21 Day Fix Recipes!

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers:

Ingredients: 

2 large green bell peppers

2 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 oz mushrooms, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1lb flank steak or flat iron steak, thinly sliced

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

4 slices Provolone cheese

                                                               Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray an 8x8 baking dish with olive oil, set aside

-Bring a pot of water to a boil.

-Slice green peppers in half, remove seeds and ribs and place them int he boiling water for 3-5 minutes until they are tender. Remove peppers from the water (be careful!!) Place cut side down on a towel and let water drain.

-In a 12" skillet, heat olive oil on medium. Add garlic, onion, mushrooms, red bell pepper, sea salt & pepper. Saute 4-5 minutes until onions are translucent.

-Add steak slices and Worcestershire sauce and cook until meat is cooked to your liking

-Place green peppers open side up in your baking dish. Fill each pepper with meat mixture until they are overflowing. Top with slice of cheese.

-Bake in oven for 10 minutes until cheese is golden brown. Serve hot!

-I topped mine with some leftover sauteed onions

-Note:Cut the cheese slice in half and line the bottom of the pepper with half, fill with meat mixture and then top with the other half.

So good!

Greek Chicken Pita

Ingredients:

1 (6 1/2-inch) whole wheat pita, cut in half to make pockets 

3 oz cooked chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/4 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 cup chopped cucumber

1 Tbsp. chopped red onion (optional)

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup shredded romaine lettuce

2 Tbsp. crumbled feta cheese (about 1/2 oz)

Directions:

-Fill pita halves evenly with chicken, tomato, cucumber, onion (if desired), oregano, lemon juice, romaine, and cheese.

-Enjoy

Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

1 Chicken Breast

Cheddar Cheese

Frozen Broccoli

Salt 

Pepper

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Cayenne Pepper

Paprika

Directions:

Preheat your over to 350 F. I then defrosted the broccoli and chopped them up in to little pieces and put them aside. I took a chicken breast and butterflied it. I placed saran wrap on top of it and started to hit it with a mallet to get the chicken thinner and the same width all over for even cooking. Once I did that, I put all the seasonings I wanted. Then I added a layer of cheese and then a layer of broccoli. Make sure you don’t put too much or else you wont be able to roll it up! I started on one side and rolled the chicken breast in, I tucked any sides that were kind of hanging out. Once its rolled up, I turn it upside down so the part where the chicken ended wouldn’t open up. I then put more seasoning on the top. I would rub olive oil all over this at this point too and leave it in the oven for 25-35 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, add more cheese, and broil for 2-5 minutes until the cheese on top is nice and bubbly! 

I will be making all of these again!

Friday Favorites!

I havnt done one of these in awhile! But its a good way to capture the week and not get so far behind! haha John and I looked back through some of the blog not long ago and I was reminded just how special it is. It has captured the past few years of our life and it's so much fun to look back on. Hopefully, I can get better at blogging more regularly- but so far I dont have a great track record. lol

Backpack!- one of Josh's co-workers was selling her hiking backpacks. She let him bring them home for me to try on and we bought one! I am so excited to use it now!! and even more excited that we will actually have weekends together where we can use it! YAY! Now to book a camping trip...:D

Not the best picture of it, but I'm SUPER excited!

Girl Night!- Scandal is back and best friend lives in my neighborhood. I dont think it gets much better than that. haha. Yesterday when I got home we went for a run together, made dinner, then caught up on last weeks episode of Scandal and then watched this week. With wine and pjs of course! :D Jenny joined us this week and Alli came over too. It was nice. The boys went to play basketball after work and crashed our party halfway through, but it was fine. haha :D 

Workouts- Krystal and I decided to change out our workout routine and so far it seems to be working for us- granted it's only been 3 days. haha BUT we started a new couch to 5k program (a moderate level one) and run Tuesday, Thursday, Saturdays. Mondays and Wednesday we get up at 5am and do a workout video. I wasnt sure about getting up that earlier and I've only done it 1 day, but I felt amazing the rest of that day! I wish it was warmer out so we could switch everything to mornings. It's really hard to find motivation to run after an hour drive home. lol But yay for doing it in the cold and for 3 days in a row so far (we started Tuesday :D). Hopefully, this will help me lose some weight now!

Brad- Brad started this week at John's job! No more friends with terrible hours! We had Brad, Jenny, Krystal, and Josh over for dinner to celebrate this past Wednesday. YAY for both him and John no longer working nights and still having each other!

Charlie Brown- I got him back yesterday! He's all prettied up! Now we need to order the stripe and take off the old one. I did enjoy my rental car though. It was an old person car- a Toyota Avalon- but it drove so smooth! I'm glad to have my car back though :D

Sunday's weather- it was GORGEOUS! It got up to close to 70 out! We spent as much time as we could outside and grilled out with Krystal and Josh. It was a great day. I wish spring was coming now. I'm so over the cold. Which, it's FREEZING out today. blah. lol

Anyway, I am BEYOND thankful it's Friday. I am POOPED! :D Bring on the weekend :D

Friday Favorites!

Always late...BUT 'Ive worked straight through last week and this weekend, I am pooped and very ready for a day off :D It's coming soon!

1) the Weather- it has been AMAZING. Finally no more rain :D

2) 10K training- I started this past week! Very excited about it. Def on my way to running a half marathon! I thought a 10k would be a good next step. Plus- I can handle the training schedule for it. The training schedule for a half marathon is a bit out of my skill level still. haha.

3) Prison Break- I picked it back up and am on the last season! It's gotten really good again :D

4) Pans!!!- For our wedding John and I got Calphalon Contemporary Non-Stick pots and pans. Well they have a lifetime warrenty if there is a manufacturer issue! (THANK YOU KRYSTAL!) I sent back two of my pans that the non-stick had come off on and they sent me two brand new pans to replace them last week. I am SO excited!

5) Laundry Detergent- I made my own laundry detergent! (again, thanks to Krystal!). It smells amazing! and was super cheap!!! and it made a ton. It works great too! SO happy with it :D

Friday Favorites!

YAY! FOR FRIDAY! This is probably the first two weekend in a row that I have not had to work a weekend. YAY for finally have a part time worker! She is super sweet too, btw! Anyway, despite the terrible "spring" weather, it's been a great week!

1) Weekend- I had this past weekend off and it was glorious! John didnt have to work as much this weekend since basketball was on, so we got to spend a lot of time together! It was SO nice. Friday we watched the game together, played some disc golf, watched more basketball, and then had Brad and Jenny over for dinner. Saturday we slept in (YAY!) and just lounged around. I did some cleaning and laundry. It was just nice for us both to be home, even if we werent doing anything together! haha. I took John to work for him to do like 30 minutes worth of work and took Carter to Pullen Park for a walk while we waited for John to be done. It was really nice to just be outside and Carter really seemed to enjoy it!! Then we went and picked up Mellow Mushroom for dinner and took it home to watch more basketball. John had to go back to work after that and Carter and I hung out and napped. When John got home we hung out for a few more hours. We watched the last three episodes of Game of Thrones to prepare for this coming weekend! SO excited!! haha. Sunday we slept in and John had to go to work early so I took him again and actually hung out with him while he was there. We started our taxes (not good news, haha) and then I got to watch some of the news being made! It was fun :D The rest of Sunday we enjoyed some together then he went back to work and I hung out with the Carter.

Watching the game!

       The bridge John proposed to me on! All renovated after they redid Pullen Park.

                                                               SO pretty!

                                                                 Pullen :D

                                                               LOVE HIM :D

2) Bar Rescue!- I LOVE this show. John got me into it about a month ago and I am kind of obsessed with it. haha. Well John happened to find out they were filming the show at a bar in Garner!! They were going to be do doing a taping of the bars stress test and we decided to go. I was BEYOND excited! It was really cool to get to see the filming and everything live. It will probably be the ONLY time I'll be okay with waiting an hour and a half for food. haha. The are unveiling the renovated bar and it's makeover tonight. If you dont know anything about the show, when a bar is going under they call for this consultant to come and help. He comes and trains the staff and basically sets it up to be successful. They do a stress test one night to practice and then a few days later, remodel, and reopen. I'm excited to go back by and see what it looks like now! This totally made my week though! haha.

3) Date Night- John won tickets this week to a Hurricanes game! We were lower level, right behind the goal post. It was SO much fun. They lost, but I always forget how much fun hockey games can be. Plus the seats helped! haha. Then we went to the bar rescue taping. It was a GREAT night indeed! :D

4) Game of Thrones- I mentioned John and I rewatched the last few episodes this weekend- SO excited for it to start back up this weekend!

5) P&G Savers- Krystal sent me a link to sign up for free samples! I am SO excited about this!! I know it will be awhile before we get them, but I'm excited!

6) Laundry- I am FINALLY caught up on laundry!! FINALLY! haha. Now I am going to do my best to just keep up with it. It's so much easier putting up one load at time than all of it at once. haha. It's really these little things that make me happy. haha.

7) 5k- My 5k is next week and this week I pumped one out! So glad to be back to being able to run this far! It may have been a struggle, but at least I did it! haha.

8) 10lbs!- I am done 10lbs since Jan! It may have taken me three months, but hey! at least I'm down 10lbs!! SO excited about this :D

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Friday Favorites!

1) Car Registration- I feel old for this being a favorite- but we have had NO time to get our Tahoe registered until yesterday. and it is DONE. HUGE check off our to-do list! YAY! :D

2) Trivia Night- John and I went to trivia night with Kristen and AJ this week. It was SO much fun! I think we are going to try to do it every other week. We lost- but it was still fun to play.

3) Lose It!- I had this app year ago and have bounced around different apps over the years. Well Krystal had joined this one and told me about, so I switched over so we could help each other out! I'm excited about it. I also feel pressure to do better since I know someone can see what I'm logging! haha. Thanks Krystal!

4) QDR- Oh yes, this is a definite high light. Usually we have Mix playing in the office- all day, every day. BUT this week we had it on QDR. MUCH better. :D It really does wonders for my mood. haha :D

5) Rock and Roll Marathon- It's coming to Raleigh next April! I am running the color run this April and have been wanting to train for a half marathon. This is the perfect goal to set! It gives me a year to train (I'm slow!). If I cant do it by then, then it's probably not meant to be. haha. So updates on this to come for sure! right now I need to focus on being ready for the 5k this April! haha.

6) Date night!- John and I had a spontaneous date during his dinner break last night. He took me to a cuban restaurant for dinner! We both REALLY miss Miami sometimes and especially Cuban food! So it was really nice to emerge into that atmosphere, even if for just a little while. The food was pretty good too! I was expecting it to be way off from what we had in Miami- but it was pretty close! We will definitely be going back :D Mmmmm...cuban food;D Now I remember why I didnt lose much weight in Miami! haha.

Other updates:

Roy- they moved him to a hospice care facility. They have told him and our family that there is no way that he is going to recover. I feel so bad for grandma. John and I both have Monday off work, so we are going to go visit him. So sad. :( Please continue to keep him and everyone in your prayers.

Sarah- Johns cousin has had a few of the seizures that the doctors need her to have to find out what is going on- we are just waiting on one more big one for them to determine that all of them are coming from the same location in her brain. Keep praying the Lord protects her body while helping the doctors get the info they need, so they can make her all better! :D

WE ARE DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, you read that right!!!! As of August 31, 2012, 

WE ARE DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John and I finally paid off all our debt! No more student loans!! We dont owe anyone anything! It feels very surreal still. I am BEYOND proud of us. We really sacrificed and paid as much as we could towards them each month. I'm not going to lie- paying that much money off made me want to puke a little. I'm still waiting to get the final total that we paid, but it was close to $27,000. We could have done SO much with that money!! But, I am thankful for my education :D We are very blessed to have been able to pay off the loans so quickly too!!

To celebrate, we bought a kayak and a treadmill!!!!! The kayak is inflatable, so it's really easy to store. Unfortunately, it's rained ever since we bought it, so we havent been able to try it out yet :( We actually got it a few days before we paid off the loans because we wanted to try it out before football season started, but then Issac happened. Sad day. So hopefully this weekend!

 Our Kayak!

 Even Carter is excited! We are going to get him a doggy life vest, so he can go too :D

The treadmill was actually purchased this past weekend on our way home from our trip! We assembled it on Labor Day and have it all set up :D I've used it every day since (3 whole days! haha)- GO ME! We decided to purchase a treadmill (a cheap one) as the gym is pretty expensive and we knew we would actually use it more if it was so convenient. It. is. AWESOME. I am already in love with it :D I can watch friends and run in my own home. Wonderful :D And now there really isnt an excuse to not work out- unless of course for sickness or it's a rest day. SO EXCITED!

Yes, this really happened...;D

Happy Friday y'all! 

Corporate Run!

I finally did it! I ran an official 5k! WOOHOO! 

I've been wanting to run one for awhile now and all the ones that have been around here have interfered with work. So when this one came around- I jumped on it! :D 

John and I signed up for it MONTHS ago- plenty of time to get in shape. Ha. I hurt my back and have not been able to run a lot lately. BUT I pumped out the run anyway:D

John and I left UM around 4:45 and with part of the registration fee we got Metrorail tickets to take downtown. It was nice to not have to drive and get caught in traffic, but boy were the trains packed!  It also took forever to get home. :( but that's okay:D

When we got down there we ate a snack and took some pictures and got ready for the race. Since it was a walk/run there was a start for each. Nobody really followed the signs so lining up was insane. There were over 22,000 people there and I wasnt sure how we were going to be able to run. The race started at 6:50 when the gun went off and we got to the start line about 15 minutes later. After that I decided to just start running through people. It was rough for the first little ways, but then it was easier to manage to run around and through people. John is a sweetheart and ended up just staying with me instead of trying to fight through all the people. I know I slowed him way down, but it meant the world to me that he did the race next to me :D Towards the end he really had to encourage me not to walk :D Good man. Anyway, the run was really pretty! I was so focused on running though that I missed a lot of the scenery. haha maybe next time. 

Anyway, I finished in 41:57- not a great time, but I did manage to run the entire thing, albeit slow. So, I am proud of myself!!! After the race, UM fed us dinner (again, part of the registration fee I'm sure) and then we headed home.

I had a lot of fun. I think I will do a race that big again though- too many people. I am super proud of myself. 

As most of you know, this is something that I have wanted to do for awhile. I started running initially lose weight, however I never stick to anything because I get so bored. However, we got a dog which also helped- why walk Carter when I could run and be done sooner and he'll be more tired? but ultimately, I decided I wanted to do it for my dad. I thought it would be neat to run each year in honor of him. Ever since he had a stroke he was in a wheelchair and couldnt walk. I know that if he could he would have wanted to get up and run and stretch those legs out! So, I thought in my own little way I could do this for him each year. It also just happened to be right around his birthday! So perfect timing:D This run was for you daddy, Happy Birthday! I LOVE YOU!

Arriving at our tent

 Daddy's girl :D

Before the race!

 Sebastian was there! and my sweet, supportive husband :D

 Waiting to get to the starting line...

 haha- running! thanks John!

 I finished!!!

 Shot of downtown before we left- so pretty!

Inspiration

So this morning, while I should have been working (I actually did get a lot of work done!) I snuck on pinterest for a moment. HA. A moment on pinterest? yea, right.

Sometimes when I go to the site- I have to log on- duh. Well before you are made to log on, you can see some awesome things that people have pinned. Then I log in and cant find them anymore! It breaks my heart. Well today I clicked on one and opened it in another browser before I signed in. I am a genius!

There is a point to this story. I promise.

The link I happened to open up led to this girls blog: http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/

I started to read her story and WOW- what an amazing story. She's lost 135lbs. You heard me right! 135lbs! Her blog shares how she started, how she got there, recipes, and that loving yourself is more important than any number on a scale or how many miles you run. I cried at parts (are you surprised?) and I laughed, but mostly I learned a lot.

I learned that I need to love myself the way I am now. I need to enjoy my life. I am SO tired of counting every calorie and hating myself when I mess up. Do I want this weightloss journey that has lasted my entire life to be over- yes, but maybe it doesnt all happen in the next 4 months (hah! like that was going to happen anyway). Maybe I dont panic when John and I go on a date and order an appetizer that tosses me over my calorie count for the day. Maybe I dont freak out when I dont go running one day, when really all I want to do is sleep in. Maybe I readjust how I plan to lose weight.

What if I ate healthier, actually ran like I planned on (I do enjoy it now), and didnt eat SO much on the weekends? What if I dont let one mess up be my downfall for the entire weekend? I am GREAT during the week. The weekends are what kills me. Honestly, I think that once I have gone over my calories for the day, I just give up. I get bored, I get lonely, and I really just love food. BUT what if I didnt analyze EVERY calorie that goes in my mouth? What if I stopped talking about losing weight all the time...GASP!...can I actually do it? Maybe I pick the foods I really love and find a way to make them healthier? I know it can be done- this girl did it! and lives it everyday.

I honestly cant imagine my life without talking about losing weight. Without counting each calorie I put into my body. I want to be free from these thoughts. They haunt me day and night. They also haunt John because he has to listen to me :(

So my new plan is to have the strength and courage to NOT talk about losing weight all day and night. To NOT count my calories, but at the same time be mindful of what I am eating and how bad or good it is for me. To try new recipes that will be healthy for me. To run about 5 times a week. To not fall apart when I do eat something that "im not supposed to" and to not let that unravel all my hard work. My new plan is to break free from dieting and never losing weight and changing my lifestyle. I really want to enjoy my life and not freak out all time and not be obsessed with losing weight (yes, I still am aiming to lose weight, but I dont want it to be the focus of my world).

I am TERRIFIED though. I said it before- this has been my life for as long as I can remember. Can I do it? On that note my verse of the week is Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

So with the Lord at my side and inspiration from Andrea, I am going to try to have the strength and courage for this new adventure!

Friday Favorites

I am SO glad it's Friday again! Even if it has been a shorter week- it still felt super long.

1) Bball- Any time NC State wins and UNC loses it's a great day and week!! NC State won their past 2 games and played pretty well! I am excited to go to the NC State game v. Miami this weekend! Let's pray for a win- otherwise I'll never hear the end of it at work.

2) Beach!- I mentioned this already, but it really was a highlight of my week. I LOVE the beach and any time I get to go- it's a highlight :D

3) Blockbuster- the Blockbuster that we use when we rent movies is closing. So their entire store is on sale! They had some really good deals, so let's just say we were able to add a lot to our collection without spending much money :D

4) Ring- we took my ring back to Zales this week to get it resized so it would (and not spin around my finger :D) and it came back in 2 days!!! YAY!

5) 50 calorie orange juice- I LOVE orange juice, but it's really not calorie friendly. But recently they came out with a new one that is only 50 calories for 8 oz. AMAZING! John bought it for me :D and while you can tell it's not exactly the real thing- YUMMY! :D

6) Walking ‘Canes program- So UM is very into health initiatives and supporting a healthy lifestyle for their employees. Well they invited all their employees to participate in a walking program where you track how many steps you take each day, using a pedometer they give you. If you meet their requirement and track it each week (it's a 12 week program) you get points. You also get points if you lose weight. Whoever gets the most points, the top two employees get free airline tickets. YAY! Well I do a lot of this anyway (or at least I am trying) so I thought- why not?! If I win, that's awesome- if not, so what. It's sort of a motivator though and I think it will be neat to see how far I walk each day.

Apparently, the Surgeon General suggests that most individuals can significantly improve their health by performing 30 minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week. And despite popular belief that this activity must be “exhausting” and time consuming, research indicates that by walking 10,000 steps a day, most people can achieve this recommendation by the Surgeon General. So yay! Maybe this will really encourage me even more to lose weight :D

On a not so happy note- I stepped in a fire ant bed and got my foot eaten up pretty good. It burned like it was on fire (guessing that's why they are called that). My foot has been swollen for the past 2 days :( Also, our anti-lock break system went out. And to fix it will cost us a pretty penny :( Guess that's life though...

Have a happy weekend!

Life Updates

Exercising and Losing Weight

Well, as I am sure you have read in previous blogs I am doing pretty well with running 3.1 miles! I also got up to 4 miles while at home! YAY! This week when I went to run, it was EXTREMELY more difficult than back home. It's also always harder running the longer you wait and it had been a few days. The air here is finally starting to cool off, but it's still humid :( I think the coolness masks the humidity, but while running I can definitely feel the difference than the air from home. Oh well, I'll keep on truckin'. :D I plan to sign up for an 5k in January or February! I'll keep you posted. As far as loosing weight goes, I had started to get very frustrated because since I have been running, I have actually gained 2 lbs! I am hoping it's just muscle, because I have been staying in my calories. When I weighed this past Thursday (my weigh day) I had lost both of those pounds- so YAY! AND that's after eating all that Thanksgiving too. Score! I still have a lot of weight I would like to lose, but I feel a lot healthier and that counts a lot.

Plans...
Once again, I'm home sick. Going back always makes it harder to come back to Miami. I just love being around our families and friends and really just the familiarity of Raleigh. I always thought that we should or would want to live somewhere else after Miami before we have kids, but I dont. John feels the same way. Now it may work out that we have to live somewhere else first, but we would prefer Raleigh.
So I made a HUGE mistake when we got back from Raleigh. I was super homesick, so just for fun I started looking at houses. That just made the homesick worse! lol. Of course John and I found some houses we would LOVE to buy, in the areas we would prefer to live. We are not planning on buying a house right now, obviously because we would wait until we moved back to Raleigh, but it was nice to see that there will be houses available that we can afford in the areas we want to live. It also made us change some of current plans- so even though it made me want to move back home NOW, it was good for us to do. We decided that instead of paying as much as we are towards loans right now, we are going to pay a little more than the minimum balance and save the rest towards a house. Now we are putting even more aside for a house, so when it comes time to put that large down payment down, we'll have it. We weren't sure if this was the best thing to do, but after some research and talking to John's dad we decided it's what we are going to do. Since student loans have such a small interest rate we think it's better to put the money down for a house so we can get approved for the size house we want and put a large down payment down. Not only that, but if we do decide to pay more towards our loans then money is in our account still accessible. All of this just made me very hopeful that maybe sooner rather than later we will be able to move to Raleigh and buy a house! Keep us in your prayers while we figure out what He wants us to do! :D

Winter Trip
So we are still trying to figure out our plans for our Christmas trip home, but it looks like if John is able to get it off we'll be home the 24th-Jan 1 or 2nd- It's still up in the air until John works it out with his boss, but I am SUPER excited!! I cant wait to get home again!!! Also, Dec 24th happens to be Carter's 1st birthday- so birthday party plans are in works! Just get ready family!! There may be party hats and a peanut butter cake involved! I love Christmas time and I am very glad we'll be able to be home for at least a little while to spend it with family and friends. I think if I didnt get to- I would cry all break. haha :D SO SOON! only 21 more days till we head home! YAY!

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday!! :D I am SO glad this week went by as fast as it did. I am so burned out and really need a break. I cannot wait until our trip in October. It cant get here soon enough! I had a pretty good week this week :D

However, one of my RAs decided to leave UM. :( That made me very sad. He was such an amazing person and a superb RA! However, I completely support his decision (it was truly a good one) and I wish him well. Here's a pic of Sam:

I'll miss you A LOT.
So here are my favorites :D

1) Pinterest. I. AM. ADDICTED. I know I would love it, so I avoided it. BUT I caved this week and am not hooked. It's the most awesome sight ever!! I cant wait to try some of the recipes, crafts, and DIY projects! AH! I could literally sit on it all day. I will no longer be as productive as I once was. BUT I enjoy it :D haha
2) Fall Shopping! I freaking LOVE the fall! I had to go halloween shopping for my building (I wanted to go early so there was still a good selection) and my sweet husband decided to go with me so we could get some awesome stuff for our apartment :D I HAD so much fuN! I really felt like a kid in a candy store for the first time. :D However, John wont let me put anything up set since it's still September. lol. We got a mix of fall decorations and a few halloween things to put up in our apartment. I am stoked and cannot wait to decorate! He did let me put out our new mat, but that's it for now. haha It makes me smile every time I see it!



3) I FINISHED WEEK 6 OF COUCH TO 5K!!!! This is a HUGE accomplishment for me! I have never made it this far in the program. I usually get bored and stop. BUT I am determined to finish now :D It's like a challenge to me. I beleive that I am going to do week 6 again because the amount of running jumps significantly from week 6 to week 7 and I dont think I am ready for that yet. I struggled this week. Partly do to the freaking heat and 80%+ humidity and partly because I have never been a runner. I think after 1 more week of week 6 I should be good to try the next level. And since there are only 9 weeks- I am SO close to running a 5k! I may be slow, but at least I will be able to run the entire thing! :D

4) Carter falling asleep in my arms. precious. John and I took him to the dog park this week and he got FILTHY. So we had to give him a bath. It was about time for one anyways. After the bath and drying him off as much as we could, we let him air dry some and then I went to bed. Carter followed so I pulled him up in bed with me. I snuggled with him like a teddy bear. Usually he'll leave and go lay on the end of the bed when I do that, but I guess he was too tired the time. All the sudden I heard him snoring! SUPER cute :D he stayed until John came to bed and we moved him to his crate. He snuggled real good with me though!

5) The beach this past Saturday :D John and I hit the beach again this past weekend. It was such a perfect beach day. or so we thought. lol it was great when we got there, but then it started raining on us. We thought it may pass so we waited it out. The rain drops were SO cold! We got in the ocean because it was warmer there. lol After about 10 minutes it finally stopped and the sun came back out. We actually had a really good time in the rain :D It was fun. More clouds started rolling in after awhile and we didnt see any end to them, so we left after a few hours. It was just the right amount of time though. I love spending time like that with John. :D AND I got a slight tan ;D

Unfortunately, I am on duty this weekend :( I hope it's quiet, but we shall see. On a MUCH brighter note- MY BIRTHDAY IS NEXT FRIDAY! YAY! :D I bet you cant guess what one of my friday favorites might be next week ;D lol.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Work, blah & p90x, blah

Ever since I got back from vacation work has been ridiculous. I have worked a ridiculous amount of hours and there has been a stupid amount of drama. It has really made my work experience for the summer pretty craptastic. I am SO excited my RAs came back this past weekend. Now,I can stay over in Mahoney in my own little bubble with my Mahoney family. I know most work places have drama, but the amount here has just made me dread working. Luckily, most of it doesn’t directly affect me, but most of it does indirectly and it has just created a very high stress work place. Like I said, I am glad my RAs are here so I can focus on them :D


SO, I mentioned my RAs have returned..! CRAZY! Summer has FLOWN by! I have been SUPER busy. We have training pretty much through opening and opening is the 17th-23rd. So basically, I’ll be even more busy through the 23rd. BUT I am very excited about having an awesome staff and getting to bond with them all :D I will do my best to update, but we’ll see how that goes :D


As for working out and p90x. HAS NOT HAPPENED. Ugh. By the time I have been getting home in the evenings, I have just been drained. I have tried waking up early and that doesn’t work either. JUST. TOO. TIRED. It goes without saying that I have not lost any weight either. *sigh* I don’t think I am going to meet my weight loss goal by my birthday anymore. That kind of stresses me out, but not much I can do about it but keep trying and get close. Since RA training is here that means 7am-9pm days, that means it wont happen this week if I am realistic. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on all of the above.

p90x update

Well, this week was awful! I was just NOT feeling it AT ALL. I did a few of the workouts like I am supposed to, but I have been super tired, taking care of two dogs, AND our home is in SUCH disarray because the painters have been here. I couldnt do p90x thurs-sunday anyway because our office is being painted still and the computer was disconnected. So it's not much of a surprise that I only lost .5 lbs. At least its something. And at least I have been losing weight and feel much better about myself.

John and I went out to dinner yesterday to celebrate our anniversary (I'll post about this later) but I felt SO guilty eating the way I did! Which I guess is good and bad. I shouldnt feel as guilty as I did and worry about getting fat off one meal, but at the same time it keeps me from eating like that a lot! Anyway- here is the break down of what I did do:
Monday – Chest, Shoulders and Triceps- check!
Tuesday– Plyometrics- I HATE THIS ONE! I did about 30 minutes
Wednesday– Back and Biceps- did not do at all. I took a 3 hour nap instead. lol
Thursday– Yoga X- Cardio X instead
Friday – Legs and Back- I ran instead and took the dogs on a LONG walk- so it wasnt lifting weights, but at least it was something.
Sat – Kenpo X- Couldnt do because the office was getting painting (I am sure I could have if I really really wanted to, but meh)
Sun– Rest or X Stretch

I think what I am going to do from now on for the cardio days, is go running instead now. I think I will do the Couch to 5k again, since I still want to run one before my birthday. That way I am not so bored! I also downloaded an ap that tells me how far I have gone, so that will be helpful! :D We'll see how it goes. It definitely wont be the 60 minute work out that I have been doing with p90x, but maybe I'll do part of it too? I dont know. Maybe after our vacation I wont be so bored with it since I get break? I'll keep you posted!

P90x

Finished the first week! Woooweee! Was I sore again! I started on Monday this week and at the end of the week had not lost any weight :( I see a pattern though- one week I dont and the next I lose a lot! haha. Hopefully, it's a true patter and will contiue for next week :D Anyway, here are workouts-

Monday-Chest, Shoulders and Triceps, Ab Ripper X- completed it and boy did my arms hurt for a few days!!I am still not doing Ab Ripper, just dont have any energy by the time I finish my work outs, but I'll do my best to do it this coming week. I know I need to.

Tuesday– Plyometrics- I have come to HATE this work out. It's hard. I did 45 minutes of it and was still so sore the next day.

Wed– Back and Biceps, Ab Ripper X- Completed Back and Biceps! again- sore after!

Thurs – Yoga X- I did Cardio X instead. But completed it!

Fri– Legs and Back, Ab Ripper X- I only did about 20 minutes of this. My left knee started hurting real bad:( I now have some rehab exercises I need to start so my knee doesnt hurt so much when I work out.

Sat– Kenpo X- Check!

Sun– Rest or X Stretch and of course check! haha

I am starting to get really tired of the same cardio exercises. They are starting to get really boring :( I may have to change up what I am doing somehow so I at least keep working out like this...we'll see after next week :D

p90x update

YAY! the first month is DONE! :D I cant believe it. Time seems to have flown by. However, I am still sore. lol I would have thought it would be getting easier? haha oh well. So last week I weighed in and I lost.....

3.4 lbs!!! WOW! I was SO happy!! What a motivation!! :D I have now lost a total of 16lbs from when I originally wanted to start losing weight and 9lbs since I started p90x. Hopefully, this trend will continue! I am trying so hard! :D I keep telling myself I just want to be done "losing weight" and just worry about maintaining and staying in shape. I cant wait for that day!

Last week, week 4, was what p90x calls recovery week. I did most of it. haha, but I did change around a few things because I HATE yoga and it was on there twice! yikes!

Breakdown:
Sunday– Yoga X- did not do :(
Monday – Core Synergistics- this was HARD! I could only get through 30 minutes of it and my core hurt ALL week.
Tuesday– Kenpo X- completed :D
Wednesday – X Stretch- I didnt do this either. lol
Thursday – I did CardioX instead. My intention was to do both or at least part of Core Synergistics, but I was so tired. lol
Friday– CardioX again, in place of stupid yoga :D
Saturday– Rest- and REST I did! :D

So I wasnt not as go go go as previous weeks, but I did exercise a lot still! :D

Now on to Phase 2!

p90x update week 3

DONE! (Sorry I am a week late with the update) haha :D I didnt lose any weight this week though! I was SO upset. It's so discouraging when that happens. :( I worked really hard! I do feel my clothes fitting differently, so maybe I am gaining muscle? Hopefully next week I see some numbers change to encourage me again.

I have still been cutting the soda out of the diet, cutting back on most sweets, and working really hard at the workouts. I have also been cooking pretty healthy foods too! :D I forgot how much I love to cook.

Here's this weeks update:

Sunday: Chest and Back- Did not do on this day. haha I did do it Monday though! I rocked this out! I was able to increase push ups in EVERY category! :D They have all been girl style- so I think after this next week I will start transitioning into regular push-ups.

Monday: Plyometrics- I DID THE WHOLE THING! I ROCKED IT! I also did Chest and Back from Sunday. I decided that I would continue with the girl push ups through this week and transition to regular ones next time. I completed both of the work outs completely! Man was a sore the next day!!

Tuesday: Shoulders and Arms- I switched this with Wednesdays work out since I did so many push ups the day before and my arms hurt so bad. So I did Cardio X this day! :D

Wednesday: Cardio X & Shoulders and Arms- Since I did CardioX on Tuesday I did Shoulders and Arms this day.

Thursday: Legs and Back- did not end up doing.- I left work not feeling well and ended up sleeping pretty much the entire day!

Friday- Kenpo X- I also had this day off and didnt do anything :( BUT I did Kenpo on Saturday to make up for it. Fridays just dont seem to work out with me exercising! haha

Saturday: Kenpo X- (supposed to be Friday) finished it all like a rock star! :D

My knees still hurt some but the sleeve does work to cut down on that. I really hope losing weight helps my knees not make so many noises! I am TOO young for noisy knees!

I cant believe Week 3 is already done! Next week is "Recovery Week" so there is not much lifting, mostly cardio and resting. I also have not been doing the ab ripper x, so when I start week 5, I will be adding that to each work out too.

P90x Week 2

DONE! haha :D one week closer to being the weight I want! :D And how did this week go:

DRUMROLL PLEASE!........

I lost 3lbs! I was THRILLED! :D haha I guess cutting out soda has helped as well as really stepping up my game. I plan to step it up even more this week and try to eat even better. It will help since this entire week (except today :( already) I will be cooking and making dinner. John and I went to the store last week and I got mostly healthy food to cook! Anyway, here's this weeks update:

Sunday: Chest and Back- I rocked this out! I was able to increase push ups in EVERY category! :D They have all been girl style- so I think after this next week I will start transitioning into regular push-ups.

Monday: Plyometrics- I only got through 40 minutes of the 60 minute work out again. It's really hard and it really hurts my knees. I'll tell you about the knees in a minute.

Tuesday: Shoulders and Arms- I did not do this on Tuesday. It just did not happen. I got a migraine and I am guessing it's from cutting out caffeine and the new contacts...

Wednesday: Cardio X & Shoulders and Arms- Since I HATE YOGA, I switched and started doing Cardio X on Wednesdays instead. After I lose some weight, I will try and go back to Yoga. The good news is Cardio X has a lot of yoga in it- just not as intense. I also did Tuesday's workout!!! I know I am crazy, but I am determined!

Thursday: Legs and Back- I only ended up doing 30 minutes of this work out this week.

Friday- John and I had to go back to the eye doctor for them to check how my new contacts were doing...we ended up shopping too. haha so nothing happened Friday...

Saturday: Kenpo X- (supposed to be Friday) finished it all like a rock star! :D

I really feel like posting this is actually holding me accountable. I knew that I would have to post if I didnt catch up from missing Tuesday, and I just couldnt do it- I HAD to do the work out! haha :D SO that's good :D

Now my knees have been making awful noises and hurting me after I do work outs with a lot of squats, lunges, jumps, etc. I finally asked a friend who is an athletic trainer and he told me to get a neoprene sleeve to help stabilize it. So next week, I will be able to do more when it comes to my legs, which is great! I'll let you know how it goes :D

Also, our pull up bar came!! I am not thrilled, but I am. haha so next week we will get to do all of the work outs fully! :D

p90x update

So we have completed what we are calling our first full week (since we started over). and oh my goodness I am sore! I feel like I can do more this week to get even more out of the work out so I will be doing that this week.

I have decided that I want to do some sort of update each week. I feel like it will help keep me more accountable for both working out when I am supposed to and for eating healthy. Unfortunately, when I weighed in this week I gained a little weight :( I was so upset! only on 1 day did I go over calories and the rest I ate well under so it should have been okay. I am hoping that some of it is muscle gain? that and I know I have a bit more water weight right now, so I am blaming all of that! and hoping that next week when I weigh it will reflect that? We will see. Either way it was frustrating.

So I have decided to ensure I lose weight from now on, I am going to do a few things:
1) go extra hard during p90x like I talked about earlier
2) cut out sodas (unless it's a really special occasion)
3) no more fried foods (even the very small amount I eat right now)
4) cut WAY down on sweets

I also plan on posting each week how I have done with p90x. For example:
-Sunday is chest and back- I did the whole work out (improvising with pull ups- we used our weights instead. not perfect, but at least it's something)
-Monday is plyometrics- I only got through 40 minutes of 60 minute work out because I couldnt feel my legs anymore
-Tuesday- Shoulders and Arms- completed all of this! and it was pretty easy, so I need to up the weight I am lifting in more exercises.
-Wednesday- Yoga. I HATE YOGA. I only did 20 minutes of this. I am going to substitute CardioX from now on.
-Thursday- Legs and Back- I made myself work out even though it was SO late and I completed it all.
-Friday- I got my eyes dilated and it made me sick, so I didnt do anything (more about the eyes later). I made this my rest day instead of Saturday this week.
-Saturday- Kenpo X (supposed to be Friday) finished it all like a rock star! :D

On each of the days we lift weights, we are supposed to do ab ripper x too- I am going to do my best to do that this week with each of them, i didnt this past week.

So this is my first update, hopefully next week I will have lost weight and be even more sore! :D

p90x again...

Whelp, I kept saying I wasnt going to post this because I was afraid people would judge me, but I dont really care. haha. At least I am working out and trying!

John and I started over on p90x. With so many guests here and SO much going on in my building (students went CRAZY) we missed a few days. We also didnt have weights to start out with, so I felt like we were cheating the system. haha.

SO we went and got some weights this past Saturday and started the program over on Sunday. :D I have managed to lose 4lbs so far. YAY! but hopefully with me doing it every day and really watching what I am eating (the dining hall closes soon, so I will be cooking A LOT more) I will start to lose weight a bit faster than I was before. I would really like to meet my total goal of 150lbs by my birthday. I feel like if I really stick to it, I can do it! I sure am going to try hard! :D

Yoga is tonight and I am DREADING it. ugh. It's really the only work out I hate on p90x. I mean I dont love any of them, but I really dont like Yoga. So here's to trying it again and maybe liking it more? yea right. haha

Interview and such...

Whelp, I have now interviewed for the permanent Area Director position. My interview was last Friday and I should find out soon. When I started the process back in January, I didnt not think that I would be doing all of this stuff again so soon! I was told to apply through HR and when I did I filled out the application and then they asked for my resume. I was like, dang! I didnt even think about that. haha, so I went and updated that and the cover letter and submitted.

My position is a bit unique for a candidate because as soon as I said I was applying for job, I was in constant interview mode and have been ever since. Since everyone gets to see how I perform on a daily basis, it gets stressful! Hopefully, I have done a great job and they will hire me :D I have really stepped my game up though in effort to show everyone I really want this job. It is such a leap for me professionally that it would just be great!

Anyway, as I was saying my interview day was last Friday. It was a bit condensed since I just did this a year ago. It was also so awkward because I know all of these people so well!! I had no idea what to expect or what questions they may ask. I assumed questions about my vision for the building, but I didnt know other than that! I prepared for any and everything I could think of! haha

In the morning I had the associate faculty in my building, Dr. Monica Hooper, interview me first. Again, awkward because I know her so well, but it actually was one of the tougher interviews. I think I did well though and we had a good conversation. My next interview was the central office staff. That one wasnt that bad at all and I was able to answer all of their questions and provide examples, etc. Later in the day I had the interview with the other Area Directors and that was the one I was most nervous about because those are the people I work with daily and also my friends here! haha. It wasnt as bad as I thought though and I feel I represented myself well. Next I had my interview with Jim, the director. Again, not so bad. There wasnt much he didnt already know because I am like an open book with him. Lastly, my faculty master, Dr. Moore, took me to dinner for an interview. We had a really good time. :D I answered questions and they we just kind of talked. Dinner was AMAZING. we went to a place called Anacapri. It's italian and a bit pricey, but amazing. lol

Dr. Moore lost his mother 2 years ago come this November and we got to talking about how he has dealt with that and how it's been. I asked because as you all know my dad's birthday is coming up and it's been harder than usual on me lately. He told me that everyone tells you it gets easier, but it doesnt. He said it's always hard, you just learn to deal with it. That made me feel better. Anyway, he told me all about his mom and dad and I told him all about my dad. It was really nice talking to someone who has been through something similar and really nice to bond with Dr. Moore :D

I feel like my interview day was successful. When I left here last year I knew they would offer me the job and I kind of had that feeling after all my interviews this year too. It's all in God's hands and if it's His will, I will get it :D

Anyway, that's the update about that. I have been super busy at work other than that too. Even so, John and I have managed to finish the first week of P90X! SO SORE! Good sore though. Brad and Mitch got here yesterday though, so we may end up taking a few days off and then picking it up again. It's just hard to do with guests- we also have an air mattress down in the room where we do it, so we dont really have a place to do it either. But that's okay. I am just so glad that Brad is here!! I love him and miss him so much. We also dont have anyone coming after they leave, so we can really focus on it then.

I did lose 2.6lbs last week! YAY! on my way...haha. :D

Carter is doing well. I love him so much. He watches us do p90x and usually falls asleep. One time last week when we were stretching at the end, he came and put is head in my arms like I was hugging him. it was TOO cute! He also gives me hugs :D When I get home from work he comes up to me and puts his little head on my shoulder and lets me hug him :D He's a sweetheart.

Unfortunately, I think we have regressed in the potty training department. He doesnt really let us know when he has to go anymore and just goes in the apartment :(. I am not sure what we are going to do. Maybe start giving him treats when he goes outside or something. I need to do a little research on that. (I was cleaning up a mess he made yesterday and used some Lysol on it because it was so gross and I managed to bleach some of the tiles in our kitchen..whoops...lol). On a good note, he has gotten MUCH better on the leash! Still have a lot of work, but it's gotten a lot better. He's starting to get it. His itching isnt getting any better :( I think it's actually gotten worse. He has scabs now where he has scratched so hard. My boss told me that his dogs scratch a lot too during this time of the year and it's the grass changing? I dont know. we go back to the vet next Tuesday so hopefully we can find some relief for him. poor baby.

Anyway, I think that's it for now! As I said, Brad and Mitch are here!! So expect an update on that this weekend!! :D