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Monday, August 9, 2010

Catching Up on Cooking

I haven't been posting, but I have been cooking! Or at least what I consider cooking....

Over the past 2 weeks, I've made a Greek pasta salad, chicken enchiladas, cream cheese cookie bars (no picture), a sausage cheese roll, and a zesty chicken wrap. The only thing I def really liked were the enchiladas. I have ingredients to make a meatloaf later this week as well. I just wanted everyone to know that I am actually sticking to this goal and making random recipes. hahaha.



Now that I'm looking at these pictures, they all look kinda gross.... hahahaha. They were edible though!!! :0)

Monday, August 2, 2010

My 30 Day Death Sentence

My friend Robyn has this insane idea to follow Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred every day in August. She is determined to do level 1 every day for 10 days, level 2 every day for the next 10 days and then finishing off with level 3 for the last 10 days. For those of you who have never heard of this, consider yourselves lucky. For the rest of us, you understand that my friend must have a fragile state of mind to want to attempt this. I love her dearly, but this seems like a suicide mission. I've barely made it 4 times in one week on level 1! Of course that was 1 time that has never been repeated.

So can someone please tell me why, when Robyn asked me if I wanted to join her quest for a rock solid body, I accepted?! Sure, I want a fit body, but this challenge seems insane! I can't have my friend facing this type of death on her own though. At least we're in it together.

Yesterday was Day 1 (obviously since it was August 1st). I am definitely pretty dang sore right now... though not as sore as the very first time I attempted this workout. Let's hope I can keep it up. Only 29 days to go..... ugh.

Potluck #1

The mister and I went to a potluck BBQ at the park this weekend with some family. Did anyone else notice that dreaded word - potluck???? Clearly these people don't know me well enough if they expect me to make something edible to share with everyone else. I have no idea what they were thinking.

I pondered and pondered what I could possibly make. I know I said I wanted to learn to cook, but debuting my first dish like this in front of so many people was a little..... overwhelming. It was in the dead of summer so we expected hot weather. A cold pasta salad seems like an appropriate dish right? I googled a few different things and came up with a Greek pasta salad.

After 45 minutes wandering the aisles at the grocery store, I finally made it out of there with pretty much all the ingredients I was going to need. I went home and chopped, sliced, minced (I actually had to look up what it meant to mince - don't judge) until I had what faintly resembled food. All I had to do was refrigerate it and then top it with cheese and fresh oregano leaves. I was quite impressed with myself.



As far as I know, it tasted like food too! I actually don't like pasta salad so I just had a few bites, but it was cleaned out at the potluck. Woo hoo!

Check out the recipe I used here: Greek Pasta Salad

Monday, July 26, 2010

Cooking!

I seriously suck at this. I don't understand why, let alone how, someone would spend their time after work cooking meals. I'm happy when I make it to the fridge to pull out the milk for cereal. I've always been the one who wants food asap. I'm not interested in waiting 20 minutes to cook it. It seems like wasted effort and time to do this when there are simple solutions (mac & cheese, cereal, etc). I eat like a poor college student and I would rather spend the time on something different.

Well I've decided that I want to learn how to cook. Clearly it's no surprise that my skills in the kitchen are minimal if any. I really want to change that. I'm always given recipes from people saying it's really quick and simple, but I feel overwhelmed just looking at it. It seems like a lot of work to me! I want to get to a point where I have recipe success and can pull things outta my mind. I want to feel comfortable with adding a few spices that aren't included in the recipe. I want to learn to cook!!

So here's the thing: I want to try out 3 new recipes a week. That's right. I'm going to cook 3 new dishes EVERY week.



First things first.... I need to find a cookbook!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Oops

Let's face it: I suck at keeping up with a blog. It baffles my mind that someone can write something interesting everyday. I struggle to update my Facebook status let alone write some awe inspiring narrative about my life. I think that's my problem; I'm wanting everything I say to change lives. Well no wonder I NEVER write anything. Haha.

I know I know... I'm supposed to be training for that marathon. I went for a short jog on Tuesday. Does that count? I'm working on it... give me a break.

I did just recently move so that had taken up a lot of my time. Now I'm in the process of potentially suing my previous landlord (don't ask - long story).

So this is me apologizing for sucking at blogging.

Goals in Life

In no particular order:


- Raise a family

- Travel to Europe

- Run a marathon

- Write a book

- Reach my goal weight

- Learn to cook

- Finish college

- Be debt free

This is just me thinking outloud and needing to post it somewhere I won't lose. haha.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Hoppity - Hop - Hop

Over the past week or so, the mister and I have been visited by a few extra guests. It started off with just one and then escalated to two and then all of a sudden three, etc.

Our neighborhood has bunnies.

These aren't jackrabbits or wild rabbits or anything like that. These are the type of bunnies you would buy as pets. You know what I'm talking about, right?

One day we went outside and saw a cute white bunny in our yard. Naturally, I was like "WTF?" I mean, what is a random pet bunny doing in my yard? I tried to get closer to it (because I wanted to catch it and keep it and love it forever and ever and ever....), but the little jerk hopped away. Doesn't he know I would make a great mom?! Jeeeeeez.

During the next week, we started seeing 2 white bunnies. Then a random brown bunny showed up in our backyard! We opened the back door to let the doglet out and he kinda freaked out seeing a bunny almost the same size as he is sitting in the garden (btw, this totally explains who has been eating all of the mister's crops). When we tried to approach it, he ran and slid himself through a crack in the fence between our yard and the neighbors yard. It was quite impressive. I could barely fit my hand through that crack and he just squished his whole body through it!

So anyways, this morning the mister calls me after he left for work saying that he saw 5 bunnies! I know bunnies are supposed to multiply like crazy, but these were all big bunnies. Where in the world are they coming from?! They have spread out over the 4 houses now too.

I'm waiting to see little baby bunnies. :o)

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

I Actually Don't Know What Week It Is....

I've been doing a lot of walking/jogging on my runs lately. Definitely a bit more than I should. I mean, I was able to run 5 miles no problem like a month and a half ago at the Big Sur Relay, but now I'm struggling to finish 1 mile. What is my problem?!

I'm not pushing myself hard enough. I'm complacent. I'm assuming that this little bit of jogging is sufficient for training. Unfortunately, I'm just lying to myself. I need to seriously step up my game. I'm being lazy and I need to work much harder in order to survive my marathon.

For one thing, I really want to lose some weight. I've been gaining insane amounts because I'm not working out as hard and I'm consuming massive amounts of food. Not a good combination. I want to get in shape and lose the weight while training. Last time I was training for the CIM half marathon, I didn't notice the scale going down until after because I had gained so much muscle. I'm cool with that this time as well as long as it's not crazy flabby fat on my body anymore. Lol. TMI?

Secondly, I want my base runs to be 5 miles. I want to be able to comfortably run 5 miles no problem several times a week. I used to want it to be only 3 miles, but I know I can already do that. 5 miles is a bit of a stretch right now so it's a better goal.

I need to take this training more seriously. I need to actually run more.... and stop walking so much. My fitness level is higher than my training partners level right now so I started dong a little extra running on my own. I'm still jogging/walking with D on our schedule, but I'm supplementing it with extra running with the mister. For example, D and I jogged/walked for about 45 minutes and then I went home and ran nonstop with the mister about 2.5 miles. It's a slow start, but I'm working back up to my base. Plus, the mister is kinda maxed out at 2.5 miles. Lol. Poor guy.

But I think my main focus right now id the weight loss, but can you seriously blame me? It's swimsuit season. What did you expect?

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Because I Can't Stop....

I can just never keep still. The mister says he thinks I'm part crazy because I can't seem to relax. I'm always wanting to do something. It's not my fault that I have a short attention span. Well, it could be, but I like to pretend like it's not. Duh.

Anyways, so I'm finished with my hectic school schedule this semester. I was going to school 5 nights a week after work for 4 months and I finally made it through! I don't know how people can do this all the time. I have a serious respect for working mothers who balance their time so well. Unfortunately for me, I suck at it. I'm surprised I made it. The icing on the cake was that I received As in all my classes this semester too! :o)

So here I am with all this free time on my hands. Sure, I am still training for the marathon, but it's a work in progress. You can't rush something like that so I'm just taking it day by day. I'm still home by 7pm on training nights anyway so I feel like I have loads more time than when I was in school. I'll be taking a summer school class starting soon, but I'll still have more time.

So here I am with nothing to do. Seriously. I'm even caught up with the laundry (and if you know me, that never happens). I've been reading like crazy because I LOVE books and am trying to catch up from four months of textbook reading. I still have all this time though. Plus, as much as I wish I could read all the time nonstop, I wouldn't be able to sit still for so long (well, I'm sure I could devote weeks to simply lying in bed reading, but for some reason I don't think that's a good idea).

I'm so thankful we're moving into some apartments in a couple of weeks. Right as summer is kicking off, I'll have a pool to lay by! I haven't tanned in forever (not that I ever try to tan), but now that it's easily accessible I might give it a try. Reading out on the chairs by the pool while the sun shines down on me sounds so relaxing. Man, we can't move soon enough! The next 2.5 weeks are gonna draaaaaaaag. boo.

Any other ideas of what I should use my time for? Maybe some arts and crafts? Right now I'm trying to catch up on me time, but I'll need to do something eventually.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Reasons

According to the always funny Dawn Dais (author of The Nonrunners Marathon Guide for Women), I'm supposed to have written a pro/con list for deciding to run the marathon. I'm also supposed to have written reasons and potential counter arguments for finishing the training as well. I'm supposed to come with a good reason to finish the training and marathon where I won't have an excuse to stop and quit. Ugh. As smart as this sounds, it seems so... final to me. Once I really come up with a good fool-proof reason, I won't be able to quit. I like the idea that I could quit though. Is that bad? Haha. Probably. Ok.... fine! I'll make the stupid lists. Twist my arm, why-dontcha.

Pro/Con List to Training for a Marathon:

Pro: I'll have bragging rights.
Con: I might not finish and end up embarrassed.

Pro: I'll get in shape.
Con: Running won't give me the body I actually want so it would be fruitless.

Pro: I can hang out with my friend D more.
Con: D will hate me for making her run all the time.

Pro: I can eat loads of food if I'm running.
Con: I won't get the desired weight loss.

Pro: I'll be in the best shape of my life.
Con: My body will be in constant pain.

Yea... I'm done at five pros and cons. Dawn had some really funny ones, but I wanted to just put the ones that came to my head first.

Reasons for Finishing my Marathon and its Training:

Reason: I want to have this sense of accomplishment. Not everyone will run a marathon.
Counter-Argument: The smart ones don't run marathons. Who would willingly put them self in this much pain and torture over and over and over again?!

Reason: My friends are all training with me.
Counter-Argument: And they all want to quit as well. They're just waiting for someone to make the first move.

Reason: I've always wanted to run a marathon.
Counter-Argument: I've always wanted to live on a farm too. Plus, I'm still young... I'll do it later.

Reason: I've told tons of people about this.
Counter-Argument: They'll forget or I'll pretend like I don't know what they are talking about if they do remember.

Reason: I told myself I better finish this or else.
Counter-Argument: Psh. Ohhhhhhhh. I'm so scared. Not.

Okay, clearly I need to find a solid reason to continue for when times get tough. Eh, I'll figure it out later. Here's to a great year of training ahead for me (you all better sense my sarcasm)!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

End of Week 1.... ish

The first two weeks of training are a little spotty. I'm still in school and knee deep in finals (someone shoot me). The only days I have to run are Fridays after work, Saturdays, and Sunday mornings. It makes training for a marathon a bit more difficult.

So far I have run 3 times in the past week or so with an average of about 30 minutes of run/walking (mostly walking). haha. I feel this need to step up my game, but I don't want to burn out and I don't really have the time right now. You know it's a bad sign when you would rather go for a run than go to class. I must be crazy.

Good news though: I think I have inspired the mister to start running again. He's all fired up about getting in shape (even though I've told him that he already has a shape: round). He ran last night and he's running again tonight. He also wants to join D and I on our weekly runs. I'm super psyched! I need all the accountability I can get these days.

So yea.... I'll give another update on the actual running when it becomes a more consistent thing (in 2 weeks or so).

Monday, May 3, 2010

Oh Sh*t! I Must Be Crazy

It's been a while. I know. Don't judge me. I'm in school. I can't help that school is supposed to take priority over blogging. Weird, I know. Anyways, I'm here and that's what should matter, right? I didn't fall off a cliff and I'm not in a coma somewhere. I'm just lazy when it comes to blogging. Eh. Oh well... that's me.

I have some exciting news. Ok, exciting might be the wrong word. I have some shocking, scary, confused, [you can fill in the blank] news:

I'VE DECIDED TO RUN A FULL MARATHON.

Let that marinate for a minute.... Done yet? I know some of you are thinking that I'm insane (and you're probably right). Not sure if you guys realized that 3 posts ago I was complaining about the half marathon (that I half trained for) with my coworkers I had to run. Yea.... I was complaining the whole time. Haha.

I'm not really sure what inspired me to run a full marathon. I blame Runner's High and my friend R. R convinced me to run in the Big Sur Marathon Relay with her and some others just a little over a week ago. There is just something about the races that gets me all pumped up and wanting to do more. Runner's High can be dangerous. Just a warning to anyone thinking about participating in these kind of races. Also, R emails me the next day (while I'm floating on Runner's High) and asks if I want to run the FULL Big Sur Marathon with her next year. Of course I said yes! I would have said yes to jumping off a bridge at that point (see... Runner's High can be dangerous).

So here I am...committed to running a full marathon next year. Yikes. But I'm not doing this alone. Not only is R gonna be there.... I lassoed my friend D into it too. :o) R lives far away, but I can train with D on a weekly basis. This will be great (or so I think as I'm still floating). D and I have already signed up for a half marathon later this year to have something to look forward to that's not a year away.

The three of us are also reading (or have already read) The Nonrunners Marathon Guide for Women by Dawn Dais. This book is HILARIOUS! I recommend it to any women. It reminds me that my goal is just to finish and I'm not the only one going through these running woes (I don't know if I mentioned before that I don't actually enjoy long distance running...yea....). Seriously, read it.

Yep. That's it. May God be with us.