Drive-by

I’ve realized that I have been extremely neglectful to the blog. I know that it is a product of all of the changes going on. Sometimes its very easy to get stuck in the bottom of the barrel and feel sorry for yourself when things aren’t going the way you might hope. You forget to appreciate and acknowledge all of the little awesome things that happen in between. 

SO..with that being said, I’ve planned a little drive-by of some of the recent awesome-ness.

1. Amazing dinners

Mashed fingerling potatoes (with buttermilk- OMG), Braised pork chops with fresh sage, granny smith apples and red onions, and prosciutto (I have a love affair with salty pork products) wrapped asparagus

2. Rolling change.. ok, so rolling change for 2 hours isn’t exactly awesome.. But that’s how it goes when you work at Dunkin Donuts and make change tips.. having some money (And by some I mean barely enough), that’s awesome. 

3. Snacks on the go

 Everyone eats frozen raspberries out of the bag in the car, right?

No red dye #40 here

 And yes, I ate the whole bag in one sitting. 

4. Walks/Runs with my favorite mutt. This past week we did one of each. We ran 4 miles together around the neighborhood one day, and took a super long walk through Providence the next day.

 Needless to say, I succeeded in tiring him out

 5. Lamb

I can’t believe I was ever a vegan/vegetarian.. I kind of feel bad about eating animals sometimes, especially baby ones.. But my god, they just taste so good and make my body so very happy. 

6. The domestic man’s pizza crust.. This is the third time I’ve made this crust and I LOVE it. G even requested it… We made a pear, goat cheese, and prosciutto pizza and it was AMAZING!

7.Working out, HARD. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been a little slacking in the workout department. It’s nice to work out like a beast, sweat your ass off, and be proud of yourself for working out even when you didn’t want to.  And hey, my body hasn’t completely turned into jello. 

8. Adorable Pitbulls dressed up ridiculously making me smile :)

9. Free coffee! As a pat on the back for hitting the gym so hard this morning, I decided to treat myself to a Starbucks coffee. I went through the drive-through and apparently they felt bad that it took so long and gave me the coffee on the house. 

 Not necessary, but appreciated!

10. Getting back to writing ;)

Storm+ Recipe teasers+ a Whole lot of food+ a WO

Hey there- coming to you early-ish this morning before Mother Nature dumps a crap load of snow on us here in the North East. It is expected to be 2 1/2 FEET of snow.. Seriously?! I need to move.. 

Oh well.. Guess it’s time to sharpen my snowball and snowman making skills! And maybe snuggle with these mutts.. (although I’m a little angry with Hydro- I know he’s brain dead and everything.. but taking a crap on my floor when he just went outside 3 minute before.. not cool man) 

(He is currently in bathtub timeout) 

Remember my attempt at Marshmallows- without a mixer? Well they are nothing like marshmallows.. at all.. but still pretty good- They have a texture like jello with a fluffy topper

 James didn't really dig the different textures- but the chocolate coffee flavor was awesome

  And it kind of looks like a Reeses cup, hah.. 

So I had this spectacular idea for another way to enjoy my gelatin supplement- I’ll give you a hint  

It came out better than I could have ever anticipated.. mmm..

Recipe coming next post… be sure to check back ;)

Thursdays tend to be some of the most active days around here and this week was no different. I started the day off with a short training run- 2 miles running followed by 2 miles of walking on the little old treadmill.. I took the time to catch up with Paula. I came home and did the Quickie WO, showered, and got my clients WO all squared away.

 Lunch time rolled around

I still can’t believe I eat Sardines.. they are pretty good though! 

A bit later I grabbed a little snack as I was heading out the door to hang out with Paula for a bit

That is Trader Joe’s 85% dark chocolate (times two) and a dried fig.. Just the right amount of sweetness to pick up the afternoon.

I got home and took the mutt for a VERY cold walk.. I don’t think I have walked our route so fast in my life.. it was flipping freezing- it was about 35 minutes.. (Kind of regretting it now that he thanked me with that little surprise today lol) 

I warmed up, changed back into workout clothes and headed back out the door to meet with my client..  Then is was back home for 20 minutes to inhale dinner (My salad with Sardines and some left over coconut soup) Back out the door to teach yoga..  Needless to say I was VERY excited to come home to a glass of wine and an episode of Law and Order on Netflix. But then it STRUCK.. I was starved and I needed a snack.. STAT! 

So I threw some stuff together in an almost empty honey jar.. 

It’s not perfect but it hit the spot- and reminded me a bit of a brownie

1/2- 1 tsp honey

1 tsp Coconut oil

1 Tbsp Coconut flour

1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

dash of salt

1 whole egg

1/4 scant tsp baking powder

1-2 Tbsp water 

Mixed up- popped into the microwave for 1-2 minutes..  top with coconut butter. 

I’m coconut obsessed.

I was supposed to work this morning- but got a call to stay in- and I’m pretty sure work is canceled for tomorrow too.. unless I somehow can strap a sled onto the mutts and mush my way in.. To say I’m happy about that is an understatement :) 

Breakfast was awesome.. I looked down into the bowl and found a friend!

It’s a shark! Or a fish?! Either way.. I couldn’t have done it on purpose if I tried.. 

I followed breakfast up with a quickie workout 

Tina’s beginner WO  

This was a FUN workout- and very effective in 18 minutes.

Each round I tried to beat my score.. it was TOUGH.. and though I wasn’t able to actually beat my score it was a good incentive to push myself as hard as I could. 

Round 1: 4 complete rounds and up to 1 sit up into round 5

Round 2: 4 complete rounds and up to 4 jump squats

Round 3: 4 complete rounds and up to 3 Jump squats 

Fellow North Easters.. Stay safe and warm! 

Happy Friday Friends!! 

FROZEN + Disappointments

Someday I’ll live in a wonderful place where I can skip winter.. At least the kind of winters where the temperature is in single digits..

Walking out the door this morning to go to the gym in 9 degrees was complete bull..  Good thing spring is only 57 days away.. Not that I’m counting or anything..
     Last night I went to GPPfit.com to search out a new and presumably fun workout to do this morning.. I settled on Hells Bells- To be honest, I was expecting this to be a challenge.. but doable.. I was WRONG.. Sure everything started out ok- I was using a 25LB Dumbbell instead of a kettle bell (we don't have them at our gym) and I LOVE burpees.. but after 12 minutes, 150 of the 200 swings, and at least 80 burpees.. I felt like I was going to die.. Lungs burning, back muscles screaming, and a bruised wrist from catching the DB midair (I was switching from hand to hand since I can’t comfortably use both hands on the DB) Each minute I would get the burpees done and have just 20 or 30 seconds to get some swings in, and then it was time for burpees again.. I know I shouldn’t have given up, but I did. I’m definitely disappointed in myself… which gives me the motivation to try it again in the next couple of weeks to completion! And for those that can finish this in under 10 minutes, your my heroes..
    Needless to say I was super starved all day.. I guess I really got some good EPOC in!

Defrosted organic berry blend (Blackberries, raspberries, strawberries)

Fage 2% plain greek yogurt

Coconut Roon Granola

    The last few days I’ve gotten a lot of my “Office work” done- making WOs for clients, getting my info over to some folks who are looking for fitness classes after work for employees.. I’ve been pretty on top of my shit lately, which comes as a surprise. I’m working on a new mantra.. Just do it now. So far it seems to be working! In the middle of working, I took a few minutes to make my toes look presentable again

   3 coats later- which should hopefully last me a couple of months like the last time ;)

Have you ever tried a workout from the GPP website? 

What are some of your favorite resources for new and challenging workouts? 

Purge

 I can’t believe it’s Friday already! Officially two weeks from today I will be on a plane to San Diego! But lets back up, shall we? Before the weekend can officially start I needed to get rid of some photos lingering on the camera. I took them with the intent of sharing earlier durning the week so it’s only fair that I give them that.  First up the food-

 Greek yogurt/pumpkin with cinnamon- apples for dipping

 Blueberry oats topped with Greek yogurt (Can you guess what I’m addicted to?)

 I realize this is more liquid nutrition- but this kids needs gigantic coffees with waters to match to make it through the day.

 Protein muffins- the early years- always top with peanut butter. In fact always top EVERYTHING with peanut butter. That’s the rule.

 First grilled pizza of the season- had a better picture but somehow deleted it. Oops.

   During the errand travels I found this little number for the kitchen- I just love it! Thanks Target- plus it was only $8! What more could this girl ask for?

 And finally I accomplished planning the garden. It too a lot of time and lots of erasers, but I’m pretty stoked about the plan.

This summer we are going to be (hopefully) knee deep in fresh veggies. I’m going to be half-way unemployed when I return so I’m putting a lot of love into this garden. I may have to resort to eating bugs if things doing work out.

     So what are your the plans for the weekend? 


For us: Tonight James and I are heading to the city for a nice long walk and dinner, though plans are up in the air for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow James has school, I have yoga and pilates- maybe some gym time for a mini “tri-athlon” and Sunday of course is Mothers day! We have both moms coming over in the morning for breakfast. Expect many photos now that the camera is clean :)