Humbled + Houseworkout

Wow, I was completely floored by all of your comments on my last post.  When I asked what you liked best about my blog, I really was hoping to just get some feedback as to what you come here to read and see so that I wouldn’t continue to bore the pants off you for the next year, but truly , I did not expect all of the wonderful things that you said!! *blush*  THANK YOU.  Really.  For taking the time to comment, for coming here to read my babbling and for sharing “my table” with me :)

 

Breakfast was the first thing on my mind this morning!  I took out a Ginger Apple Oat Breakfast Cookie from the freezer, nuked it for 20 seconds and decided it needed a topping.  I waffled back on forth about trying the Barney Butter on it and finally just went for it!  I added one tbsp. as my “icing”…

Awesome!  I liked the ginger/almond butter combo!  Now, I have a way to use up that $9.50 jar!

I had to trade the gym this morning for a workout at my parents’ house!  Well, I wasn’t planning it to be a workout.  I was going over to help with more home improvement projects and cleanout (they are preparing to sell their house).  But, heavy box lifting, squats, cleaning mirrors, sweeping and running up and down steps 400,000 times can definitely count for some kind of workout!  My gluteus maximus was a little sore by the end of the day!

We broke for a late and quickie lunch.  A simple soup and sammie combo… Trader Joe’s Organic Lentil Soup

and an open faced turkey and cheese with spicy brown mustard…

I helped with a few more things, then left with a carful of items to drop off at Goodwill (Dad, you don’t miss that 70’s disco picture still, do you???)  :)

I was home for all of about 20 minutes before having to head back out with little daughter for religion class.  I had to volunteer in the office during that time and made sure to bring my snack with me.  But didn’t get to eat it.  There was a whirlwind of stuff for me to accomplish, so I didn’t have time to get to it, but my stomach was letting me know it was NOT happy.

When we got home, I got right to making dinner.  I found myself looking for snacks.  I got that panicky feeling of “ I have to eat something”.  I noshed on a couple pretzels while prepping dinner and knew I was should stop because I felt close to the edge of binging on a bunch of stuff;  I was getting in that zone.  I stopped for a second, came into the moment and said to myself, “I am not going to starve to death.  I can wait a few more minutes until dinner is ready.”  And a sense of relief came over me.  I realized, yes, I am hungry, but no, I will not die of starvation if I have to wait another 10 minutes for dinner.  Whew, disaster avoided :)

And I got to enjoy a dinner of  Mexican “Baked” (micro) Potato topped with black beans, salsa and Cabot’s 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese and a side salad with Kraft  Light Three Cheese Ranch dressing…

So Good!  And definitely tastes better when you’re hungry ;P

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ONE GOOD THING:  Not giving in to my overwhelming desire to eat the house down while cooking dinner!

Have a great day!

Happy Birthday!

Saturday was the husband’s birthday!  His first gift was a beautiful day!  He really loves the outdoors, so it was nice that he got to enjoy most of his day outside.  I spent most of the morning inside getting things ready for his celebration dinner, but took a breakfast break to try something new… oats!  Well, it’s not really new to me, however, I’ve never been much of an oat fan, so it’s not a usual breakfast choice for me.  I’m always so inspired by other bloggers’ morning oats and various toppings, that I decided to give oats another chance.  I went with  Cranberry Chocolate Almond….

It was delish!  Of course, anything with dark chocolate would be!  I think what holds me back from oatmeal is the fact that it doesn’t really hold me over that long and the addition of lots of toppings also adds lots of calories.  But this mix did a good job and held me over pretty long which was a good thing because the husband had a “special” request for his birthday – flu shots!  I know that sounds like a strange request, but this has become a family tradition and a source of extreme fun for the husband and daughters due to the fact that I am scared of shots and get all screamy/giggley/weepy when I have to get one!  What makes it even more comical is that the husband and I usually go to a public venue (Target, Walgreens, Township bldg., etc.) to get our shots because it costs the same as the doctor’s office and easier since we don’t have to make it an appointment.  I usually make such a scene that the husband and daughters have been bringing a video cam to record my histrionics!  This year, I decided I would be stoic.  No freaking out.  I told the husband and daughters that this year there would be nothing to see.  They would be sorely disappointed. Yeeeaaah, riiiight was their response.  While the husband gave his pre-shot speech to the camera, I maintained my steely approach and told them to prepare to be bored.  I walked into the Walgreens, filled out the paperwork and sat in the waiting room, patiently and relaxed while waiting to be called.  We were called back to the pharmacy and the husband went first.  I made the mistake of looking at the GIANT needle, but quickly dismissed it and erased it from my memory because I AM NOT SCARED.  Nope.  Not one bit.  The husband ooooohhed and aaaaahed and winged and whined in an effort to try to break me, but I wasn’t budging.  Nope.  Calm, cool and collected.  That’s me.  Then, it was my turn.  The daughters set up, with cameras in hand, ready to record my behavior.  The technician began by asking me some questions…’did I have fever, diarrhea or vomit this morning’?  Yes, I told her.  Yes to all.  “Oh well, guess I can’t get the shot today” I said.  Unfortunately, she didn’t believe me and the husband and daughters outed me anyway, so out came the BIG, GIANT, MILE LONG needle and JAB…

Boooo!  Okay, it really didn’t hurt, but it’s just the whole anticipation of it all that gets me!  I did a much better job maintaining my composure this time and as I told the husband and daughters before we left…show’s over…nothing to see here!  They still thought my biting my lip and shaking was hilarious, though.  Warped, aren’t they?? 

The daughters took our picture outside after that torture was over…

By the time we got home, it was 1:30, so as I said, the oats did their job!  I knew we would be eating a lot later, so I made a mini turkey, cheese and spinach sammie on a piece of baguette with some carrots on the side…

I ate outside with hubs and soaked in the beautiful sunshine :)

Later, everyone came for the birthday celebration.  I started us off with a Hot Artichoke-Cheese Dip with toasted baguette…

I had about 3 of these…

After some yard bocce, it was on to dinner.  I made all the husband’s faves…

Ravioli…

Meatballs (regular and turkey- for the haters)

Salad…

Italian-style Squash…

Gram brought her Milanese Torte…

I tried to control my portions, but had a bit of everything…

also a half piece of the Milanese Torte and a few bites of foccaccia (not pictured).

The gang’s all here…

Later, we sang ‘happy birthday’ and dug into some cake and caramel apple pie…yeah, me too…

We finished with presents, a bonfire and board games.  It was a great day to celebrate my awesome husband!  He works so very hard that I’m so glad he got a chance to relax and enjoy all the things and people that he loves. 

ONE GOOD THING:  I have the best husband in the world!

Hope you all have a great day!

Question of the Day:  Do you get the flu shot?

First Day Jitters

It was the first full day of school for the daughters and they were raring to go!  It was a first day of sorts for me, too.  For the first time in 20 years, I was going to the gym!  I was a little nervous!  I had no idea what to do, how to work any of the equipment or what gym “etiquette” to follow, but I was still looking forward to going.  I armed myself with my “positive attitude” t-shirt…

Before I left the house, I quieted my jitters with a quick breakfast of  Smoked Salmon and Parmesan Omelet Muffins (from the freezer)…

then, it was off to the gym…YIKES!!!

It was great!  I walked in, found an elliptical, fooled around with the settings, hooked up my mp3 player and got my sweat on.  I planned on 35 minutes on the elliptical, but my friend Coleen showed up and hopped on the elliptical next to me, so I kept on going and gabbing for another 15 minutes.  After, she showed me around and took me though some of the weight machines.  I got in a few good arm curl sets and a couple leg curls.  I t was a good workout and I enjoyed watching the other gym go-ers’ workout styles – one guy was running on the treadmill while hugging the electronic panel instead of holding the side rails!  So crazy!

I left the gym and ran more errands –aaah, does it ever end???  By this time, I was starting to get hungry, it was already lunchtime!  I went for a turkey and cheese sandwich on a Pepperidge Farms Deli Flat, 1 cup Trader Joe’s Organic Lentil Soup and a perfectly ripe pear…

I was in the mood for some crunch, too, so I took the opportunity to try out these POPchips that were sent to me by the POPchips peeps via my friend at The Skinny Plate.  Thanks, Stephanie!

This flavor was okay, a little too peppery for my taste buds, but I liked the airy crunch of these chips…

When the daughters came home from school, I felt the old munchie feeling coming back.  Something about that part of our day has me wanting to snack.  I wasn’t actually HUNGRY though, so I tried to put the urge off with a cup of Teeccino…

And it worked for a while, but I did get hungry about a half hour before dinner and felt like I just couldn’t wait, so I dug into some Kashi TLC Country Cheddar crackers…(x2)…

and a string cheese, Wheat Thins and a few nuts.  I knew that this was a “compulsive eating” moment, but the difference this time is that I didn’t feel badly about it.  And because I didn’t immediately start berating myself when I started oversnacking, I was able to reign it in before things got really out of hand.  I continued making dinner, which was really just opening a bag!  Big daughter and I split  Trader Joe’s Chicken Chow Mein with added broccoli while the husband and little daughter had other leftovers from the freezer…

It was tasty and enough for me considering all the snacks I had, but for a hungry diner, it needs some bulking up.

I’m heading to the gym again.  I plan to go 5 days a week and workout at home on the weekends.  Pretty soon, I might be able to call myself a GYM RAT!

ONE GOOD THING :  I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to the gym!!

Question of the Day:  Do you prefer working out in a gym, outdoors or at home?