Namaste

I went to my first yoga class at the Y tonight and it felt great. I missed yoga. I love doing it in a class vs. at home. Don’t ask me why, but I do. My “intention” for the evening was to stretch. When I was sitting there, I realized that my lower/middle back was aching and I needed to stretch it out. I accomplished my intention tonight.

Here are the things I liked about my class–we used blocks (I didn’t use mine, but it’s a nice option to have), yoga straps to stretch our hamstrings at the end, and our teacher did a good job explaining things, plus he used music. Oh and we faced a mirror, which helps me make sure my poses are correct. I haven’t done yoga in front of a mirror in about 6 years.

I also got my official YMCA membership card and setup my orientation/”commit to be fit” appointment for tomorrow after work. I get to fill out some forms about my goals and current fitness activity, etc. I love filling out these types of forms!

Since we went straight from work, to Subway for dinner to the movie yesterday, I didn’t post. We got home at 9:30 and I was beat!

Here was my breakfast yesterday–the rest of the pumpkin overnight oats and coffee. I added raisins this time and it was ok. I think I like currants better.

Ugh, I am sick of the yellow, fake lighting I have to use because it’s dark out in the morning.

Lunch was my first time having Amy’s Mexican Tamale Pie, which was really good. It was low in calories (150), so I supplemented it with lots of other lunch goodies, yogurt and peppers. Dessert was dried figs.

Dinner was a 6 inch ham and cheese sub on honey oat.

The Social Network was a pretty good movie–it definitely keeps you on edge the whole time. They could have shortened it and cut out some parts, but it was intriguing.

On this last day of September (can’t believe how fast this month went), I had PB puffins for breakfast.

Lunch was a Whole Wheat English Muffin with provolone cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers. I added mayo and Frank’s Red Hot too. Had a Chobani yogurt for some protein and dried figs and PB creme cookies for dessert.

I snacked on some almonds throughout the day too.

Dinner was a whole wheat tortilla with pinto beans, tomatoes, Mexican cheese, salsa, greek yogurt instead of sour cream and Frank’s Red Hot (seriously, I can’t get enough of that stuff). I ate early because I knew I was going to try to make yoga tonight.

When I got home from yoga, I was still craving an apple. I had wanted to eat one as dessert with my dinner, but that didn’t happen. A mountain of dishes were calling my name!

I saw this bad boy again and chopped him up.

I warmed up some caramel and dipped the apple slices into it. Yummy!

I’ll end with photos of two of my boys. Craig decided to take Karma outside. Our cats don’t go outside, so Craig had to carry him.

He investigated our garden…

And just sniffed around in general.

Time to go read some blogs! Hip hip horray, tomorrow is Friday!

Facebook movie

Not sure if I will post tonight, we are going to a free preview of the Facebook movie! Should be a good one! Have a good night.

Random day

What a random day…I didn’t really realize how random it was until my husband said so.

Funny things happened throughout the day–I saw a girl walking to the tech school with a mannequin head in her hand. It appeared she was styling a beard. Made me laugh out loud.

I walked to a large department store on my lunch break and when I was leaving the store, I saw my friend Jenny and kind of scared her when I hit her arm to get her attention. It was nice running into her randomly like that. Oh and when I was trying on clothes there, someone walked into my dressing room. Aaah! The door didn’t latch all the way and here I thought I had shut and locked it, but I guess it didn’t take.

This is more cool than strange, but at work, I got the closest to a mummy sarcophagus that I have ever been and I saw two 1913 Harley Davidson motorcycles.

And the most random thing of all is that one of my favorite TV shows, Jeopardy, had a category today called “Blogs and Bloggers!” You have no idea how excited I got when I saw that, so I jumped up and took some photos of the TV to share with you.

Breakfast today was overnight pumpkin oats with chia seeds, flax meal, organic non-fat yogurt, Libby’s canned pumpkin and skim milk. I added some all spice and cinnamon too. Currants, honey and maple syrup were added in the morning.

Lunch was a veggie sandwich on Arnold’s Thins with hummus, cucumbers, red peppers, Swiss cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. As you will see in the photo below, I separate my tomatoes and other juicy veggies and then add them to the sandwich right before I eat it. I hate when tomatoes and such make my bread soggy! I also added some Frank’s Red Hot at work to spice it up a bit. Oh and I had a chobani blueberry yogurt and two Back to Nature PB cookies.

Dinner was a TJ’s Veggie Masala burger on yet another Arnold’s Thin (I guess I don’t get sick of them two meals in a row) with lettuce, tomatoes, provolone, mayo and Frank’s Red Hot. I also warmed up some brussel sprouts and sprinkled them with sea salt, Garden Salad Penzey’s spice and Penzey’s ground black pepper.

Wow, almost the same thing I had for lunch, but the veggie burger did taste dramatically different than my lunch combination.

Off to the gym with my hubby!

Sleepy Monday

Boy, I was tired today. I woke up early this morning at who knows what time, and could not fall back asleep. I think it was the 3 p.m. coffee I had yesterday or the pumpkin beer I decided to have at 9 p.m.

Here is a recap of last night’s beer consumption and snack. I was craving something salty with the beer, so the pretzel bread with cheese hit the spot.

My verdict on the pumpkin ale? Pretty good. I couldn’t really taste the pumpkin, but it was a yummier ale than just plain old beer. I drink about 5 beers a year now–not kidding, but sometimes I just get the craving for a flavored one, like I did with pumpkin ale over the weekend!

Karma wanted some beer too. I swear, he loves to smell beer whenever I have it.

Oh and he wanted my snack.

Breakfast today included egg beaters and toast with cherry jam.

Snack was coffee and a Kashi TLC Dark Chocolate Coconut bar.

Lunch was a salad with red peppers, feta, cucumbers, tomatoes, and Annie’s Goddess salad dressing. I love Brown Cow yogurt and I know the nutritional stats are not as good as Chobani or others, but I indulged and had a Cherry Vanilla one today. Dessert was a small gala apple.

As I got more sleepy in the afternoon, I became more hungry. I snacked on some raw almonds and water.

At the end of my work day, I officially transitioned from temporary YMCA membership to a real one! Anyone who signed up today will eventually get a water bottle, gym bag and towel too. Pretty cool! I was impressed with how many people signed up. I couldn’t say enough good things to the ladies registering us about how my experience over the weekend was so nice.

I came home, ate a dinner of a whole wheat tortilla with pinto beans, tomatoes, taco shredded cheese, TJ’s greek yogurt and Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. Oh and I had more pretzel bread with provolone cheese and a little sea salt on top.

Dessert was three peanut butter cookies from Back to Nature (my favorite lately).

I took a much needed 35 minute nap and then got ready to hit the Y. It was packed tonight compared to the weekend! I hopped on one of the good elliptical machines and went almost 3 miles in a half hour. I did intervals and still went at a quick pace with the tougher resistance. I was surprised I had so much energy after being so tired all day, but maybe the little nap and eating dinner before helped.

Time to get off of this computer, read my book and magazines and then hit the hay early tonight! I need some zzzz’s so badly.

Loving the Y

Happy Sunday afternoon!

This morning, we woke up late (8:40 a.m.) and I read a little of the Sunday paper, drank my coffee and had PB puffins.

Before going to the gym, I had greek/plain yogurt with cherry jam as a mid morning snack.

Then we got ready for the Y, day 2. We felt like pros compared to our first day there yesterday! We stretched, hit the elliptical for 10 minutes, the treadmill for 17 and then lifted some weights. I was so happy to have HGTV on the little treadmill TV in front of me. It’s the little things in life that make me happy!

They had these recipes available, so with my pumpkin craze, I figured I better pick it up. Plus, I can share it with you now.

Had a raspberry, skim milk, vanilla protein powder and ice smoothie for lunch.

I ventured out to the mall, but actually was so fed up with Christmas like crowds from a sale at the major department store, that I left and went to the grocery store instead. I had Pumpkin beer and canned pumpkin on my mind. No luck for the canned pumpkin, they were completely out. I did find a couple of pumpkin beer options, so I called my husband to see what was rated best online (I don’t have a smart phone). I ended up with Buffalo Bill’s Brewery Pumpkin Ale. I haven’t tried it yet, but I am going to tonight when it’s cold and ready to be consumed.

Here’s what I got at the store–I didn’t do a major grocery shopping trip, so this is just little things I needed to make recipes and some fresh produce for the week.

When I got home, I broke into the PB cookies and pretzel bread right away. All of that food shopping made me hungry, but I have to eat light because we are going out to eat with my in-laws tonight.

Better go get some things done before we head out for dinner! Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I am excited for the Season Premier of Amazing Race tonight. It’s one of my favorite shows.

Oh Baby!

Oh baby 1) I am behind on my blog posts 2) I had a baby-filled day!

Yesterday–

Waffles for breakfast

This for lunch:

Dinner was a whole wheat tortilla with pinto beans, tomatoes and green salsa.

Then for dessert–yogurt with cherry jam and a bit of honey.

Here was a recap from today:

Breakfast was a whole wheat tortilla with mushrooms, egg beaters and taco style shredded cheese and Frank’s Red Hot.

After letting our breakfasts settle, Craig and I went to the Y. We played basketball, did a little elliptical, and walked the indoor track. My ankle was hurting by the end and I had to get home to shower so I could make it to a baby shower. It wasn’t the toughest workout, but it was fun to be at the gym together. Craig and I both know I am really like going to like it there with all of the nice options I have for working out.

I headed out to the country to my friend’s mom’s house for her baby shower. I didn’t take photos of my lunch, but I had a pulled pork sandwich on a bun, cheesy potatoes and salad. Oh and some awesome cake from Simma’s bakery. Here are some photos of the shower.

Driving from the baby shower to my parents’ house nearby, I saw this and freaked out. I knew I had to snap a pic while driving. I should have stopped! Looks like the had a nice selection. (My husband’s name is Craig).

I went to my parents’ house and visited with one of my childhood pets, Garfield. He was excited to see me, but not too keen on my digital SLR–he was definitely scared of it!

Once home, I was craving veggies for dinner. I heated up some brussel sprouts and cooked a Trader Joe’s veggie masala burger on the stove. It was quite the tasty dinner! Had some undocumented vanilla Starbucks ice cream with a bit of Marzipan Milka on top for dessert.

I watched a boring and cheesy movie tonight and just vegged. I can’t believe the weekend is almost over already. Night!

Happy first day of fall!

I can’t believe it’s officially fall already. Where did the summer go? Pretty soon, the trees will all look like this.

I am exhausted today and it’s almost bedtime, so this will be a brief post.

Breakfast was egg beaters and burnt toast. I was too tired to make a meal this morning and balance making eggs plus checking on the toast!

I think this was my first time ever trying egg beaters and I liked it a lot. I tried cheese and chive.

+ burnt toast featured cherry jam. It was fine.

Snack at work was the rest of the soy joy bar plus much needed coffee before I headed to a meeting.

Lunch was a very tasty salad (with green peppers, sunflower seeds, feta, cucumbers and tomatoes), a peach Chobani yogurt and milk chocolate for dessert.

I came home from work to find a new Health magazine in my mailbox! Yay–can’t wait to read this! It’s one of my favs.

Exercise tonight was cutting the grass. I think I walked about a mile and a half while cutting.

When I was done, I found this nice little note on the back door from my husband and a cold, refreshing lemonade was handed to me! I needed it–my throat was parched.

Dinner was Trader Joe’s four formaggi pizza. I had three slices. It was heavenly. Oh and some vanilla ice cream with milky way topping again.

I’ll be starting my week long trial at the Y tomorrow night and then I officially join on Monday! So excited to hear that we get a free water bottle, towel, and a workout bag for joining through work. 😉

I heart farmer’s markets

Hi everyone (well no one, since my blog isn’t getting any hits in these first three weeks of being a blogger)! Hope you are having a good night.

I can’t believe it’s already Thursday tomorrow. Phew, the week flew by! Love that!

I had the rest of the pumpkin oatmeal for breakfast. Turns out that the soupy pumpkin oatmeal turns into great overnight oats. I warmed them up a bit and they were delicious.

Snack time–I changed it up a bit by making Earl Grey green tea today and having half of a Mango Coconut Soy Joy bar. Not my favorite flavor thus far.

I took a picture of my lunch as I packed it this morning, so I wouldn’t forget to do so at lunch. My cute lunch bag is also featured. I won it from A Better Bag of Groceries a couple of months ago and it’s perfect!

I had a whole wheat TJ’s tortilla with cooked pinto beans, baby carrots and I put tomatoes on top of my warmed up tortilla. I also added Frank’s Red Hot sauce. I had the rest of my Greek honey TJ’s yogurt in the work fridge, so that is not pictured here.

After I ate lunch at my desk, I walked to the Westown Farmer’s Market. It was a gorgeous day! I can’t believe it’s the last official day of summer. 😦

Here are some pictures from the market. I felt like a creeper taking pictures of veggies and farmers’ stalls, so I didn’t snap too many. Signs of fall were everywhere…mums and pumpkins.

I bought a green pepper and some nice lettuce. Next time I go, I will have to bring my lunch or buy a crepe there. They looked and smelled so yummy!

I sat at the park where the Farmer’s Market takes place and enjoyed people watching from a bench. I get such a nice feeling from watching people enjoy themselves at a market and also from seeing them buy healthy whole foods.

When I got back to work, I had a series of meetings. At one of them, I snacked on some dark chocolate and a few almonds. Hit the spot!

After work, I headed to Aldi to pick up some items to make a salad for dinner with my lettuce and green pepper!

Then it was time to hit the gym. I officially quit my gym today, but have to pay for October still. Bummer. My ankle was fine when I was at the gym, but by the time I got home, it was shooting with sharp pain. Back to that later–I did 25 minutes on the elliptical and 12 on the bike. I also lifted a few arm weights and stretched a lot. Bob’s workout last night got me sore in the hips today!

My left side of my ankle was killing me. It still is hurting a lot and that is after two Tylenol. Maybe I overdid it at the gym or the walk to the market was too much. I logged over 13,000 steps on the pedometer today. Perhaps tomorrow should be a rest day, although it’s really my turn to cut the grass, so maybe that will be my workout.

I tried to forget the pain and immerse myself in cooking a healthy salad for dinner. Mmm…this was good.

Dessert was a couple of scoops of Starbucks Vanilla ice cream with a little Milky Way caramel topping.

We went to Kohl’s to shop on the last day of the sale, so I am beat. It’s almost 9:30 and I have been getting into bed and reading every night this week around this time. My body is winding down and I can’t write anymore. Good night!

Working out with Bob

I made pumpkin oats for breakfast again this morning. I didn’t measure the milk and water mixture I put into the pan, so they ended up kind of soupy. They were ok though, just not as chewy as normal. I also added half of a banana and that was a nice addition.

My snack at work was a coffee with cream and agave nectar and about six almonds. I wasn’t that hungry since my breakfast was filling.

Lunch was the rest of what I made for dinner last night + a Trader Joe’s greek yogurt with honey. I only ate half of that, as the container is 300 calories total and I was so full by the time I ate half anyway.

I had a tiny bit of dark chocolate for dessert.

I came home from work to find this sweet note on our back door. Love my cute husband. 😉 He just wrote it for no particular reason, just because he loves me.

By the time I got home, did dishes and relaxed a bit, it started to pour buckets outside. I left work later than I wanted to, so I was already behind in my schedule and I decided to work out at home instead of venture out into the rain and lightning. I ate some pita chips and hummus and then a bowl of Stonyfield Organic non-fat yogurt mixed with TJ’s Greek Yogurt and Door County cherry jam. Lunch was so filling that I didn’t feel like eating much for dinner.

I am watching the season premier of The Biggest Loser right now. I don’t like watching too much TV, but the show motivates me to workout and eat right.

Before this, I was working out with Bob too. I bought Bob Harper’s Pure Burn Super Strength about a month ago and hadn’t tried it yet.

I did 25 minutes (workout 2 for beginners) of his super strength workout DVD in my living room. It reminded me of the show–the style of pushing people and inspiring them to keep going. I was doing 8 lbs. in each arm and I sure hurt now! At the end, I had to pull out my 5 lb. weights because I knew 8 was too much for me. It was a good strength workout to do at home though. Next, I’ll try the hour long one.

Oh and Karma did a little stretching tonight too while I worked out. Don’t know why, but he was in this weird position on the couch while I was working out!

Chronobiology on Dr. Oz

I am watching Dr. Oz while I read blogs. He had these interesting facts on what time is best to eat the following foods, so I had to share with the blog readers. He is talking about the best time to do lots of things, but I thought the food and fitness information was best suited for a healthy living blog.

I think my breakfast pictures would show that I don’t eat enough fat in the morning.

Fat-10 am (because you have the whole day to metabolize and digest the fat)

Carbs-2 pm

Sweets-2 pm

Alcohol-5 pm

Best time to exercise-7 am (before you eat breakfast is best and morning exercisers are more likely to stay with their routine). I should try this more, because I do feel more energetic all day and am happy to have my workout done when I get home from work.

Ok, it’s almost 9 and I have to get off of this computer.