A Symbol of Hope & Weekend Recap

Thank you all for your sweet comments on my last couple of posts. I have been feeling very sentimental lately (more so than usual) and it is so nice to have this blog as an outlet to share my thoughts and feelings. You are all so supportive and it makes the journey so much easier knowing how loved and supported I am. I know I am on the right track.

I have been noticing this cardinal friend of mine hanging out in our backyard quite often. There’s something about cardinals and blue jays that just makes me so happy. They are absolutely beautiful. Plus, the lilac bush to the left of him is in full bloom and is so fragrant and gorgeous! No wonder he likes our backyard.

cardinal

According to this source“The male cardinal reminds us passion, warmth and vibrancy is available to us – even in under the cloak of winter’s grey clouds.”

A list of symbolic cardinal meanings:

  • Hope
  • Love
  • Cheer
  • Pride
  • Focus
  • Energy
  • Renewal

“Those who attract the cardinal as their totem are naturally energetic, love life, and happily help others where/when they can.

Pretty incredible, right? I’ll take that handsome guy as a positive sign.

This weekend was pretty darn fantastic, albeit it flew by way too fast as they always do.

Lately I have been eating smaller meals frequently throughout the day. I find that this helps my digestive system to feel better because I’m not loading food in all it once and making it overwork sporadically. Eating small meals helps to keep my energy level up too. This works for some people, doesn’t work for others.

I snapped a few food photos throughout the weekend of some of my mini meals. This one couldn’t have been more simple: raw zucchini, red bell peppers, carrots, and quinoa with coconut aminos.

veggies quinoa

On Friday night, Dana and I had dinner at Whole Foods salad bar. I filled up on tons of veggies, quinoa, chicken, lentils and salads. It was a box full of love if you ask me.

whole foods

On Saturday, we ran in the Fill Their Plate 10k run. The proceeds go to fight childhood hunger and I was so excited to be participating in a race that had such an incredible cause.

dana melanie pre 10k

I know I said in Friday’s post that I need to cool it on the intense exercise (no Insanity, and no longer runs), but since I had already registered for this race I had told myself that I was still going to run it, but then after that I would chill out for a while and stick to shorter runs, walks, yoga, swimming, or leisure bike rides.

We are actually getting summer weather here in MN after waiting way too long for it, so our run was actually super sticky and humid, more so than we are used to coming off of our long “Sprinter” (spring/winter). This made the run pretty challenging for us. However, I think I actually may have hit my time goal (an hour or less) that I was hoping for, but definitely not stressing out over. When we ran across the finish line, the timer said 58 minutes and change, but I know we didn’t start right away when the clock started. I’m still waiting for the website to post results, but when they do I will let you know if I reached the time goal!

I was a hot and sweaty and sticky mess after the race. When we got home I made us a pot of coffee and we had a super chill afternoon watching Fools Rush In (first time watching this movie and I really liked it) and sipping on our coffee.

coffee

On Saturday evening we celebrated Father’s Day with Dana’s parents. The weather was MN weird…on the drive over it was raining and storming, but then it cleared up and was a perfectly sunny evening. We spent a lot of time sitting outside on the deck soaking up the sun.

We had delicious steak and shrimp kabobs for dinner with a big veggie salad…

kabob dinner

And I DID have ice cream cake for dessert. I figure it was just one day. Every other day I am refined white sugar free. I am going to continue to enjoy these moments as they come because such is life and I want to enjoy life (just as long as these moments don’t turn into every day occurrences, then I would have to choose my days wisely). 😉

We are celebrating Father’s Day with my family next weekend. I’m hoping to dig out  some throw back dad and daughter photos to share with you then 🙂

Sunday was the usual: coffee, breakfast, and newspaper. I made myself a bowl-o-banana with almond butter, cinnamon and raw organic honey.

banana almond butter

One of my afternoon mini meals: an apple with tuna salad. In the tuna salad: white albacore tuna packed in water and drained, celery, dill pickle relish, mustard, and black pepper.

apple with tuna

 

Although this made for a pretty photo, this wasn’t the easiest way to eat the tuna salad. Next time I will slice the apple and serve the tuna alongside the apple so I can just scoop each individual slice. You live you learn.

We enjoyed the company of two of our best friends in the afternoon. I hope we can make an ATL trip happen in the next couple of months!

Dinner was a household fav: grilled salmon.

salmon grilled onion

Dessert: pineapple whip made with frozen pineapple, a little bit of frozen banana, almond milk, and a touch of honey.

pineapple whip

We had such a relaxing weekend which was just what the doctor had ordered.

What was the best part(s) of your weekend?!

Continue Reading A Symbol of Hope & Weekend Recap

The New Hairdo

First of all, I don’t think I ever knew that hairdo was actually a word spelled out just like that. I always thought it was two words, but the dictionary tells me it’s one. Huh, well I learned something today!

I realize it’s Tuesday and a weekend photo recap would have been more appropriate yesterday, but I was really needing to write about running yesterday, and I decided this post could wait. Plus, I wouldn’t have been able to show you my new hairdo yesterday, so it all worked out how it was supposed to.

I actually went out for another run after posting yesterday. It wasn’t as great as my Saturday run, but it still felt good to get out. I definitely notice myself breathing a little heavier than usual, but that will go away shortly.

I’m going to keep it short and sweet for you all today. Here is a recap of my weekend in a nutshell…

Party time on Saturday! I ate way too many treats and my body paid for it the next day.  There was about 5x the amount of food in this photo at the party. Lots of nummies. Such a fun time and the weather held up for a few hours before the clouds opened up into a downpour!

party food

Chilaquile brunch on Sunday at Uptown Cafeteria with Dana, Ted, and Annie. Great food, amazing company.

chilaquile uptown cafeteria

Monday breakfast: the yogurt bowl is back. Greek yogurt with banana, strawberries, and honey. Simple and delicious.

yogurt bowl

And the big wow moment from yesterday was chopping off a good five inches of my hair.

long hair short hair short hair

 

I still have bittersweet feelings towards my new do. I wasn’t really planning on cutting that much off, but I did pretty much give the stylist the go-ahead to do it. I am just shocked at how much she actually took off. I haven’t had my hair this short in a few years at least. I know it will be perfect for summer and I just need to get used to it still. It’ll grow on me…haha, no pun intended. It does feel good to have it all cleaned up!

That’s all I have for you all today. I hope you have a fantastic Tuesday. Find something to smile about today.

Continue Reading The New Hairdo

Getting Back Into Running

A year ago yesterday, I ran my first half-marathon. I ran it despite battling a colitis flare, and it was a struggle, and it was not an enjoyable run for me, but I finished it and was so incredibly proud.

half marathon

 

It’s hard to believe it’s already been a whole year. It’s also hard to believe that I went from running 13.1 miles a year ago, and today my current mileage is fairly non-existent. This is mainly due to the Insanity program taking over my daily workouts, and I’m starting to get bothered by that.

I’ve never been a “good” runner. You know, those people who can get out there any time of day at any point in their lives, and run hard, far, and fast, and feel great. I am not one of those people. I am one of those people who really has to push through every run, who’s tummy needs to be in the right state before a run, who mentally loses focus, who doesn’t run fast, and like most runners, has “good” runs and “bad” runs and worries too much about the bad run days. But one thing I know for sure, is that after every single run, I feel great. Even if it was a terrible run, I am so happy I ran.

run

I started running back in 2009 to prepare for my first full 5k run, and I will never forget my first bouts of runs. I clearly remember running around my neighborhood for 10 minutes and being thrilled that I ran for 10 whole minutes. I knew I had a long way to go, but friends kept encouraging me to continue adding on time and distance to each run, to not give up, that it will build up over time, and that I will see the progress. And I did. Each time out I added a little more distance and time onto the runs, until eventually I was running for 30 minutes and was ready for my first 5k. I completed my first 5k in 30 plus minutes, and will never forget that first runner’s high. I have been hooked on running and races since then.

A while back, someone asked me if I was a runner. I said ha ha, no I can run but I’m not good at it, so no I’m not a runner. Their response was, “You run, so you’re a runner! It doesn’t matter how fast you go or how many half-marathons or marathons you’ve run. You’re a runner because you get out there and run.” Since then I’ve called myself a runner.  Running to the kitchen from the couch doesn’t count btw. 😉

run motivation

After nearly no running happening over this past month, I finally got back out there on Saturday morning. I was nervous to run for the fear of all of the running progress that I had lost. It was just in late April that I ran a 10k, but having been out of the running scene for over a month now, I was anxious about it.

Everything was in my favor: the weather was cool, the sun was out, my tummy settled, no body aches, all was good. I set out hoping for two miles and ended up running 3.25 because I was feeling so GREAT. Sure I may have been huffing and puffing a little more than I used to, but I still felt great and I was so happy.

Running gives me confidence, it encourages me to soak in the beauty of nature, it enables my mind to wander freely, it relieves stress, and I need more of it in my life again. 

As for the Insanity workouts, I am not quite sure yet how I want to continue with those. I have completed month one, but there is still a whole other month to go. I love the changes I saw and felt in my body from the Insanity workouts. I would really like to continue with the workouts but I think I will be completing them on my own schedule now, versus the regimented six days a week program. I know this isn’t ideal but it is what will work for me. It was easy to complete the workouts when it was snowy and cold outside, but now that it is starting to warm up (finally) I really want my workouts to be outside whenever possible.  Our summers are way too short around here, and I really want to soak in every second of the beautiful days that I can.

Plus I really miss running.

I am planning on registering for a race sometime in the near future, and will keep you posted on what I decide. It’s time for me to start building up my stamina and seeing my running capabilities again. It is so good for my well-being and I want more of it in my life! Who knows, maybe a half-marathon is in my future again?

I’m so happy that I finally laced up the ol’ running shoes, set my nerves aside and got out there. I’m so lucky that I have the ability to run. I run for those who can’t.

Now, get out there and run!

gs puppies running

man running

 

Continue Reading Getting Back Into Running

Health Supplements & Insanity Month One

I have bunch of little tidbits to catch you up on so I’m going to get right in there and be a little random today.

First off, I hope everyone is having a good week so far. We are half way through the work week already. These weeks have been flying by lately crazy fast.

Moose had his second tooth extracted on Monday and he is doing very well. They didn’t have nearly as much trouble with this tooth as they did his other one, and he didn’t have to be under anesthesia as long. We are happy that is over with, and so is he. Thanks again for all of your sweet comments.

Let’s see, Monday evening’s dinner was one you have seen a million times by now, my favorite salmon recipe, but I still snapped a photo because it’s always so pretty.

salmon

And breakfast yesterday: banana with almond butter, honey, and cinnamon = Num.

banana with almond butter

Insanity Update

Two days ago I finished Month One of InsanityIf you’re new to my blog, you can quickly catch up on my weekly Insanity reviews here:

Here is what went down this last week:

Body and Strength Changes

I don’t feel like I went through many body changes this past week although I do feel my core continues to get stronger day by day. I feel this has helped tremendously with my back pain. I continue to see my chiropractor for adjustments but we have been able to stretch out my visits to every two weeks now versus what began as twice a week visits. That is great progress that I am super happy about.

Besides that, I may have hit a bit of a plateau, where my strength isn’t improving much, and my endurance is at a standstill.

So, this week I have started the recovery workout. The focus of this workout is on recovering from all of the cardio madness, giving muscles time to relax, yet still working them so as not to fall back in your progress.  It is a slightly more mellow workout which focuses on core and balance. For the next six days the program has you repeating the same workout daily. I’m a little nervous that I will get bored from the repetition because I usually can’t handle doing the same workout day after day. That being said, the next week of recovery may take me longer than six days to complete because I may throw in some runs or other workouts here and there.

Soreness, Fatigue, or Aches

The sore elbow that I mentioned last week which has been persistent for the last month or so is no longer an issue. Who knows what that was I’m just happy it’s gone!

Every now and then I will get a little tenderness on the top of my feet and occasional knee discomfort. When this happens, I try to take a day off to rest and then get back into it the following day once the tenderness has subsided.

Overall Thoughts and Feelings

I can’t believe month one is complete! I did take before and after photos but I think I may keep them to myself (I haven’t 100% decided either way yet), but what I can tell you is that I see some great results. My stomach is flatter, leaner and stronger, my legs are more toned and much stronger, my arm strength has increased greatly and I am now able to do hands and toes push-ups much more easily. I see more definition in my arms and my shoulders, and I have less back pain! Besides training for the half-marathon, I don’t know if I’ve ever been so diligent with a workout program before, especially with one this intense. I am very proud that I have kept with it this long. Time will tell how the second month goes. If I feel it is too intense for my body, I may scale back. We will see though.

I’m happy to have this week to “recover” before starting up with the even more insane workouts to come. My body could use a little rest, plus I am missing running and hope to get some of that in this week.

To any of you contemplating the Insanity program, I will tell you right now that it is not easy, but it is so worth it! The results are worth it. The way I feel about myself and the strength I have built, is so worth it. If you want to see results and build a stronger body, absolutely complete this program.

But first…Please consult with your physician before you begin this program if your health is compromised or if you are hesitant about the intensity of the program. 

A Sneak Peek at Last Night’s Dinner

I’m hoping to share this barbacoa recipe with you all sometime this week. It was a spicy one and SO good!

beef balcacoa

Health Supplements

Last topic of the day I promise. It has been a little while since I have given an update on my current health supplements I am taking in the journey towards my total wellness. I want to share this with everyone in case there are others out there who are fighting for wellness (in my particular case Ulcerative Colitis), and to give others some hope that alternative medicine can really truly make a difference! I plan to go into this in further detail another day, but today I would just like to keep it to a brief update.

Again I want to reiterate that I truly believe that if you are eating a healthy and balanced diet, and if you are completely 100% healthy and not fighting any type of disease, that you may not need to take supplements. You can get the nutrients you need from foods (Vitamin D is a probable exception) and your body is able to utilize those nutrients properly, but for those of us with compromised health, supplements can be a very good option in helping to find balance. I continue to work with my chiropractor and naturopath, who are working with me to find proper supplements to suit my particular health needs.

Last time I checked in with you all on this subject, I was taking:

  • cod liver oil
  • a multivitamin
  • calcium plus vitamin D3
  • probiotic

Today, I am taking these:

  • cod liver oil
  • multivitamin
  • folic acid
  • calcium plus Vit D3
  • probiotic
  • digestive enzymes

Digestive Enzymes are enzymes that break down food molecules in our body, which helps the body to digest and absorb food and nutrients from foods. I don’t take the enzymes with every meal as recommended, but I take them when I feel my body may need extra help in digesting a meal. For example, if I am eating a meal with broccoli or cauliflower, I will most likely take one beforehand. They really do seem to ease the digestion process for me and they make me feel better and able to tolerate more foods.

I had a terrible experience with the cod liver oil a couple of days ago however. The one I currently have is a liquid cod liver oil with cinnamon tingle flavor. Apparently I coughed right as I was swallowing the liquid and it got caught in my throat. For the next couple of hours my throat burned and all I could taste was fish. It was terrible. I continued to feel nauseous well into the afternoon. I asked my chiro about other options and thankfully there is a gel that has a chocolate flavor and there are also tablets available. The only downfall to the tablets is that you have to take 7-8 a day. I am going to try the chocolate one next and hope that I can tolerate it better because my cinnamon experience totally ruined any chance of me taking that one again. My body LOVES this stuff though. It’s like liquid gold. It’s full of omega-3’s, and Vitamin A and D. Before I take it I imagine it coating my intestines  like a cozy blanket to protect them. That’s weird, huh? Then I chug a gallon of water to get the taste out of my mouth.

Anyway, this is getting a bit lengthy. I do want to write another post about my experience with the naturopath and go more into detail about the specific brands of supplements I am taking, what they are primarily used for, and other health changes I have made to aid in my healing process. But for now, I am going to call it a day.

Happy Hump Day!

What are your thoughts on supplements? 

Continue Reading Health Supplements & Insanity Month One

Fresh Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

 

 

Happy Saturday! So, yesterday when I was driving to work, it dawned on me what day it was. It was May 17th which means it was Moose’s 5th birthday!  Our little guy is now 5 years old which is just pure craziness! We celebrated by giving him a couple of pieces of cheese with his pain meds and antibiotics last night and he got to lick the end of the peanut butter jar. 🙂 Lucky guy, huh?

mooser birthday

Another thing I was remembering while driving was that last year at this time we were in the Boundary Waters with my brother Scotty and his girlfriend Nicole. The weather was a whole lot different last year and we were actually bathing in the water! It was cold, but it was tolerable. It was definitely an adventure I will never forget. If you want to reminisce with me you can check out this boundary water post!

I’m slowly pulling myself out of my food rut and I got creative in the kitchen again last night! It was a Vegetarian Spring Roll night in our casa!

I began by prepping my veggies: cutting cucumber, red bell pepper and carrots into strips, chopping up fresh cilantro, and opening up a bag of broccoli slaw.

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

Next, I prepared the peanut sauce. Into the bowl went 1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of hot water, the juice of half a lime, 3/4 tablespoon coconut aminos (you could use soy sauce instead), and 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil. After I made all of the rolls up I decided I should have added some heat to the sauce, so I recommend adding either red pepper flakes or a dash of hot sauce to the peanut sauce!

 

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

 

Next, we submerged the rice paper into a hot water bath one by one, rotating it until it becomes slightly floppy and pliable. Don’t be intimidated by rice paper, it is really SO easy to use! I placed the paper onto the counter and smeared on the peanut sauce and piled on the veggies (broccoli slaw, red bell pepper, cucumber, carrots, and cilantro).

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

 

I rolled the long side over first, then tucked each side over, and continued the rest of the roll.

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

 

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

 

And the end result is these gorgeous spring rolls!

 

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

You could also use the peanut sauce as a dipping sauce on the side instead of inside the wrapper, but I was in the mood to tuck it inside.

vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce vegetarian spring rolls with peanut sauce

 

Aren’t they gorgeous?! They tasted so fresh and delicious and they were actually very satisfying as well. The best part about these rolls is you can use up whatever you have on hand as the filling. The last time I used these rice papers to make rolls I made a warm baked Santa Fe version and they were super good too! The kids would love these rolls especially if you served them with a dipping sauce.

Have a fabulous day! I have to go get Insane

Continue Reading Fresh Vegetarian Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Scenes from My Fun Weekend

I had such an insanely amazing weekend full of so much fun. Here’s a quick little recap for all ya’ll!

On Friday I got to see two of my fav girlies, Kate and Jules, who were both in town for a little while!

(Photo Circa Summer 2012)

kate and melanie

Friday night was date night at Piccolo with my honey. In case you missed it, you can read all about our fancy experience here!

Piccolo

 

Saturday I had lunch with my mom and dad, grandpa, and my great aunt and uncle who were in town!

Saturday afternoon we went to the Twins game. The Twins won and we got neat hats!

 

 

 

dana and melanie twins game

 

On Sunday, my mom and I completed our 6th Race for the Cure at Mall of America!

Mom and Melanie

mom and melanie race for the cure

 

Afterwards I had the family over to celebrate Mother’s Day and my grandpa’s birthday. I made pulled taco chicken and set out all of the fixin’s for Nacho Bar: chips, salsa, black beans, corn, tomatoes, lettuce, black olives, jalepenos, guacamole, sour cream. So delicious!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful mamas out there by the way!

nacho bar Nacho bar nacho salad

 

By the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, I was spent. We ran one errand but besides that I spent the majority of the evening on the couch and then called it an early night.

It was one of those weekends where you look back and can’t believe how much fun you packed into such a short amount of time. I loved every second of it.

I’m going to leave it short and sweet for you all today. I have taken a four-day hiatus from Insanity and it’s time to get back in gear!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?! Were you able to relax?

Continue Reading Scenes from My Fun Weekend

Insanity Week 3 Complete: Push Yourself

First and foremost, Moose says hi!

moose

 

Sometimes I think we should enroll him in puppy modeling because he is so adorable, but I wouldn’t want him to lose his modesty. 😉

I can’t believe how much I have been slacking creatively in the kitchen this week. Honestly, the majority of my meals this week have been “wing-it” meals and I have been settling with Greek yogurt and a couple of snacks for my evening meals. It’s a little strange! I’ll get back on the ball though; I always do.

Insanity: Week 3 Completed

I can’t believe I have just finished week three of Insanity. In case you missed my other Insanity posts you can catch up real quick:

Let’s take a look at how week three went down!

Body and Strength Changes

Many of the moves in the workouts are starting to feel “easier” because I am able to use more core strength to get through it. I say “easier” because these workouts continue to be incredibly challenging, I am just able to keep up a little better with some of the exercises. My core continues to feel stronger each week.

The amount of push-ups I am able to do has doubled since I began Insanity and I am so incredibly excited about this! I am still working towards my goal of being able to do at least one unassisted chin-up and I am thrilled to tell you that I am SO close! One of these days I’m going to hop on that pull-up bar and crank out a solid chin-up. I can’t wait.

My legs feel like stronger and more toned. My pants are all feeling very comfortable although I feel like my legs are looking a bit thicker; this may be in my head.

Weight Fluctuations

For the sake of my sanity (ha) I think I am going to remove this column from the following recaps. The scale and I have a poor relationship and I don’t like having to step on it every week; the number doesn’t matter and I don’t want this to be a focal point. I am feeling really good about the changes I am seeing, and I don’t want the scale to jeopardize these feelings.

The main reason I put this category in my recap posts was because I felt readers may be interested in any weight changes during the Insanity journey, and for that reason I will more than likely include that information in my final Insanity recap post, just not weekly. Thanks for understanding!

Soreness, Fatigue, or Aches

My back was really sore last week for some reason, but this week it is feeling just fine. This is a very good thing because that means I can continue the Insanity workouts.

My elbow is a little sore and have no idea if this is associated with the workouts or not. Kind of strange I realize but I don’t know what else it would be from!

Overall Thoughts and Feelings

I continue to prefer to do my Insanity workouts in the morning before breakfast and after I’ve had a chance to wake up for a few minutes. It’s a little hard to get moving during the warm-up but by the third set of the warm-up I am usually feeling good to go. I love the feeling of being completely done with an amazing workout early in the morning and having the rest of the day to do what I need to do. It helps me to stay energized throughout the day too.

(glistening post-workout photo)

insanity

This week of workouts flew by very quickly. I had an easy time finding motivation to complete the workouts (unlike last week). I think part of the reason why is that I am feeling so good about the changes my body is going through and I want to continue to feel and see those changes. I am feeling so much stronger and I am in complete amazement at the changes a person can make to their body in such a short amount of time. I can’t tell if my body is changing enough for anyone else to notice, but I can personally notice subtle changes and that’s all that matters to me.

motivation insanity

I found this Insanity Survival Guide on a blog I ran across on Pinterest, and if you are following the Insanity workouts or thinking about starting them, you should really check this out. He lists 17 tips to help you safely get through the Insanity workouts.

I began this Insanity journey to build strength, to increase endurance and stamina, and to challenge my body and push it out of it’s fitness comfort zone. I can honestly say it has done all of that and more and I am not even halfway done.

I am proud to say I am done with week three and gracefully moving on to week four!

Here I go!

When’s the last time you pushed yourself out of your fitness comfort zone? How did it go? How did you feel?

 

Continue Reading Insanity Week 3 Complete: Push Yourself

Insanity Week 2: Completed

Happy Thursday to you all. It is a dreary one here today and my mood definitely matches the weather right now. I’ll work on turning that around though.

I don’t have one single photo to share with you all from yesterday. Such a bummer, right? What I DO have to share with you is my week two Insanity recap. If you missed out on week one’s completion recap, you can check it out here: Insanity Week 1: Completed

Insanity Week 2: Completed

Body and Strength Changes

I continue to notice more definition in my core. I failed to take pre-measurements of my body so I don’t have actual inches to compare to, only photos but that’s okay. Push-ups are feeling easier although I am not able to keep up with the push-ups on the DVD and wind up having to do them on my knees.  My legs are looking more toned and lean. My pants are feeling completely comfortable again!

Based on my results of Fit Test #2, my cardio, endurance, and strength are all improving! It’s very gratifying to be able to see my progress!

Weight Fluctuations

I have lost 1-2 lbs so far which is great but not a major marker of my progress whatsoever considering I am (hopefully) building lean muscle which weighs more than fat.

Soreness, Fatigue, or Aches

My back has been pretty darn sore at nighttime this week. I’m hoping that it’s just a coincidence because I would really like to continue with the Insanity workouts. If it continues to feel wacky, I may have to cut back.

My energy level is generally GREAT!

Overall Thoughts and Feelings

Finding the motivation to complete the workouts this week was extremely challenging. I think it was mostly because we had the 10K run thrown in there on Saturday and it took me a little while to recuperate from it.

smoothie coffee

 

Now that I am repeating the workouts, they’re not as exciting to me. I know what to expect and tend to dread certain ones. But on the bright side, I ALWAYS feel fantastic after I get done with the workouts. Always.

On Monday I completed the Pure Cardio and then had to finish it off with the Cardio Abs and found this to be extremely challenging. My body was in so much fatigue from the Pure Cardio that I had a rough time pulling through the abs.

All in all, week two was more challenging in the sense that I had a harder time mustering up motivation to complete the workouts. I do think my strength is improving and plan to continue the Insanity challenge as long as my body can hold out. 

I continue to eat a clean diet full of protein, fruits, and veggies which helps me fight through the workouts and recover from them quickly. I did have some sugary treats this past weekend though. My body didn’t love me for that!

On to Week Three! 

motivation

Hope you all have a great day! I’ll try to turn my dreary mood around if you promise to do something that makes you happy today. Deal? I’m going to hang out with my family tonight and have that to look forward to which makes me SO happy.

Continue Reading Insanity Week 2: Completed

California Cheeseburger Salad

April Fitness Challenge Recap

Today is the last day of April which means that today is the last day of my April Fitness Challenge. If you will recall, at the beginning of April I challenged myself to work towards the goal of being able to do at least one solid chin-up by April 30th.

chin up pull up bar

 

We bought a pull-up bar, I hit the weights but not nearly as much as I should have, and I began Insanity workouts about two weeks ago.

I have to report today that unless a miracle happens in the next 24 hours, I am still not able to do an unassisted chin-up. However, I refuse to claim this challenge as a fail because I have seen major progress in my attempts and I know it won’t be much longer before I am able to do one.

And yes I use my legs to help shimmy myself up–I don’t care if that’s considered cheating.

chin up

Am I disappointed? Actually I’m not, not at all. I am very happy with my progress and excited to keep reaching toward my goal. It has been very helpful having a pull-up bar in our house so I can give it a go at my leisure.

You WILL be hearing from me as soon as I reach that goal! I think I will be rolling this goal over into May. Yea, I like that idea.

Anyway….changing tracks. I have a super tasty meal to share with you all from last night.

This dinner was extremely easy, it came together in about 15 minutes or less, and it was SO delicious!

I made what I like to call California Cheeseburger Salad!

What usually comes on a California burger? Tomato, lettuce, avocado, and mayo right? Well I excluded the mayo but used the other ingredients. In addition to the California burger, I also incorporated an all-American classic: the cheeseburger. Instead of a bun, I turned this concoction into a salad.

california cheeseburger salad

 

Let’s break it down…

I began by sauteing about 1/4 cup of diced onions on the stove top. I then added 1/4 pound of lean ground turkey, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and let it brown.

Meanwhile, I chopped up the lettuce, tomato, avocado and arranged them on my two plates.

Next, I made a mustard dressing which was simply deli style mustard (about 2 tablespoons), apple cider vinegar (about 1 tablespoon), garlic powder, onion powder, and a little water. I gave it all a good stir and then drizzled it over the salads.

After the turkey was finished browning and fully cooked through, I shredded 1/4 cup of natural cheddar cheese over the hot meat in the pan. I let it melt and then used a spatula to scoop it onto our salads.

california cheeseburger salad

 

You put it all together and what do you get? California Cheeseburger Salad! So very simple and it was the perfect dish for a warm spring evening.

California Cheeseburger Salad
Print
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup onion, diced
  • ¼ lb lean ground turkey
  • salt and pepper
  • As much mixed spring lettuce as you wish, chopped
  • ½ small avocado, diced
  • 1 Roma tomato, diced
  • 2 Tbsp deli mustard
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • a sprinkle of garlic powder
  • a sprinkle of onion powder
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
  1. In a small pan sprayed with olive oil, sauté onions for 2-3 minutes.
  2. Add ground turkey, season with salt and pepper, and let brown.
  3. Meanwhile, arrange lettuce, avocado, and tomatoes onto two separate plates.
  4. Prepare mustard by mixing together mustard, vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, and water in a small bowl. Drizzle over plated lettuce.
  5. Once meat is finished cooking and lightly browned, sprinkle cheese over the top and let melt. Once melted, use a spatula to transfer the meat on top of the salads.
  6. Enjoy!

 

You could easily make this vegetarian by substituting pinto beans or black beans instead of the ground turkey! Give it a go tonight! You won’t regret it.

Have a fabulous Tuesday my lovely readers!

What are your go-to summer dinners?

I notice that once the warmer weather rolls around, my meat consumption goes way up because we are grilling so much more. In the summer our go-to dinners are probably grilled chicken or turkey burgers and grilled veggies or a huge veggie and bean salad.

Continue Reading California Cheeseburger Salad

Finally a Warm Run

What an enjoyable weekend. The weather was incredible, I was able to relax, hang out with family, friends, and run a 10k with Dana!

I can’t believe I neglected to take one photo of the actual race site at Minnehaha Park because it is a very beautiful area, but I didn’t. We raced up the streets parallel to the river, crossed the river, came back down the other side, and then crossed the river again. I am always happy when the route is an actual large loop versus multiple laps.

If you are local and are interested in a really nice 10K loop, check out the race course here: Minnehaha Get in Gear 10k Race Course

On Friday we headed over to Minnehaha to pick up our race bibs and scope out the giveaway goodies. We were about to head out and then our eyes caught sight of this:

salted nut roll

That is 25 lbs of pure salted nut roll heaven right there. They were cutting up sample bars and I just had to sample one myself and OMG. This was the best Salted Nut Roll I have ever eaten, and I’ve eaten my fair share. It was so soft and there was so much NOUGAT :smile:. I savored every last bite of that magical bar.

salted nut roll

 

Moving on to race day.

Dana and I gave ourselves plenty of time to get over to the race site but unfortunately the shuttle buses to get runners from the parking area to the race site were not super efficient and by the time we got to the race site, checked our bags (this took a while too) and got into the bathroom lines, we had about 15 minutes until start time.

The bathroom lines were reeeeaaaallly long. I started to get my little anxiety spurts that I get just prior to races and was nervous that we wouldn’t be at the start line when the race began. I knew it didn’t really matter if I was or wasn’t there when it actually began because we had time chips in our race bibs, but I just like to be where I’m supposed to be at any given time.

They made the five-minute until go time announcement and we were still in line, with about eight people still in front of us. Then the two-minute announcement was made and we were still four people back. The National Anthem was sung and there was 26 seconds of silence to honor Boston and everyone involved in the tragedy. The race began and we were still in line.

get in gear 10k

We finally got our turn for the glamorous porto-potty’s and then made a mad dash to the starting line while “washing” our hands with antibacterial goop. By the time we got to the start, there were still TONS of people who hadn’t yet crossed the start line. So basically all of that anxiety and rushing to get to the start line really wasn’t necessary.

 

That was how our race began.

The course was really great and spectators were lined all along the streets almost the entire way. At about one mile in I was struck with side aches on both sides. I used the breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth technique to try to get rid of those bad boys but I wasn’t having much luck. It wasn’t until about mile 5 that they started to go away. Needless to say this wasn’t my best or most enjoyable run, however I am always proud to say that I finished it and I didn’t stop to walk even once.

I finished in 1:01:26 which was about one minute slower than my January 1st 10K race. I was a little disappointed because I had wanted to break the one hour mark, but I didn’t get too hung up on it. I just ran 6.2 miles and I was going to be proud of it!

get in gear 10k

It was SO nice to run in warm weather and not have to be bundled up from head to toe. The sun felt heavenly.

By the time we got home I was exhausted and hungry. I made myself some food and then joined Moose out on the deck to get some rays and relax.

moose deck moose deck

Goodness he’s a big boy.

I gave my camera a rest for the remainder of the weekend but will tell you I had such an incredible weekend. The highlight was spending time with family and friends and enjoying the sunny warm weather.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

 

Continue Reading Finally a Warm Run