Bundled Up

It was 38 degrees when I woke up this morning. WTF Mother Nature?!?! It's only October 15th. Boston's average temperature at this time of the year is 62. To make things worse, the water turned ice cold halfway through my shower. I had another cup of Boston Common Coffee Co.'s Breakfast Blend to get the chill out of my bones. We grind the beans just before we brew it. Smells great and the coffee tastes fresh!

I normally use Equal to sweeten my coffee. I am down to my last 2 packets and I'd like to switch over to something healthier and more natural. Any suggestions?

~What do you use to sweeten your coffee?~

I had to break out the winter gear for my commute to work. No gloves though...and the steering wheel was ice cold for the first 5 minutes of driving!

Always taking the lazy route, I made a package of Raisins, Walnuts, and Spice Quaker instant oatmeal. I sprinkled blueberry flax seed on top. I am becoming such a flax enthusiast that I need to buy another bag soon, possibly in a different flavor.

Continuing the oatmeal theme of the morning, I snacked on a Luna bar. I'm still really cold so I'm warming my hands in front of my space heater in between typing. I'm already craving a warm bowl of soup for lunch. And dreading the yard work that needs to get done later today!

Sunday Run Day

I started the morning off with a bowl of Cinnamon Puffins topped with banana slices.

Jared and I drove to my parents' house to meet my cousin before the race.

To fuel for the 5K, I snacked on a Chai Tea Luna Bar. Yay, another favorite flavor. I like the chai spiciness. This was tasty.

We had a large support system at the starting line with us. Becky was a little nervous for her first 5K so she appreciated the extra encouragement.

We were all smiles at the beginning of the race. Little did we know that we would be running up slippery trails and pushing ourselves to the max!

My Uncle Jon took off like a bullet from the start. I think his final time was just about 25 minutes. He ran Cross Country in high school so he knew what he was getting into.

I pushed myself harder than I ever have before. After the last big hill, I thought I might be sick. But somehow I forced myself to keep going and even managed to break into a run as I neared the finish line. 3.1 miles in 27:19...I'm proud of myself!

Becky struggled with cramps towards the end of the race but my Auntie Carol talked her through it. They both met their goals, finishing in just under 30 minutes!

This is our After picture, a little tired and a lot sweaty. But overall, a great experience to share with my family and good speed work before the 1/2 Marathon.

There was a post-race BBQ and I took advantage of everything. I had a veggie burger with lettuce, onions, and pickles. Plus 2 slices of watermelon and a raspberry dessert bar! It probably wasn't the healthiest meal but it felt good to eat after working so hard and draining all of my energy.

I was happy to see my parents' Siberian Husky Natasha. She has beautiful blue eyes and she's such a low key dog. Nastasha is getting old, she's 12, but she is good about tolerating my crazy corgi when he's in town.

I went shopping with my mom and helped her buy a dress to wear to my cousin's wedding. I'll find any excuse to go to the Wrentham Outlets. I got a pea coat at J. Crew for 40% off, plus a 15% discount because I have a college ID. Can't beat those savings.

My mom was really psyched to make spaghetti squash. She cut the squash in half and then scraped out the seeds.

She baked for 45 minutes.

Then she scraped out the "spaghetti" insides. Mmmm!

My plate was filled with a wheat roll, spaghetti squash, "Chicken Leo" named after my grandfather (unfortunately I don't remember the real name), and wheat egg noodles. Look out for leftovers over the next few days.

I had a slice of homemade apple pie for dessert, accompanied by a tablespoon of vanilla ice cream.

Relaxing Afternoon

If I'm a Sunchip addict, my mother is my dealer. She bought another box of 100 calorie bags for me to bring back to Boston. My turkey sandwich wasn't too good today because I used prepackaged turkey from Trader Joe's. Nothing beats getting freshly shaved turkey from the deli counter!

I cleaned out our snack drawer and brought some chocolate into work. I left it on the kitchen counter and it was gone within an hour. Coworkers are great at helping get rid of food! I couldn't part with this little Lindor Truffle though.

I went to HealthWorks over my lunch break. Since today is a lazy day, I just sat in the sauna for 10 minutes and read a magazine. It was beyond wonderful! I barely managed to stay in 10 minutes. I was too hot and sweaty! But it felt amazing as soon as I stepped out, like I sweated out all of my negativity! I am going to plan a few minutes in the sauna at least once a week, especially as the weather gets colder.

I had some time leftover after HealthWorks so I took a quick trip to the Chestnut Hill Mall. I used a coupon at Victoria's Secret to get a free pair of underwear. Does anyone with an Angel's Card bother to buy underwear anymore? I swear I earn a free pair every month!

I devoured this Luna bar as soon as I got in the car. I didn't even care about taking a good picture. I was hungry! The S'mores flavor was good. It didn't top the oatmeal kind, but I liked the chocolate layer a lot!

Biggest Loser

I NEEDED a quick snack before I headed out to the Madewell Fall Denim Tour. A bowl of Wheat Thins did the trick and I was out the door.

After the event I met Jared at Trader Joe's for a quick grocery shopping. We had a lot leftover from our big trip to Shaws last week so I just stocked up on fresh fruit, lunch meat, and a few items that are exclusive to Trader Joe's.

I was the Biggest Loser tonight for wasting my time at the Madewell event. The store was packed! There was barely room to move around and look at the clothes. Servers were passing trays of appetizers but I didn't feel like eating while being jostled by crazed shoppers. It was 1 million degrees in there so I stayed just long enough to grab a goodie bag. The bag contained a Lucky magazine (already read it at the gym), a pin, a poster, and these ridiculous sunglasses. Oh well. It was free and at least I was right near Trader Joe's. Shopping for food was much more fun than shopping for clothes!

I have a great selection of bars in the snack drawer. I took the suggestion to get the S'mores flavored Luna bar and the Z bar. Can't wait to work my way through and try these flavors.

It was my night to make dinner. I made Spinach and Artichoke raviolis and topped them with Trader Joe's Alfredo sauce, and a side salad of lettuce, cucumbers, and red peppers with Italian dressing.

Jared suggested wine...and who am I to argue? I felt a little guilty because we drank wine last night, but I've read enough information about the Mediterranean Diet and I believe that wine in moderation is allowed. This is my 2nd bottle of Gruner Veltliner. I taste that it's a nice, crisp white with the perfect amount of acidity for my palate.

What's Wrong with this Picture?

Raisin bran for breakfast because I was tired, lacking coffee, and not in the mood to create anything good. I promise I'll eat something fun tomorrow!

If my dog Miles had a blog, he'd post this picture twice a day.

Poor Miles eats 1 cup of Purina kibbles every morning and evening. He gets treats to liven things up. But since he's trying to prevent that doggy weight gain, he needs to snack in moderation!

I snacked on an apple and some string cheese around 10:30 am. This apple is from MA orchard. All of the other apples I've eaten are from NY. The NY apples are much sweeter than this MA one. I was disappointed. Maybe tomorrow I'll have better luck with fruit.

What is wrong with this picture?!?! I guess this is my punishment for eating a crappy frozen meal. The chicken doesn't look very appealing in real life. I ate it because I was hungry but it was nothing to brag about.

I went to the Beacon Hill Athletic Club to cancel my membership. Since I was already at the gym, I decided to do one last workout. I read Running Times while I climbed on the Stair Master for 22 minutes. I thought Running Times would give me confidence for the 1/2 marathon. Instead it made me feel like crap. Everyone in the magazine is a REAL runner. They have training schedules, perform at super speeds, and can handle long distances. I need some big time encouragement for the 1/2 Marathon on October 11th! At least I learned how to hydrate and replenish electrolytes as well as how to warmup before workouts and the race.

I had time to squeeze in a quick ab workout before getting ready to go back to work. Everyone at the BHAC is so nice and I feel bad about leaving. But HealthWorks is going to help me get the most out of my lunch time workouts. I'm even going to attempt to follow a weekly workout schedule. (I haven't followed a training schedule since college when I had cheerleading practice 5-6 days/week!)

My favorite flavor of Luna bar so far! I have to remind myself that I am on the hunt for new foods (bars included) I tend to get stuck in ruts and eat the same thing several days in a row.

I ran out of snacks so I decided to try to get rid of my afternoon munchies by making my own ice tea. Here's the Before shot....

And the After. Love my Wall-E wallpaper on my computer. I'm not even going to try to pick a favorite Disney character, but he's definitely in my top 5.



And from last night:
Oops....here's my dinner. Jared and I got caught up cleaning out the DVR so I forgot to blog. We watched The Amazing Race, Say Yes to the Dress (ok only I watched that one), Hung, and Entourage.
Couscous! Plus 2 pieces of chicken hidden in there somewhere. Accompanied by a glass of Malbec.

Snackie

I chose to eat breakfast at work this morning. I packed some strawberry yogurt and granola. Easy enough and always a crowd pleaser.

I was such a snack-monster today. It was 11:15 and I just HAD to eat my lunch. I bought more delicious rolls when we were at Shaws so I used one to make a turkey sandwich with cheese, lettuce, and pickles. Plus Sunchips as a side, obviously!

I ate an apple around 12:30 but my camera was charging so I couldn't take a picture.

I went to the gym at 1:30 and used my time wisely: 25 minutes on the Elliptical machine and free weights for my upper body. Jared and I are supposed to run 3 miles tonight so I didn't feel the need to push myself too hard. I remembered to pack face wash and Cottonelle wipes to clean up after my workout. What a huge difference! I'm not too sweaty when I finish at the gym and I always splash water on my face and refresh my deodorant. Even so, when I get back to work, I feel kinda grimy. I feel so fresh and so clean clean today! Why weren't these 2 items in my gym bag before today?!?!

I was hungry when I got back in the office so I tore into a Luna bar. Mmmm! I loved this so much more the the Lara bar I ate yesterday.

Self-contained

At 10:30 I decided to snack on a peach while I took a quick work break to browse the catalog from one of my favorite stores: Anthropologie!

Lunch was leftover American Chop Suey.

During my lunch hour, I walked across the street to Sovereign Bank, City Sports, and the Container Store. The Container Store was like heaven for someone like me who is crazy obsessed with organization. I was able to contain my excitement and only bought the item I went in looking for...a wooden rack to hang my handbags in my closet.

I had another bottle of water and some baby carrots for an early afternoon snack. These tasted so fresh and crunchy. Sometimes I forget to eat bags of baby carrots because they end up in the back of the fridge, and then they end up tasting old and bland.

Then I had an iced oatmeal raisin Luna bar for my late afternoon snack. I loved everything about it! Well, ok, I loved the icing drizzle most of all. :o) This was my last out of the 4 bars I bought last week. I'm definitely going to buy more of these next time we go grocery shopping.

I'm definitely definitely definitely going to run 3 miles when I get home from work tonight. Then I have a fun dinner idea and I have to watch Monday Night Football cuz the Bills are in town to the Patriots.

Another Day, Another Dollar

It was a grazing day at work. Up first: strawberries and cantaloupe.

Followed by a cheese stick! And some QT with my little British bear.

I mixed granola in my Chobani. Not a fan! I don't usually mix granola in Greek yogurt; I prefer to eat it plain. Maybe the granola just wasn't as good as Bear Naked? I love Chobani, but I wasn't overly thrilled with this mini-meal.

I saved the Luna bar and the banana to eat after my "lunch break" at the gym.

I did 20 minutes on the Stairmaster while I read a magazine and then used free weights to work on my arms and shoulders for another 5-10 minutes. My lunch break workouts are always pretty short and sweet because I only have an hour before I have to get back to work.

My food situation got a lot better when I ate my Dolce de Leche Luna bar. Loved it! So much better than the berry flavor I had yesterday.

Jared and I went for a 3 mile run (30 minutes exactly) and then went to pick up our laundry. I was SO hungry when we got home. I inhaled my turkey sandwich and Sunchips before I even thought about my camera. I was distracted because Jared needed to get ready for a 7 pm business meeting and I needed to clean the house. Not sure if any friends are coming over for the NFL Kickoff...