Friday, August 28, 2009

Danny don't rain on my parade......

Stupid Hurricane Danny may ruin my weekend plans..... ggrrrrr.....

Months ago I got tickets to see James Taylor at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA. This is THE place to see JT! The hubby and I have been going to see JT together since we were in high school, yep we were HS sweethearts.... aw. But we have never been to Tanglewood out in the Berkshires.... its a bit of a hike and the hotels ain't cheap.

So please send your good weather wishes my way.... please and thank you.

I was a bad food blogger last night and didnt' take any food pictures...... oopsie. To be honest I'm not 100% sure what I ate, but it was GOOD!

What I think we had.... naan, chicken curry, saag chicken, rice....
Michelle you out there, what did I eat? ;)
Also we (me & Michelle) had some yummy wine with dinner.

I think the reason why I didn't do my homework was due to the baby cuteness in my precense. My friend Courtney's little girl Clara was so sweet and cute! She wasn't fussing at all while we were there. Definitely need to pay another visit again soon! This time bring the hubby though, Courtney's husband Al was sad no boys came along..... although I'm worried about the trouble they could get into..... well Kirt would... Al has quite the guitar collection.

I was very glad we headed home when we did though, the hour drive got us back home around 9:30 and I crashed. Had to be up early for Kettlebell this morning!

Class today was challenging but good. I like it that we did each exercise only once, but for 2 minutes. At least you didn't have to think about doing it AGAIN, so I really tried to do each one well and push myself.

Swings- 40 seconds regular/40 second single arm/40 seconds alternating
Long Cycle Clean + Press 1/2/3/4/5 and then repeat if time
Goblet Squats / Behind the Neck Squat 1min/1min
Plank variations- push up & inch worm 1 min/plank w/ knees to elbows 1 min (OMG ouch!)
High Pulls- 5/5 each side repeat for 2 min
Chest Press + Get Up Sit Up
Rows 1/2/3/4/5
Tactical Lunges- 2min straight (ouch!)
Side Planks- 1 min each side (um ouch again)
Bottoms Up Cleans
Crush Curl / Hot Potato
Snatches

That workout definitely whooped my butt. My abs will be sore tomorrow too!

Then I headed home and did a quick monster. Since we are headed out of town I wanted to use up the last of my spinach.

BREAKFAST
-2 handfuls spinach
-ice
-1 cup milk
-1/2 frozen banana
-handful blueberries
-1 T almond butter
-1T ground flax

Just working a half day and then we are packing up and heading out. Crap.... I still need to pack. Kinda forgot to do that Wednesday night when I was home.

Its suppose to be cool and rainy... what is cute but still practical, ideas? I may bring my galoshes.... although they aren't cute ones... they are boring forest green ones. I need to get some of those cute ones with rubber ducks or something on them. ;)

Not sure if I'll have much time to blog.... may try blogging from my iphone, see how that goes.

I am excited for dinner tonight though! We are trying out a place called Alta, it sounds delish!

Happy Friday and hopefully we stay somewhat dry this weekend NE folks!

Britt

Thursday, August 27, 2009

The F word.....

Yep... FALL

Its coming.

This morning's run reminded me of that, I actually started it out with a long sleeved tech shirt on (my electric yellow one from this year's Boston Marathon to be exact as it was dark still). I tried to keep to my training schedule and do a tempo run at a 7:30 pace, I haven't gotten around to getting a Garmin yet so its all an estimate. Part way through my run natured called so I stopped by the gym, figured while I was there I would home on the treadmill for a mile at a 7:30 pace just get somewhat of an estimated feel. After that mile it was back out to pound the pavement and head home. Its been awhile since I've run on a treadmill and then continued to run outside, strange feeling.... it felt faster since I was actually going somewhere. The cool air also reinvigorated me for the end of my run.

Once home I made a super quick green monster to drink while I got ready for the day. I only had a half hour. Before work I had a New Teacher Breakfast to attend as part of being a school board member.

BREAKFAST
Green Mosnter
- 2 handfuls spinach
- 1 cup milk
- 1 T almond butter
- 1 T ground flax
- 1/2 a frozen banana
- 1 scoop soy protein powder


As I headed out the door my tummy felt a little off... wasn't sure if it was from gulping my monster.....

Once at the breakfast I grapped some Tazo green tea and a little fruit. That seemed to help my tummy a bit.


The breakfast just made me realize that summer is ending. The teachers are getting their rooms ready, the new teachers are all nervous & excited for the first day of school...... I kinda miss that first day excitement. I don't miss the homework though!

After all the speeches and introductions were done I zoomed off to work, dug through the emails that already had piled up and the realized I needed some COFFEE! Plus a co-worker had brought in some yummy looking blackberries she had picked and new just what to do with them.

SNACK
-iced coffee, milk, one sugar
-ww toast, honey PB, blackberries (yum!)

The morning flew by and it was time to head home to walk Reggie and make some lunch. I had some salad ideas but wanted some quality protein, so I pulled out a box of salmon burgers. I figured one would be perfect on my salad.

These ones are distributed locally and are certified as sustainably harvested by Ecofish. I found out about this company when I was in graduate school and researching sustainable fisheries and the marketing of them. Little did I know as I sat in New Orleans at school, I'd find a company in my own backyard back home in NH!

My dad highly recommended these salmon burgers too. Although my burger was yummy on my salad, it probably wasn't its best tasting..... as I kinda burned it... oopsie. I was trying to do too much at once. I was cooking in a pan on the stove and it got a little blackened and not in a good way. Next time I want to try it grilled, I think that would be perfect! Despite my cooking mishap it was very good.


LUNCH
-crop share romain, zucchini, bell peppers and tomato, salmon burger, cucumber, Wickles, little parmesan and a little TJ's balsalmic vinaigrette.

Before heading back to work I packed up this snack for later..... may add some more of those blackberries at work too.
SNACK
-3/4 cup plain Oikos, mango and ground flax

After work I'm picking up a friend, Michelle, and heading to visit another friend, Courtney, who had a baby a couple months back. Its been so crazy we haven't gotten to see her and her little girl Clara yet! Cannot wait to meet Clara and see Courtney! Oh and we have Indian food planned for dinner tonight!
What is your favorite type of food?
Hard for me to pick.... toss up between Mexican and Italian... both make good use of CHEESE. :)
Have a great rest of the day!


Britt

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Slowing it down....

Good Evening, 

Yes, it is before 8pm.... I am home... I have plans to go nowhere.... ahhh.... life is good!  Oh and I got the house to myself, hubby had plans to meet his old boss for a drink, I passed.  Reggie and I are chilling at home.  :)

Today I had lunch with my mom at a local coffee shop.  
I love meeting her for lunch, there is just one issue..... 

she. eats. so. slow. 

(not good when you are on a tight schedule)

In reality though I should try to follow her lead more, although I did somewhat.  We each had a cup of soup and split a sandwich. 

LUNCH
-cup of homemade gazpacho soup
- 1/2 of a tuna salad sandwich on toasted rustic bread, small side of cottage cheese, pickles



I think when I was done with mine she still had at least half of her sandwich and soup left. Granted I was on my lunch break, a bit wound up from my day.... but there was no need to shovel down my food.  Actually though, I probably ate at a normal pace for an average American, maybe even slower... I was conversing between eating and all, but my mom has apparently perfected the art of slow eating.  

I figure this is a good time to remind myself why its good to eat slow. 
  • tasting your food, enjoying every bite
  • gives your body time to signal when it is getting full
  • improves digestion
  • usually you eat less, allows you to get the "I'm full signal" before you have passed the point of no return
  • therefore less tendency to overeat
This also goes along with intuitive eating and respecting your fullness.  By respecting it you are taking the time for it to actually be triggered.  

Do you eat slowly?  Do you respect your fullness?

Back to my day....
my lunch left me comfortably full, however later in the afternoon I needed a little snack.

SNACK
Larabar to the rescue!  As well as some green tea.  

I stayed a little late at work and then ran some errands afterwards, by the time I got home Reggie was ready to go!  Off for a walk we went!

After our walk it was time to get working on dinner, but I needed a little appetizer while I worked..... some lovely grapes. 

DINNER
-grilled pork w/ mesquite seasoning
-grilled zucchini and green peppers w/ olive oil, balsamic vinegar and little garlic
-left over potatoes from last night

Quick and easy dinner!  The weather held off so that we were able to dine outside.  Gotta get those outdoor dining days in while we can!


Yummy dinner, but it needed a little dessert as well.  
I found one lonely brownie bite left over from Saturday night when we had friends over. 

Delish!

Reggie and I are going to chill some more and catch up on Tivo.  

And I WILL get to bed early tonight!!!

Have a great night!

Britt


I'm not booked tonight.....

Good Morning!!!

Yes, I'll just quickly gripe once again how flippin dark it is in the morning....gggrrrr... gripe done. 

Now its beautiful and sunny out though..... but its just about time to head to work.  :( Sometimes I miss my schedule I had as a waitress.... days off and then working 5-11 or so.  
I would get so much done in the mornings, but of course once the sun was UP. 

Reggie and I walked at 5:30 and then I was off to Kettlebell.  This mornings class was hard but fun, it was a relay!  Teams of 3.  We did 8 rounds of the following.....

200m sprint
8 box jumps
8 double cleans 

My group rocked! :)  
I felt awesome on the sprints... catching or beating some of the guys most times.... go me.  

Exciting news in Kettlebell land....  not only are they moving to a big new space BUT they are also going to be sponsors of the race I'm planning.... and are donating gift certificates for the top age group finishers!  I'm kinda jealous, I wish I could run the race and have the chance to win one.  I'm also still working on some food prizes too.... figure gift certificate and a food item....something to enjoy later and something to enjoy right away!  

Once home I watered plants and whipped a tall green one.

BREAKFAST
Green Monster
-2 handfuls spinach
-1 cup milk
-1 scoop soy protein powder
-1 handful blueberries
-1/2 frozen banana
-1t ground flax



I'm running late, time to get ready for work and get my butt out the door.   
I'm meeting my mom for lunch, yay, and I have NOTHING planned for after work tonight!  So nice to have a free night.  :)

Happy Hump Day!

Britt

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Directionally Challenged....

That would be me.  

Apparently I'm awful at giving directions.  I had my Weed & Wine group tonight, I thought I given good directions on the spot we would be at... nope.  Just about done I round the corner and find some of my weeding crew there!  Oopsie.   From now on I'm doing a Google Map of the location we are at!  Also, I'm taking before and after pictures.... I always seem to think of that AFTER we are done!!

Any how.... the day's eats

SNACK this morning
-sandwich thin w/ Bee's Knees Peanut Butter
-camera shy green tea

LUNCH
I headed home to walk Reggie and make a salad full of Crop Share veggies!

-romaine, spinach, green bell peppers, tomatoes, leftover turkey burger, dried cranberries, walnuts, little parmesan cheese and some TJ balsamic vinaigrette.  very good. very good.

Plugged on through my work day, conference calls, millions of email, little road race planning on the side.....

SNACK 
love snack time.  :)
-peach Chobani w/ maybe 1/4 cup of Kashi Heart to Heart
-lots o' water
After work, I headed home to walk Reggie and then was off to weed downtown with my crew.... my lost crew..... thanks to me.  BUT we did weed two areas instead of one!!   

No one was up for wine after.....  :(   
What is wrong with these people??!!  
All work and no play!

So I headed home and made dinner.  BUT while I was out I had the owner of a restaurant I used to work at holler out to me that an old co-worker was in town.  So the hubby and I will be venturing out shortly to grab a beverage and catch up with my old work bud. 

DINNER
I hate getting the house hot with a stove, so it was another grill night.... 
-cod w/ fresh lemon, lemon zest, panko crumbs, seafood seasoning, little EVOO wrapped in foil
-crop share potatoes w/ EVOO, salt, pepper and garlic wrapped in foil
-crop share tomato & basil salad w/ EVOO and balsamic vinegar
The tomatoes ROCKED!!!  So so so good!  
Fortunately our farm hasn't been hit by the late blight, but they are being cautious and cutting back the plants earlier than normal.  So sad, all those poor yummy tomatoes. 

Well the hubby is ready to go, so we are going to walk into town to meet up with everyone.  I LOVE being able to walk into town. Plus it appears to be a gorgeous night, cooling off a bit.  :)

Have a great evening!!

Britt



The Vegetable Fairy......

She visited my house while I was out for my run this morning.

See.....

As I was running down my street this morning, I saw our friend Aviva walking to my house with a bag o' veggies for me from our shared Crop Share. What great service! ;) I see a hugh jass salad in my future for lunch!

I almost missed her though as I did NOT want to get out of bed this morning. Its getting too dark at 5:30 in the morning. :( When I see no sun I just want to stay in bed. Any one have any suggestions on how to get my butt out of bed when the alarm goes off when its still dark out..... this is going to be an issue come fall and winter.

Once I was out for my run, it was great! It was a nice cool morning, still a bit humid but I'll take it! So nice to have some refreshing weather in the morning.

When I got home I watered the plants on the deck and then fixed up my overnight oats.

BREAKFAST

-this is how my oats looked last night
-1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain greek Oikos Greek Yogurt


-this is how it looked this morning.

-then after I added the fixin's
- blueberries
strawberries
almond butter
1 scoop of protein powder
sprinkle of ground flax
YUM! Good breakfast, I liked the cold oats after my run.
It was perfect with a huge glass of water.
Today is another busy one.... work, heading home at lunch to walk Reggie and after work I have my volunteer group of weeders for Weed & Wine. I promised the crew that we would actually go out for a glass of wine tonight after weeding downtown, we haven't really gotten a chance to do that lately.
Have a great day!!
Britt




Monday, August 24, 2009

Apple pie or gift certificate?

Success!  I got everything done on my to do list today.  :)

I wish I had pre-planned my food a bit more, but I also enjoyed relaxing yesterday and not running around in the kitchen.  

At lunch time, I picked up more food for Reggie.... he was very happy about this!  Headed home to take him for a walk and then feed myself. 

LUNCH
-flat out, left over turkey burger w/ cheddar, red pepper, sprouts, wickles and ketchup
-side of non-fat cottage cheese and mango (YUM!)



Before heading out the door I spied a few left over dark chocolate covered almonds (I had picked some up Saturday night when we had some friends over after dinner).  So good!  Perfect treat before heading back to work. 

I had a lot on my plate back at work, so I was glued to my desk.  I brought along the last of a bag of baby carrots.  I was able to CRUNCH out my frustration.  

After work I headed home quickly to walk Reggie and then ventured out again to meet the course certification guy.  He is an official USA Track & Field Course Certifier.  We mainly went over the start and finish of the race I'm organizing, figured out where we have room for adjustment and possible issues that might need to be resolved.  It went well!  I'm getting SUPER excited for the race.  We have sponsorships rolling in, racers signing up (10 today!) and volunteers lining up.  Yay!  

Once that meeting was over, I ran home quickly for some FOOD before my next meeting... school board. 

I grabbed the remnants of a couple turkey slices..... 

And the last of the non-fat cottage cheese with a little mango.  

It did the trick!  I had a Larabar in my purse but between the food and the HEAT (some day they may air condition city hall.... yeah right), I wasn't hungry for it.  Once home, I probably should have just had some cereal but instead went for a couple slices of left over pizza the hubby had left for me. 

DINNER

Nothing fancy.  But it was food.... Like I said wish I had pre-planned more.  But I hate to see pizza go to waste.  ;)

Well except maybe for the crust, it was a bit to doughy for my liking. 
I need to drink more water.  Feeling like I have been sweaty and clammy all day.  Also debating a popsicle..... thinking that may cool me off as well.  

Need to finish up some strategizing for the road race, mainly figuring out businesses to hit up for prizes.  What do you think are good age group prizes for a 5k?  This race/festival is apple themed so one of my thoughts are apple pies from a local bakery..... yes/no?  I also have gift certificates from a local running store.... but what would first get, gift certificate or a pie?  What would you appreciate more?  

Have a great night!!

Britt

Just another manic Monday......

Monday morning comes way too fast! My alarm at 5:25 this morning was not kind, I could have slept for at least an hour more. The fact that the sun is not coming up till almost 6 isn't helping either.... so sad, fall is coming. Boo hoo.

I took Reggie for a walk and then headed out the door to Kettlebell. The owner forgot to turn the a/c on last night... so it was crazy hot in the gym, blech.

Today's session, as many rounds as you could do in 4 minutes, 1 minute rest, all done 5 times.
12 Air Squats
9 American Swings ( I mainly used the red bell, think that is 36 lbs)
6 push ups

I was able to consistently do 4 rounds in 4 minutes, few times started a 5th round but didn't have time to finish. My thighs will DEFINITELY be sore tomorrow after all those squats!

Here is a picture with me in it at Kettlebell... I'm in the blue, think we were doing presses

Once home I got stuck having to wait for the shower, so I whipped up a quick Green Monster. Yes I'm addicted. I was a sweaty drippy mess and something cool and refreshing was in order. This morning's monster included.....

-couple handfuls spinach
-1 cup milk
-1/2 banana
-ice
-handful blueberries
-ground flax
-1T almond butter
-1 scoop soy protien powder
-couple pieces of mango



I think the mango gave it a bit of an orange glow around the edge.
The green monster hit the spot, but I know at work I'll need a snack.... I packed a cut up nectarine & a sandwich thin. I'll probably toast the sandwich thin and throw some PB on it. :)
Today is going to be crazy busy, aside from just normal work.

Lunch time
-pick up food for Reggie (keep forgetting, bad dog mom)
-walk Reggie (my dog walkers, aka in-laws, are going down to the Cape)
-actually EAT lunch

After work
-walk Reggie
-meet the course certification guy for the 5K, finally get the course certified!
-school board meeting (MUST remember to bring a snack!)

Hopefully I'll be home before 10pm. Blah. What a way to start the week!

What do you do to keep yourself sane on busy days? Aside from just cursing all the stuff you have to do. ;)

Happy Monday!!!


Britt



Sunday, August 23, 2009

A trip to the beach....

After my run I really wanted to enjoy the day before the next batch of rain moved in, luckily I convinced the hubby to go!  It was a short but good trip.  Although my title reminds me of a book that basically involves my dream career.....A Trip to the Beach. Good read and it involves a lot of FOOD!!!

Anyways, back to my short trip to the beach......It was nutty once we got there though, lots of traffic and high tide, plus Hurricane Bill off the coast.  So there were HUGE waves especially on the more exposed beach area.  So after sitting in traffic for a bit I headed to the back roads and found us a place to park in no time.  I'm good.  :)

We checked out the beach


 but between the storm and high tide it was a little tight for space, so we headed to the arcade.  

Skee Ball

And Mrs. Pac Man

My hubby kicked my butt at Mrs. Pac Man.  It was definitely a lot of fun though!!

We poked around a bit more and then decided to cool off with a beverage.  Kirt had a beer while I opted for an interesting cocktail.... this involved pineapple infused vodka with kind of a wine spritzer.... sounds odd but it was very refreshing and yummy.  


We enjoyed our 2nd floor view of the craziness below us. 

My first waitressing job was actually at the place across the street when I was in high school.  While I like the beach in southern Maine, I've become a bit of a snob after going to the outer part of Cape Cod so much.  I prefer not to have so much traffic, shopping, etc. right next to the beach.  I want to go to the beach and enjoy the sound of the ocean, not the traffic.  But I'll take what I can get nearby.  :)

So after poking around a few shops we headed home and I was ready for a snack.
-TLC stoneground 7 grain crackers & garlic herb laughing cow cheese.  Oh and some rose too.   


Heading over to the in-laws soon for dinner.  Need to take Mr. Reggie for a walk too.... he's been waiting patiently....


Today made me realize though that we do not get to the beach as much as we should.  Must start going more often when we can.  How often do you go to the beach? Or to a lake or pond during the summer?

Britt