Tough = Good for Me (2.04.2009)

Whew! I hadn't mentioned it before, but I have been stressing about a presentation I had to give at work for the past few days. Its over and I think I did OK. I despise giving presentations in front of people, but since I am forced to do it sometimes in my job - it is slowly getting a little easier each time.

Tuesday

I was supposed to go run last night and guess what? It didn't happen. I need to get back on track immediately.

I did do the 2nd week workout of "I Want Six Pack Abs" at home. Last week, I managed to do first week's exercises twice.

My workout included:

• A1: Dive Bomber Pushup - 3 sets of 15
• A2: Jump Squat - 3 sets of 15
• B1: Chin up or pull up - don't have a pull-up bar, so I just danced around in place with Oscar during the time I was supposed to do that. "Get it from her mama" by Juvenile came on. ;)
• B2: Alternating Split Squat Jump - 3 sets of 30
• C1: Double Crunch - 3 sets of 30
• C2: Single Leg Plank Pose - I just did a regular plank, 3 sets, 45 secs.

This workout was really hard. I turned the heat in the house off and had to go outside to get fresh air.

In my book tough = good for me, so I am happy that my gluteus maximus and the upper back part of my thighs are killing me today. I guess this same saying could be applied to my presentation fear I mentioned earlier? hmm.

Dinner appetizer was steamed edamame w/ sea salt.

The main course was Stir-Fry Vegetables with Baked Tofu and Peanuts. I sauteed the frozen stir-fry veggies from Trader Joes in a little toasted sesame oil while my tofu was baking. Then I just mixed it all together with some Soyaki from Trader Joes, which I recently picked up and is great! Also threw some dry-roasted peanuts into the mix.

YUM. Dessert was a Skinny Cow Caramel Ice Cream Cone.

Tuesday is my favorite TV night: Biggest Loser and Real Housewives of the OC! Although I do think Biggest Loser gets drawn out too much, so I switch around a lot during that. Not into their commercials for Cheerios during the show.

Wednesday

I was running late, so breakfast was a quick bowl of Peanut Butter Puffins in skim milk. I also picked up a Green Tea Latte at my corner coffee place. I tried a new flavor today - Acai Green Tea.

They use the Republic of Tea brand and the new flavor was awesome with steamed skim milk and a little honey. (picture take from the Republic of Tea website)

Tonight, I am planning to head straight to the gym for my Key Weekly Run Workout #1 and then Kevin and I have plans to go out to dinner with friends for Restaurant Week. They extended it until Feb 8, so we had to take advantage of it while it lasts.

We are headed to Mezze in Fell's Point. They serve Mediterranean Tapas, so, we will just be getting little plates of a bunch of stuff. Here is their restaurant week menu:

Dinner (All of the following are included)

• Hummus: Pureed chick peas and tahini sauce seasoned with garlic and cumin
• Tzatziki: Farm stead yogurt mixed with roasted garlic, cucumber, dill and imported olive oil
• Village Salad: Tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet onions, cubanelle peppers, capers and imported feta cheese tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette
• Grape Leaves: Stuffed with aromatic rice, pine nuts, parsley and onions, topped with tzatziki sauce
• Falafel: Traditional ground chickpea and fava bean cake with tahini sauce, chopped tomato and parsley
• Spinach Pie: Spinach with imported feta cheese and fresh herbs, wrapped in phyllo
• Stuffed Peppers: Stuffed with aromatic rice, mushrooms, onions and a variety of Mediterranean cheeses
• Chicken Kabob: Mediterranean style grilled marinated chicken and vegetables
• Baby Lamb Chops: Served with garlic potato puree
• Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes: Broiled hand picked crab meat cakes

Third Course (choice of one)

• Baklava
• Kataifi
• Baked Custard

Makes my choices easier, but I definitely need to make it to the gym before this meal tonight!! I will do a full recap tomorrow. Have a good one!

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Exciting Mail! (11.08.2008)

It was SO cool to come home this afternoon and find some very exciting mail waiting for me. First, Larabar sent me their new bars for kids - JamFrakas - one of each flavor. This was all because of Megan over at Megan's Munchies! After she featured them on her blog, the kind folks at larabar decided to send all who commented about them on Megan's post their own to try! I cant wait to sample these!And then, Foodbuzz sent me MiniCards with my Name and blog address on them! Each little card has a bright picture of some type of food on the back. I feel official!My pre-race day breakfast was whole wheat eggos with Greek yogurt, sliced bananas, cinnamon, and maple syrup. I savored every last bite of this filling breakfast.Also grabbed a Sumatra blend coffee from High Grounds. Mixed in lots of skim milk and 1 packet of sugar in the raw. I found my new coffee - the Sumatra blend is the best tasting so far.After watching my nephew's football game, I grabbed a Buon Giorno plain cheese pizza and brought it home for Kevin and I. (No picture, but the two slices I had tasted great!) Maybe I shouldn't have done the pizza thing before my race tomorrow, but we shall see if it hurts or helps me!

Later this afternoon, Kevin and I split a chocolate chip Zbar while out running errands. I think the peanut butter flavor is my favorite, but this one was pretty good.Just got back from a walk in the park with Oscar - it is a beautiful day outside today. It's looking like tomorrow is going to be just as nice, only cooler, which should be great running weather!

Tonight's dinner is going to be whole wheat cheese ravioli with turkey meatballs and marinara. Got some salad and bread to go with. Simple pre-race dinner! Keeping it basic for my stomach's sake - it has enough going on with the pre-race jitters!

Hope everyone is enjoying their saturday!

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It's Thursday! (11.06.2008)

All I am going to say about last night is WINE and CHINESE TAKEOUT.

Moving on!

This morning the snooze button was somehow pushed about 3 times more than usual which led to a very late start. whoopsie daisy.

Breakfast was a bowl of grape nuts, raisins, almonds, and skim milk. I like alot of milk with my cereal, as you can see.

I also stopped and got a regular "Costa Rica" blend coffee from High Grounds, my corner coffee shop. Brett, the owner, roasts his own coffee and it has such a smooth taste. I have just started drinking the regular because it isn't bitter like I thought regular coffee was! Lots of skim milk and one packet of sugar in the raw - it tastes perfect. Oh and it is also $2 cheaper than the lattes! sold.

Had a flat out wrap with almond butter and pumpkin butter for my morning snack today. I am loving these Flat Outs - I was convinced I didn't like whole wheat tortillas because I hated how they would always break. Then I realized I had been eating the wrong kind! Flat outs are so chewy and stretchy - it is great.

Lunch was Vegetable Korma with a spoonful of Fage on top. This was such a tasty and filling lunch. I love that this one comes with rice - long grain brown rice to be exact. I also like that I recognize everything in the ingredient list - all real stuff. Thought you may be interested in the Nutrition Facts on this:

Calories: 300, Fat: 6g, Sodium: 680mg, Carbohydrates: 52g, Protein: 8g

Not too shabby - the sodium is a bit much, but as long as I watch it for the rest of the day...hopefully Teri will be ok with that! :)

Afternoon snack will probably be the rest of the greek yogurt with grape nuts and dried cranberries...but I do have a PB Zbar and banana hanging at my desk, so who knows!

Tonight will be one of my last runs (if not the last one) before the Harrisburg Marathon on SUNDAY. My plan is to do a 3-miler. The weather is still looking great for Sunday - low of 36, high of 53! I have been planning out my gear for Sunday because I know I will be cold when I start, but will warm up quickly and not want to be wearing too much.

My plan is to wear running pant/capris, a long-sleeve dry-fit with a short-sleeve under armour over top and then wear running gloves I can throw off when I don't need them anymore. I actually got some in the bag for the Baltimore marathon, so that is perfect. Depending on how I feel in the morning, I am going to bring a running headband, in case. The good thing is that Kevin should be riding along some portions on his bike, so I can give him stuff I don't want. My dad is running the last 20 with me, so that will help get me through! My stomach is starting to get nervous!

Hope everyone is having a good Thursday!

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