August 2010

Sunday was my first 7 mile run followed by a day of rest yesterday. Today, back at it with a 5 mile run. I woke up at 5:15 again to try and run however this time, the dark didn’t stop me—it was the monster of a storm that had just passed. Everything was still dripping and so I just rolled over and went back to sleep. I guess I’ll get my 5 miles in tonight!

2010 PriorFatGirl E-Cookbook?

You helped me put together an e-cookbook last year – so many great recipes that were easy to make! Just like the ladies at church do, but we did it virtually and concentrated on healthy recipes. An entire year has passed and I personally have come up with some new recipes on my own (buffalo chicken anyone?) I can only assume you have come up with some go-to recipes as well.

Would you be interested in doing another one? Do you desire to help make this one bigger &  better? Last years cookbook had 50 recipes but I think if we do another one, we should aim to have 100 in this one. To get there, I’ll need help…no way I can do it on my own.

– Thoughts?
– Idea’s?
– Are you game?

Sun-dried Tomatos

Thank you for all your input on Sunday about tomatos. I did not realize tomatos and fridges don’t go together – the tomatos are now comfy on my counter! I’m contemplating two ideas:

• Sun-dried tomatos: Based on the recipes I’ve read, it takes 4-6 hours to make these — and since I love sun-dried tomatos, why not?! Anyone have any links to their FAVORITE recipes?
• Caramelized Tomato Cobbler: The name made me hesitant but after reading Mama in Wonderland’s recipe & recent blog post, I’m definitely intrigued.

P.S., is it “tomatos” or “tomatoes”? I always thought it was “tomatos” however my spell check is telling me it is “tomatoes.” Has my entire life been a lie?

Operation sshhh

A little over a month ago, I mentioned I was laughing Operation: ssshhhh. I was feeling like this whole healthiness lifestyle thing had taken over my life…in an obsessed way. We all know I’ve reached out and have been vocal about seeing a therapist and a dietitian to help work through the emotional side of eating healthy, but I got to a point where I felt like all I ever did was talk about calories, being healthy, working out, where I get my motivation from, healthy eating, healthy foods, aaahhhh — the list goes on!

This blog truly has become my passion but, as I mentioned in the Operation: ssshhhh post, I felt like I never talked about anything else. Here is what I came up with:

Here’s how Operation: ssshhhh will work: From this point forward, I will make my relationship with Carlos my safe zone. I will not talk about my weight, my need to work out, how hungry or full I am, calories, nutrition or anything else healthy related. I need to (want to) remove food/calories, etc from being the focal point of our relationship. I want our relationship to be a safe zone where I can feel like I don’t have to hide how hungry or full I am.

Update: eh, so-so. Why is this so hard? Some days are better than others. Over the past month, Carlos has become pretty consistent with going to the gym which means now it is a conversation he brings up every once in awhile. This presents a challenge. I think it is okay when he brings it up but it leaves me wanting to talk about my own journey, which I have. When he brings up his own journey, I want & should be there for him but I should not and cannot turn the conversation around and allow it to be an excuse to talk about it.  I need to really focus on this and break the need for me to concentrate so much on talking about this.

So…here is me, rededicating my Operation: ssshhhh.

Sometimes (or most of the time?) good ideas are a challenge — this whole Operation: ssshhh definetly is a challenge. Do you ever create a safe zone for yourself? A safe zone from what?

Tuesday Tuesday… I better get going and see what is in store for me today! The sooner we get through Tuesday, the sooner Wednesday will be here!

{ 21 comments }

Whew – what a weekend! Friday night, we went to hang out with my moms family for a pre-reunion get together. It was at a huge park where the kids could run around and act like…kids! Carlos and I left early because he had a poker game. For a late dinner, I had Subway and made googly eyes at Iggy– ah, he is so adorable!

Saturday

Saturday…my goal was to wake up at 5:30am and go for my first ever 7 mile run. When my alarm went off at 5:30am I looked outside and it was pitch black! I didn’t even think about the fact that the days are getting shorter and the sun isn’t coming up as early as it has been. I wasn’t too excited about going running by myself in the pitch black so I laid down for 30 minutes. At 6am I got up and looked outside — still dark. I contemplated going running but fear got the best of me so I decided not to run. By the time the sun started to come out, I wouldn’t have had enough time to get my run in so I showered and just got ready for the day. Carlos and I volunteered at Feed My Starving Children from 9am-11am. Such a great organization!

After volunteering we ran home to grab Iggy and our potluck food items and headed out again. We got to the park and was surrounded by all my moms family. Cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters, everything. HOW FUN! We all ate and then, my cuz Kirsten got us all ready for some games!

Among the games was one game where you had to, without your hands, cover your nose in Vaseline and stick a cotton ball to it. Then, you run to the other side and again, without hands, put the cotton ball on the plate.

Another game was a relay. On the third station of the relay, we had to fill a 20 oz cup full of water using a 3 oz cup – you had to go back and forth between two tables as fast as you could.

The faster you went, the more water seemed to spill out of the 3 oz cup. At one point, it was so slippery, Carlos slid into the table and spilled the everyone’s water. HILARIOUS!

I ended up eating my way through the day and am pretty sure I ate a dozen cookies all by myself. We didn’t leave the park until 7:30pm — we were both tired but Carlos and I ended up going over to my cuz, Kirsten’s house for an hour. We didn’t get home until 9:15pm which meant there was no way I got my 7 mile run in.

Sunday = Run Day

Since I ended up not getting my run in on Saturday, I was determined to wake up and run on Sunday (which meant no bootcamp for me, sorry Mary!) I woke up and had some pre-run fuel:

I ate and then waited about 20 minutes to make sure I had a chance to at least start digesting the PB. I had some water, went to the bathroom one more time, and then headed out for my run!

Many people I’ve talked with have advised me that after 50 minutes of consistent running, I should have some calories. Calories (including CARBS for immediate energy.) For my run, I brought some Power Bar Energy Gel Blasts that I found at the grocery store a couple days ago.

These were so yummy! They tasted exactly like fruit chews but were a little sweeter – and I’m all about sweet! Although I walked for a total of about 2 minutes, I was so excited to finish the entire thing! It was all about mind over matter. There were a couple times when I wanted to walk more but I just kept pushing myself. For me, it isn’t about time — just that I finish.

AND I FINISHED!

I ate the rest of the fruit gels when I got home and sat on the couch staring off into space…in awe for about 5 minutes. Carlos finally told me to get in the shower while he made breakfast. Bacon & eggs. YUM!

EEEKKKK – I cannot believe I ran for that long! Amazing, simply amazing!

The rest of my Sunday was pretty laid back – laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning and 2 episodes of Hells Kitchen on Hulu. As busy as a weekend can get for us around here, I am all about the no plans on Sunday to catch up and have at least one day of just whatever happens!

I thought I would be hungrier than I was but maybe it was all the cookies I had on Saturday? Or, maybe I’ll be super hungry Monday? We’ll see!

How was your weekend?

{ 20 comments }

When we bought our house, a small garden came with. In the past four months, I have learned that I am not a gardener and have no green thumb at all.

Despite my inability to grow anything besides weeds, three things emerged. Broccoli, strawberries (just the green…didn’t get much fruit) and tomatos.

I feel like I’m in heaven. I have a bowl full of beautiful little tomatos (grape or cherry) in my fridge and expect another bowl within the week. I’ve already been eating them for two weeks – you know, just poppin’ them in my mouth to taste the amazing flavor bursting from ‘em!

But….I’ve decided I want to do something with them. I like eating them plain but need idea’s. What can I make with them?

Ideas? Keep it simple, I’m not a professional here.

{ 32 comments }