranch (not as good as the Three Cheese Ranch)…

Since I ate so late, I didn’t feel the need for a snack.  I made it to dinner without incident, even though I made No Pudge Brownies while the daughters were doing homework :)

I was on my own for dinner, so to speak.  The husband was working late and the daughters were thrilled with mac and cheese.  I was still in a fishy mood, so I dug out some shrimp from the freezer.  I had some zucchini that was calling my name, so I paired them together for  Shrimp and Zucchini with Tomatoes and Feta.  Couldn’t be easier.  I cooked shrimp in a skillet with a teaspoon of evoo and garlic – did you know you can cook shrimp frozen?  No need to thaw.  Just saute in a skillet until done.  When cooking from frozen it makes it easier to not overcook it.  No rubbery shrimp is a good thing!  After shrimp was cooked, I removed them from the skillet and set aside.  Then,  added the zucchini and cooked until golden.  I added the halved grape tomatoes at the end and put the shrimp back to warm through.  Topped it off with reduced fat feta cheese.  It was awesome…

Dinner in 10 minutes!  Try it, it’s so easy!

Before I go, I wanted to say a big thank you to Jenn of Watch My Butt Shrink (don’t ya love that?) for sending me this Honest Scrap Award a few days back…

 

The rules of this award are to tell 10 things about yourself that people may not know, then pass it on to 10 others.  Insane!  I cannot pick only  10 – I have 100 blogs in my reader and love them all.  I feel every hard working blogger deserves this award, so if you’re reading, consider this passed to you!  Feel free to tell10 things about yourself on your blog.  You can add the link to it in the comments, if you like.  I know I’m bucking the rules, but that’s how I roll ;P

Here’s my 10 things…snore…

1.  My whole life, people have mispronounced my name.  My name is said Ma-ree-sa, but everyone says, Ma-riss-sa.  it’s frustrating!  I’ve tried correcting people, but they still say it wrong.  Now, I just answer to anything as long as it’s not a curse word.

2.  BK (before kids), I had 2 successful and completely different careers.  After college, I became a paralegal for a senior partner in a large law firm.  Three years in, he encouraged me to go to law school.  As I was taking my LSAT’s, I had a change of heart.  I came home from the exam and told my parents I was going to beauty school!  I went on to open and operate a nail and skin care salon for 6 years.

3.  When I was 23, my brother(20) was killed in a car accident.  He was my only sibling.  It devastated me and my family for a long time.  The pain of his death has lessened for me over the years and I am able to think of him with a happy heart now.

4.  I met my husband on a blind date.  He was so silly, but intense and very loving.  I couldn’t help but fall in love.  He had me at hello:)

5.  I got pregnant with our first child (big daughter) 9 months into our marriage.  It was an easy pregnancy and birth.  She was and still is a dream!

6.  When big daughter was 18 months old, I became pregnant again, however, it resulted in a devastating miscarriage.  I had 4 more miscarriages before finally giving birth to little daughter 4 years later.

7.  Twelve hours after little daughter was born, she was transported to a children’s hospital for emergency intestinal surgery.  Recovery was long and hard, requiring a 3 month hospital stay in a surgical NICU.  The husband and I still have mental scars from that time, but we learned the value of family, health and prayer.

8.  I am petrified of public speaking.  Anytime, I’ve had to do it (i.e. oral reports/presentations), I sound like I’m hyperventilating when I talk.  So pathetic!

9.  I am extremely close to my family and in-laws.  They mean the world to me and as crazy as they are, I couldn’t live without them.

10.  My career for the past 11 years has been Child Rearing Specialist (aka stay-at-home mom).  It’s a great job, but pays diddly and frankly, I should have been fired a long time ago.  And believe me, they’ve tried ;P

Have a great day, everyone!

ONE GOOD THING:  I am really learning my body’s signals of hunger and satiety.  I think I’m finally getting this!!!!

The Fat Fest Begins

It was a beautiful morning! I took Rocky (our dog) for a 2 mile walk with a quick pit-stop for some fresh bagels. I put a whole wheat one to work for breakfast, topped with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light and 1 oz. smoked salmon...

Then, it was time to pack up and head to the beach. For lunch, I made up a Chicken BLT Salad using 2 oz. roasted chicken, 2 slices center cut bacon, romaine, tomato and light ranch for 5 POINTS...

Along with it, I packed one of these new crackers...

This was a dud. First, the ingredient list is a mile long with lots of bad-for-you ingredients like partially hydrogenated oils, corn syrup and a really funky one called resistant corn maltodextrin. I have no idea what that is, but it doesn't sound good! Secondly, it had a fake cheesy flavor; very artificial. Lastly, it is way too POINTy for a cracker. Each filled cracker is 130 calories, 7 grams fat and 3 grams fiber which comes in at 3 POINTS. Not worth it...

After my unsatisfying cracker, I dove into these peanut butter filled pretzels...

Yes, dove ...head first. Drowned myself in them. Handfuls were eaten with reckless abandon:( Boo!!!

After lots of ocean play, I waddled home from the beach and got ready to go to dinner. We decided on a Mexican restaurant that we haven't tried yet called La Hacienda.

Our friendly server started us off with a plate of their house tortilla chips...

and salsa...

I had a small plate ...

The husband and I decided to 'live it up' with some margaritas. I chose the Mango Margarita and it was divine...

The husband ordered Nachos Grande with beef for an appetizer. It was soooo good. I had a plate... kill me now...

I should have stopped there, but I had already ordered my entree, a Vegetarian Burrito. It came with the most wonderful chicken soup. It was made with shredded chicken, rice, potato and carrots. The broth was amazing. I had a few spoonfuls, then shared the rest with the daughters...

While waiting for the entrees, little daughter snapped this picture of the husband and I before we fell into our fat-laden coma...

The entrees came out. Kill me again...

The veggie burrito was the size of my arm. Okay, not that big , but big enough! I ate half. I have no idea why. I was stuffed and past the point of even tasting anything anymore. I asked our friendly server to take it away and box up my remaining dinner. We sat at the table for a while after, basically unable to move due to a fat induced stupor.

We finally peeled ourselves off the chairs and headed home. I will sleep like a log tonight. I am looking forward to a bike ride in the morning. I may have to pump up the tires a bit more ;P

Hope the weekend was great for everyone!

Shore Debauchery

Hi All! I'm back from the shore and it's pretty late, so I'll be quick. Well, the weather this weekend was absolutely beautiful which allowed for a lovely time at the beach and pool. We soaked in the sun and had lots of delicious eats. I allowed myself to eat whatever and boy, did I! I went a little crazy on the cheese; my Mom had brought an amazing array of imported Italian specialty cheeses and I made sure to do my fair tasting! On a healthy note, I did keep up with my exercise which included bike riding (probably about 10 miles), a little extra walking and C&K's 10 Minute Strength Challenge that I am participating in this month (it's a great workout - check it out!). But, I woke up this morning determined to get back on track and not let the debauchery continue! I eased my way back beginning with a breakfast of 1/2 bagel with Laughing Cow Light Cheese, 1 oz. smoked salmon and a side of fruit salad...



Then a 30 minute bike ride with my Dad before hitting the pool...


After sloshing in the pool, I came in for a quick lunch before packing up and heading home. I made a wrap with some leftover beef tenderloin, baby arugula and 1 oz. of Gorgonzola Dolce (from Italy) and a crunchy apple to go with it...

I brought one of my Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffins for a snack in the car...

I got home just in time to take a quick shower and head out with the husband for a little date. We stopped at Cosi Restaurant for dinner. I ordered my new fave sandwich , Fire Roasted Veggie, with a side of baby carrots...

We browsed around Borders Bookstore and went for a walk at a local trail before heading back to tuck the daughters in bed. Now, it's our turn to tuck in! Relaxing is very tiring ;P

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! See you tomorrow =)

No Fooling - It's A Larabar Giveaway!

My scale is roadkill. I have run over it with my vehicle until it resembled something like a smashed aluminum can. Okay, daydream over. But, it was a lovely thought. As you can guess, the scale was not my friend this morning. I got on and sirens wailed and red lights flashed, warning of self-destruction. No fooling that thing. You can fool yourself but, the scale will always yank you back into reality. The reality is that the whole 80/20 rule that I seem to be unintentionally practicing lately, is not working. If you do the program 80% of the time, but the other 20%, you are shoveling cookies, snacks and chocolate, it's gonna catch up with you. No doubt about it. Exercise, schmexercise. If you don't eat right, you will not lose weight. I spent the morning giving myself this lecture and, well, throwing a pity party, too. You know the drill, you've heard me crying about it in many other posts. So, *in my best Forrest Gump voice* that's all I have to say about that :D

Breakfast was a repeat of the other day: smoked salmon with Laughing Cow Light on a Thomas' Light English Muffin for 3 POINTS...

More cheesiness for lunch. I was dying for a good old grilled cheese! I made one using 2 slices of Arnold Natural Whole Grain White Bread and a slice of American and a slice of Asiago. I paired it with some sweet cherries for a quick 7 POINT lunch...

After lunch, I headed to Trader Joe's to pick up a couple of things. While I was there, I noticed they had all of my favorite Larabar flavors! I eyed up the Peanut Butter Cookie right away and broke into that as soon as I got home...

A most delicious 4 POINT snack!


I chilled out with the daughters this afternoon, then made some dinner. Pepperoni and Cheese Strombolis (made with whole wheat crust) and orzo soup for them and eggplant for me! I love the Dominex Eggplant Cutlets and since I had some left in the freezer stash, I thought it would make a good dinner tonight. I topped them with a bit of light mozzarella. Plain, simple and delish. I went with some watermelon slices for a light tasting 7 POINT dinner...

No dessert tonight. I'm full. Of fat. That's all I have to say about that.


So, since TJ's had only my favorite Larabar flavors (Cherry Pie, Apple Pie, Cashew Cookie and Peanut Butter Cookie), I thought I would get them all to giveaway to one lucky winner!!!!!



All you need to do is leave me a comment with this post telling me which flavor you would like to try. One winner will get all 4 of my faves! I'll choose the winner, using random.org, on Thurs. June 4. Be sure to check back Thurs. night when I'll announce the winner. Open to all, since I'm doing the shipping :) Good luck!!!!

Stock In Trader Joe's

This post is going to read like a big ad for Trader Joe's! I will apologize right off the bat to those of you who do not have one in your area. I know it's frustrating when you see things that people rave about but are unable to find them in your vicinity. But, keep in mind that Trader Joe's does a lot of private labeling, so you may find something in your supermarket that looks the same as what I find in Trader Joe's. With that said, I'll start off with the only meal that didn't come from Trader Joe's; breakfast! A simple bowl of Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran with 1/2 c. strawberries, 1 tbsp. dried cranberries and 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze for 3 POINTS...




After breakfast, I did a 40 minute weighted workout on the elliptical followed by 20 wall pushups and 20 tricep dips. Then, I cleaned up and headed out to my home away from home...Trader Joe's! Boy, I did some serious damage in there today. I bought lots of my staple items and a few new goodies. Grand total - $132!!! I'm going to make sure I really dwindle down the freezer items before I stock up again. I ran into someone I knew in there and ended up chatting for a while too. Before I knew it, it was almost 2:00 p.m. I was starving and shaky. I don't like messing with my blood sugar like that. I knew if I didn't eat a little something before I got home, I would start grabbing a bunch of junk, so I broke out a Larabar from my grocery bag to tie me over...


I ate half (2 POINTS) and my body thanked me...

That was a good move. It gave me time to put the groceries away before fixing some lunch which involved this great find...

Here are the facts...

I decided to top 2 slices with a Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge, 1 oz. smoked salmon (also from TJ's) and a little fresh dill. I went with some good ol' carrots and TJ's Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips for a long awaited 6 POINT lunch...

Note to self: don't wait so long to eat. It seems when I do that, I feel munchie in the afternoon. I think I eat so fast, it doesn't have time to register. I ended up grabbing a bunch of honey wheat pretzel sticks and a cheese stick. Then, I had one of these...

Can't feel too badly, they are only 1 POINT...

But they sure are tiny little things...

Then, it was time for dinner. I got out my last serving of Rigatoni with Three Cheeses from the freezer and added a cup of Trader Joe's Potato Vegetable Medley to it for a tasty 7 POINT meal...

I was pretty stuffed after that, but I couldn't help digging into these...

Just a note about these; I bought them a while ago and noticed that the nutritional information was incorrect. It stated that the total fat was 4.5 gr., but under that the saturated fat was listed as 8 grams. Well, that doesn't compute, so I contacted them and they finally emailed me back stating that all the nutritional information was correct, except the total fat and sat. fat were inadvertently switched upon printing. So it should be listed as a serving of 9 pieces are 130 calories, 8 grams total fat, 4.5 gr. of that is sat. fat, and there are 5 gr. fiber. That makes 9 of these guys out to be 2 POINTS. I should not know this. I did MEASURE out 9...

Plus another handful :( Ick. Now, I feel gross. I have crossed off all my Weekly Allowance POINTS. That's it; I don't want to use any more this week. *talking to myself* C'mon, you dope! You're almost to goal. Now, KNOCK IT OFF!

Okay, I'm better now :) I'm not messing this up! Too close. Gotta remember...GOAL....GOAL....GOAL!!!!

I thought I'd throw out a Question (or two) of the Day for you all...

How much do you spend a week on groceries for your family? Do you think it costs more or less to eat healthy?

Drooling Dogs

Back to the early morning grind; up and at em! I sent big daughter off to school and went to the basement for my early morning workout. Wow, it seems like I haven't done this in a long time. I guess I've been taking advantage of the outdoor runs more than I realized! I did 30 huffy minutes on the elliptical while watching boring morning TV- so tired of all those talking heads! Then, I got little daughter off to school and came home to Shred. Yes, still Level 1! There are only 11 days left of this challenge and I think I am looking forward to burying Jillian in my pile of unused exercise DVD's for a while!!! Nah, not really, just ready to give it a break for a bit. However, the husband is hooked on doing this 2 days a week and he's the type A that once he starts a routine, he sticks with it foreeeever!

For breakfast, I had a big dose of heartburn due to arguing with our health insurance company over a claim. I was on the phone for a while, so by the time I got to eat, I was starving! The first thing I saw was smoked salmon. I toasted a Weight Watchers Petite Bagel and topped it with a Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge and 1 oz. of the smoked salmon for 3 POINTS...

For lunch, I had a bowl of Black Bean Soup, a turkey BLT using 2 oz. turkey, 2 slices center cut bacon, lettuce and tomato on an Arnold Sandwich Thin and some carrots. Delicious and filling for only 4 POINTS...

I debated on eating something else afterward because it was such a low POINT lunch and I'm trying not to eat an afternoon snack. But, part of this "listening to my body" experiment this week, is to actually LISTEN and not eat just to eat. I was full and that should signal the end of eating, so I let it go. Turns out, after the daughters came home, I felt munchie and grabbed a handful of TJ's bbq popped chips that the daughters were munching on. I did take a moment to realize that I wasn't actually hungry, but it's almost like I'm one of Pavlov's dogs in that, the girls come in the door from school and I am ready to eat!!! Just like those drooling dogs! I ended up heading to my bedroom and having the daughters come with me to work on homework! I had a feeling that if I stayed in the kitchen, it would've gotten ugly!

I made a delicious dinner of pan-seared thyme pork chops and garlic potatoes. So simple. I used very thin center cut pork chops and seasoned them with salt, pepper and thyme. I sprayed a large nonstick pan with cooking spray and browned the chops. While they were browning, I cut small potatoes into chunks and placed them in a large bowl. I added 2 minced cloves of garlic, salt, pepper and 1 tsp. olive oil and tossed it together. I removed the browned chops from the skillet, added the potatoes and browned for a few minutes. I added the chops back to the skillet along with 1 cup of chicken broth. I covered and simmered for about 15 minutes until potatoes were done. At the end, I added a bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I paired it with a salad with Kraft Light Three Cheese Dressing. A great family pleaser dinner (yes, they liked it!!!) for 8 POINTS...

I was very excited for dessert tonight! Remember this???.....

I love this!!!! A yummy 3 POINT dessert!

Okay guys, you know what time it is.....

*singing* what have you done today to make you feel proud.....

The Routine

Hi, I'm baaaack! I got in the routine of posting about my day in the evenings, so it felt weird to be out of my new routine and have to post in the morning! But, now I'm back to the evening and I find I like it so much better; it's relaxing and a nice way to wind down :)


After posting this morning, I headed out for my 5K Saturday run. It was awesome! It's so invigorating; I still cannot believe I can run that long and that far without stopping! I really am addicted now. I think I have decided on a 5K race in May, but before I give ya the details, I gotta round up some peeps who said they would do it with me. Stay tuned...


I came in and decided on cereal for breakfast since I wasn't too hungry after the run. I had 3/4 c. Puffins, 1 c. unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze and 1/2 c. blueberries for 2.5 POINTS...



Just a note about Almond Breeze: I have been reading about this on the WW boards for a long time and have seen it a lot on the blogs. My mom has even tried it. I've been hesitant because I'm a big fan of Soy Slender , but I saw it at Trader Joe's and decided to give it a whirl. It doesn't have much of a taste at all, so I wouldn't recommend drinking it on its own. However, I really liked it in my cereal. The cereal was the star instead of being overpowered by the milk, if you know what I mean. The nutritionals are great, too - 1 cup is 40 cal., 3 gr. fat and 1 gr. fiber ( 1 POINT). I also used it in my coffee and it was good! It didn't curdle like the soy milk does:)


Lunch was really late today. I ended up not eating until about 2 :30 p.m. I had to run an errand and then I was busy prepping pizza dough for tonight's dinner. When I finally got around to it, I just wanted the quickest thing I saw. I went with a Weight Watcher's Petite Bagel topped with a Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge and 1 oz. smoked salmon (yum-e!). I added a sliced apple for a total of 4 POINTS...


There was no time for a snack as we had big daughter's basketball game at 4 (they won -yay!). It was a great game; really exciting! Yes, I am the LOUD MOM that hoots, cheers and claps for all the girls from the bleachers!! The grandparents all came to the game, so we had everyone back for pizza. I made 6 pizzas: 2 plain cheese, 2 pepperoni, 1 plain whole wheat with lite mozzarella and 1 whole wheat with eggplant dip for the sauce, sauteed mushrooms, roasted red peppers and lite mozzarella. Using the eggplant dip instead of traditional sauce was so tasty and basically free in the POINTS department. This dip is only 1 POINT for 1/4 c. and I probably used that for the whole 12" pizza! I ate 2 slices of the eggplant veggie pizza and some salad with evoo and vinegar...

and another small slice of the plain whole wheat ...

So delish! I counted about 12 POINTS for the pizza dinner with salad. I have a feeling this may be on the high side, but I'd rather be on the high side after using many of my Weekly Allowance POINTS these past few days.

After dinner, I dismissed myself from our lovely company and headed to do The Shred. How's that for stickin to the Challenge????!!!!! Shred Count - only 21 days left!

And I have good news to report - there was no BROWNIE incident today! I have to thank Sue for her great idea of having to post a brownie infraction every time I would even take a smidge of one! I did think of that all day today and it did help me stay away from those evil things! You Rock, Sue! The husband and daughters have been chowing down on them and last I looked, there are only 2 left. I think I'm home free - yay!

Off to bed early again tonight!

Oh, are you looking for my dessert??? I felt satisfied after dinner and doing The Shred, so I decided to forgo dessert for tonight. I thought if I "forced" myself to have something, I might start digging into more (i.e. brownies!). When you're feeling good, ya gotta go with it ;)

Have a great night, everyone!!!