063. Christmas Tree Disposal.

So, how do you get rid of a dried out, dying Christmas tree when you live in a second floor condo without making a mess through the entire building?

Why you throw it off the balcony of course!

Some how I managed to not take a picture of the tree in the yard. Here's where it landed though.

Tomorrow is trash day so we needed to get the tree out tonight.

Tonight my dad and brother came by to install my new dishwasher. They were in my kitchen when dinner was done so I didn't snap a picture (too much going on), but I made a really yummy quiche. Chris love quiche, and I think it's a great way to use whatever produce I have hanging out in the fridge. Tonight's quiche included broccoli, a chopped onion, a couple cloves of chopped garlic, spinach, and Dubliner cheese I picked up at Trader Joe's. The quiche tasted awesome!

My dishwasher is currently doing it's first load. We'll see how the dishes come out in the morning (and if this dishwasher can handle my oatmeal bowls!), but for now, here it is in all it's dishwashing glory.

I didn't make it to yoga tonight due to dishwasher installation, but I did stop slacking and Whittle My Middle. Unfortunately, while I was doing my core work, I discovered there's something wrong with my wrist. When I did my first plank, I collapse almost immediately from a sharp pain in my right wrist. I'm going to ice it tonight, and see how it feels over the next couple days, but if it doesn't start getting better a trip to the doctor may be in my near future. In the mean time, I'll be doing some modified planks.

062. Blogger Fail

I was a bad blogger this weekend. Yesterday was my planned work/ blogging day, but I had a serious case of the blahs so rather than be productive I called up my mom to go shopping/ run errands. I’m feeling much better today though. We’ll do a quick recap of my weekend. Unfortunately since I was in bad blogger mode, I don’t have photos for you.

Friday Evening
After work we headed out for a happy hour for my co-worker/ friend Lauren’s birthday. My plan was to have a beer or two and call it an early night. Things did not go quite as planned. Several Effen and cranberries and a few shots later, we were both pretty tipsy and getting on the El to go home around 10:00! Ooops!

Saturday
I woke up early Saturday morning because I had agreed to help my friend Jennie and John move into their new house. I also needed to get to the post office to pick up my copy of The Spark and (finally!) mail the care package to my friend Dan. The majority of my day was spent helping load and unload the truck and unpack things.

My tip for moving/ unpacking: Unpack the kitchen first. Having piles and piles of boxes staring you in the face begging to be unpacked is overwhelming, and it’s usually hard to decide where to even start. I’ve found the kitchen is always the best place to start.

Unpacking a kitchen is fairly straight forward. Most items are going to go in to cabinets or on the counter top. The only decision you really have to make is which specific cabinet. I’ve almost always used the same organization pattern in my kitchen, and it’s based on what I grew up with. This makes the “where to put it” decision easier. Plus, you’ll end up refining your kitchen organization as you use it.

Getting an entire room unpacked reduces the amount of boxes looking back at you and gives you a sense of accomplishment. I find this usually provides me with enough motivation to tackle something else. (Generally I go for the bedroom next and unpack clothes and my every day items.)

Having a functional kitchen is important if you want to be able to cook for yourself and eat. Since cooking and eating are some of my favorite things to do, the kitchen is definitely a priority for me.

Sunday
As I mentioned Sunday was shopping and running errands with my mom. The highlight of my day was purchasing a new dishwasher for my condo. I went with the Whirlpool DU1300 in white. The reviews I’ve read are all pretty positive saying it’s a good machine particularly for the price. It was delivered about an hour ago so I’m very excited to go home and wash my first load of dirty dishes!

(On a side note: Isn’t it kind of lame the things we get really excited about as we get older?)

I ate dinner at my parent’s house, and after I picked Chris up from work we watched Angels & Demons.

Angels & Demons quick review
Angels & Demons was pretty much what I expected. I went it expecting it to be similar to The Da Vinci Code in terms of direction and production. I was dead on. Overall, I felt the movie was slow moving, but was a good adaptation to the screen.

I did prefer The Da Vinci Code to Angels & Demons; however, I think it’s because I saw movie before I read the book. With Angels & Demons, I already knew all the “interesting stuff” about it so in some ways it was just a slow-moving movie.

In addition to being a bad blogger this weekend, I also failed at getting any work-outs in. I've taken about 6 rest days from Whittle My Middle this past week, but I'm ready to get my act together this week!

I'm also pushing back my 7 Day Vegetarian Challenge a week, but that post will come a little later.

059. Practice for my 7 Day Vegetarian Challenge: Tofu Fried Rice

Lunch with my friend Colleen today was awesome. I didn't get a picture because I forgot my phone at the office and my camera is still with my dad. As I mentioned earlier, we met at Roti; it was so much better than I remember! We were at a different location and my order was slightly different, but damn was it good. I had the Chicken Roti Sandwich which was Roti chicken on flatbread. I added a little bit of hummus, lettuce, feta cheese, and some of their garlic sauce. It was stellar!

Moving right along to dinner, with my 7 Day Vegetarian Challenge on the horizon, I decided to go for a test run tonight. For dinner, I made Vegetarian Tofu Fried Rice.

It's a little blurry, I must've moved my phone. Oops!

(Notice the cute, fancy plate and different background!)

The linked name above will take you to the recipe on SparkRecipes, but here's what was in my nutritious and delicious fried rice:

• broccoli
• snow pea pods
• pea shoots
• red onions
• carrot
• corn
• tofu
• egg

I think this was hands down the best fried rice I have ever made! I ended up going back a second helping (only half a serving though.) I'm actually kind of sad we're going out for lunch tomorrow for a co-workers birthday, and I can't eat the left overs.

Turning the Dreadmill into...well, something a little less dreadful.

To go along with my amazing dinner, I got in a really great workout today. I've been really struggling with my running/ work-outs because I cannot stand running on the treadmill. I make it about 15 minutes before I start losing it. I started thinking about how last winter I had no problems running on the treadmill, and I finally realized the difference. Last winter I had just started the Couch to 5K program. I wasn't running on the treadmill endlessly, going no where. I was running intervals. That's when it hit me. If I want to survive winter on the dreadmill, I need to be mixing it up! I decided to seek out some treadmill workouts to keep me going.

In her post earlier today, Tina mentioned MotionTraxx and how much she was digging the downloads. I decided to check it out. On the site I found three podcasts for interval workouts from Fitness Magazine which, oddly enough, a friend on SparkPeople had mentioned to me earlier today.

I downloaded all three of the Fitness Magazine "Lose 10lbs" podcasts and tonight I did "The Countdown." It was an awesome workout! If you're looking something to make the treadmill (or even elliptical) a little less miserable, check out these podcasts. I'm not usually a big fan of dance/ techno music (It's something I really need to be in the mood for.), but it really got me going. I managed to burn 550 calories in 35 minutes according to my heart rate monitor.

After my kick booty treadmill work out, I hit the 60 minute yoga class with my mom. I really do love yoga. I always feel so relaxed and centered after I finish. I also love that I get to go to class with my mom!

It's getting late so I need to go Whittle My Middle and get in the shower!

I'll be back tomorrow with more eats, a review of the book Skinny Bitch, and some Veggie Challenge related posts.

045. My Whittle My Middle

As I mentioned earlier today, I'm going to be doing a Whittle My Middle Challenge along with Angela. I'm using her format, but I'm altering some of the exercises.

When? Angela is starting her new challenge January 1, but I'm going to start today and finish January 30th.

Who? Anyone can join! Check out Angela's Official Whittle My Middle Challenge Page

What? Here is what I will be doing:
1) PICTURES: Before and after pictures on January 1st and January 30th, respectively.
2) MEASUREMENTS: Before and after measurements of my ‘smallest’ waist (above belly button for me), widest waist (just below my belly button.), and hips (over fullest part of butt)- same dates as above.
3) CORE WORK: 6-10 minute core workout, 5 days a week, doing the following exercises:

• Plank (I'll likely start out with a Modified Plank)

• Side plank (again, I'll probably start with a Modified Side Plank)

• Stability Ball Jackknifes

• Pendulums

• Reverse Crunches

• Supermans

6 - 10 minutes total, 5 days a week for 30 days (well, 37 days). Challenge ends January 30th. My plan is to gradually work up the total minutes spent as well as the number of reps (or length of time holding the planks).

Before Measurements
Smallest part of my waist (just above belly button): 33.5"
Widest part of waist (just below belly button): 35.5"
Hips: 42"

Before Pictures to come

After Measurements
Smallest part of my waist (just above belly button):
Widest part of waist (just below belly button):
Hips:

After Pictures

Day1 (Monday 12/28)
Rest

Day 2 (Tuesday 12/29)

Plank: 35 seconds (arms fully extended)
Side Planks: L, 30 seconds R, 30 seconds
Jackknifes with ball: 15 reps
Pendulums: 20 reps (10 to each side)
Reverse Crunches: 15 reps
Supermans: 35 seconds

Day 3 (Wednesday 12/30)

Plank: 30 seconds (arms fully extended)
Side Planks: L, 30 seconds R, 30 seconds
Jackknifes with ball: 15 reps
Pendulums: 20 reps (10 to each side)
Reverse Crunches: 15 reps
Supermans: 33 seconds

Day 4 (Thursday 12/31)
Rest

Day 5 (Friday 1/1)

Plank: 40 seconds (arms fully extended)
Side Planks: L, 33 seconds R, 35 seconds
Jackknifes with ball: 15 reps
Pendulums: 20 reps (10 to each side)
Reverse Crunches: 15 reps
Supermans: 33 seconds

Day 6 (Saturday 1/2)

I accidentally cleared the stop watch before I recorded the time for my plank, side planks, and superman. They were about the same as they have been the last few days.
Plank: (arms fully extended)
Side Planks: L, R,
Jackknifes with ball: 15 reps
Pendulums: 20 reps (10 to each side)
Reverse Crunches: 15 reps
Supermans:

Day 7 (Sunday 1/3)
Rest Day

Day 8 (Monday 1/4)
Plank: 41 seconds (arms fully extended)
Side Planks: L, 34 seconds R, 35 seconds
Jackknifes with ball: 20 reps
Pendulums: 30 reps (15 to each side)
Reverse Crunches: 20 reps
Supermans: 39 seconds

Day 9 (Tuesday 1/5)
Rest Day

Day 10 (Wednesday 1/6)
Plank: 32 seconds (arms fully extended)
Side Planks: L, 24 seconds R, 33 seconds
Jackknifes with ball: 15 reps
Pendulums: 20 reps (10 to each side)
Reverse Crunches: 15 reps
Supermans: 34 seconds
(I think my abs were tired from yoga tonight. The instructor loves to make us hold plank forever.)

Day 11 (Thursday 1/7) - Day 14 (Sunday 1/10)
I went into serious slacker mode and didn't do any of my core work. Ooops!

Day 15 (Monday 1/11)
Plank: 30 seconds (modified plank, due to wrist pain)
Side Planks: L, 34 seconds R, 32 seconds
Jackknifes with ball: 10 reps
Pendulums: 20 reps (10 to each side)
Reverse Crunches: 10 reps
Supermans: 31 seconds

Day 16 (Tuesday 1/12)
I suck and managed to delete my times again.
Plank: (modified)
Side Planks: L, R,
Jackknifes with ball: 15 reps
Pendulums: 20 reps (10 to each side)
Reverse Crunches: 15 reps
Supermans:

Day 17 (Wednesday 1/13)
Yoga was a ton of ab work so I skipped WMM. I'll call this my second Rest Day though.

043. Back to Work

The first day back to work after a long weekend is always a mess for me. I am really awful when it comes to getting my stuff together the night before (e.g. making my lunch, knowing where everything I need to take to work is located), and it’s even worse when I’ve had a long weekend. Of course this left me running for the bus this morning.

I made the bus though, and overall, I’ve been having a pretty excellent day.

Breakfast this morning was a bowl of Kashi GoLean Crunch Honey Almond Flax Cereal. I think this is hands down my favorite cereal – not counting Cinnamon Toast Crunch of course which I could inhale by the boxful given the change. The cereal reminds me of HoneySmaks which I loved as a kid,

(Notice my little snowman salt and pepper shakers. They were part of my Christmas present from my brother's and Nicki. I love them!)

Lunch was a very boring, and highly unphotogenic, bowl of Campbell’s Chunky Healthy Request New England Clam Chowder. It was unimpressive and not all that satisfying, but that’s what happens when I fail to be mindful of packing a lunch. Tomorrow’s lunch will be better!

I noshed on a pretty tasty Clementine at my desk this afternoon.

Also, two of the small pieces of this Baklava may have found their way into my mouth. How do you say no to puff pastry with honey and pistachios?

I’m currently debating what to make for dinner tonight. The options are spaghetti squash, with sautéed zucchini and tomato basil marinara sauce or a quiche with spinach, broccoli, onion, cheese, red pepper and anything else in the fridge that looks good.

I’m hitting yoga at the gym with my mom tonight. I also want to get in some strength training at home. Angela is starting another Whittle My Middle challenge. I am going to participate and stick with it this time!

Also, I don’t remember if I mentioned this or not, but the Musselman’s gift basket I won over at The Daily Balance arrived on the 23rd. Since I now have an abundance of applesauce, I’m looking for creative things to do with it. Watch for my upcoming post Awesome Ideas for Applesauce.

016. Back in the Grove

I’ve had a pretty terrible week so far. Yesterday I had a minor melt-down in my one boss’ office. I didn’t intend to become a crying disaster when I walked in there, but things went south fast.

Before I go on, there’s probably one thing you need to know about me. You know how some people laugh at inappropriate times – when they’re nervous or stressed or in an awkward situation? Well, I cry at inappropriate times. This is amplified when I’m tired or stressed out. Anyway, on to the story…

I’ve been really swamped at work lately. It was getting to the point where my desk was so cluttered it was nearly invisible. Yesterday I couldn’t handle it anymore. I felt like things were starting to encroach on me. It was making me really claustrophobic and stressed out. I went into my boss’ office to tell him if there was anything that he needed me to take care of right away to hand it directly to me because I was going to spend the day trying to get my desk in order. He asked me what was up, and I just lost it. Next thing I knew I was sitting in his office crying and letting it all out. He let me hang out and just chatted with me until I got myself collected enough to return to my desk without looking a hot mess. Just getting things out made me feel loads better, but I also spent the day reigning in the chaos of my desk. I pitched 4 months worth of old files we no longer needed. I never fully realized how incredibly cathartic I find throwing things away to be. (I think this is part of the reason I’ve had to buy all new clothes as I’ve lost weight. I never saved the too small stuff because I love getting rid of things!) By the end of the day I was much more relaxed!

Of course there were other co-worker related factors that were stressing me out, but because of the disaster that was my desk, I have having a very difficult time just letting those things go. It’s amazing how much stress our environment alone can cause us!

As a result of all the stress I’ve been feeling lately, I’ve also been slacking on the exercise front. I haven’t run at all since my race on Saturday. I have been keeping up with some strength training, and I did start, albeit a week late, the Whittle My Middle challenge. For the most part I’ve been seriously slacking though. Of course, I’m sure skipping my work-outs probably only added to my stress. It really is a vicious cycle isn’t it!? I skip my work-outs because I’m stressed, and I’m stressed because I skip my work-outs.

However, after yesterday, I’m feeling much less stressed, and I think I’m back in exercise mode. This morning I got up at 5:30 to do my Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred. I am not a morning exercise person at all, but I got up this morning and did it. I have plans to go out tonight, but I think I’m going to try and squeeze in a shorty 2 mile run.

Last night I made a really great dinner. I’m pretty proud of myself because I came up with it all on my own. I had two goals with this recipes: 1) Make it vegetarian because I’ve been trying to integrate more vegetarian meals into my repertoire; and 2) Use tofu. This is also the first time I’ve used/ made tofu. It could probably use a little tweaking, but I’m still new at the making-it-up-as-I-go-along game.

Tofu, Spinach, and Cheese Quinoa Stuffed Squash

Ingredients:
1 medium acorn squash
½ c. quinoa
1 – 2 servings of extra firm tofu
2 c. baby spinach leaves
Swiss cheese – enough for ½ c. grated
1T. olive oil
Seasalt, to taste

Directions

Part I. To get started…
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Cut squash roughly in half. – I did more of a ¾ - ¼ split so I had one side deeper than the other. – and remove seeds and guts.
Place facedown on a baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes.

Part II. While squash is baking…
Prepare quinoa as directed.

Part III. While squash is baking and quinoa is cooking…
Cube tofu and grate cheese.
Combine tofu, cheese, and spinach leaves in a bowl (I chose to tear up my spinach leaves.) and toss with olive oil and seasalt.
Add quinoa to this mix once it is finished cooking.

Part IV. Once squash is done baking…
Remove squash from oven and stuff with the quinoa mixture.
Return squash to the oven for an additional 25 minutes, until squash is tender.

I only filled one side (the larger) of the squash with the quinoa mixture. I chopped up and apple, mixed it with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and stuff the smaller side of the squash with that mixture for dessert. The recipe does make enough filling to cut the squash evenly in half and fill both sides.

Review: Chris (my not super picky, but definitely a junk-foody boyfriend) really liked it except for the tofu part. He didn't dig the tofu.. There are a couple things I would tweak for next time. First, I would probably bake the tofu a little while before mixing it in with the other ingredients. Second, I might use a stronger cheese. The Swiss tasted fine and it worked (since it was all I had in the house), but I think it could use a stronger flavor.

Last, but certainly not least, My Whittle My Middle work-out from last night.

• 60 second plank


• 15 jackknifes with swiss ball


• 5 kneeling rollouts with ball (I have a REALLY hard time with these!)


• 30 second side plank on left; 30 second side plank on right


• 30 second plank with swiss ball
  

015. Mid-Month Funk

I'm defintely beginning to notice a pattern. I always end up in a sort of funk near the middle of the month. I need to figure out how to avoid this. Any suggestions?

This morning was one of those mornings were I laid in bed seriously considering calling in sick. I just did not want to get out of bed and go to work. Ultimately, I got my butt out of bed after about 10 minutes because calling in today would have made tomorrow that much worse. As much as I generally do like my job, that is a major down side. If I'm out of the office unexpectedly stuff seriously piles up.

As a treat for getting myself out of bed, I decided to make some stuffed French Toast for breakfast. Last week I made Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting, and I've had the leftover frosting in my fridge ever since.

I spread 2 T. of the frosting on one slice Pepperidge Farm Double Fiber Whole Wheat bread, topped it with the other slice sandwich style and dipped it in my egg mix. The egg mix was 2 eggs, a splash of skim milk, some vanilla extract, a few shakes of cinnamon and a couple shakes of nutmeg. This was the first time I'd put nutmeg in my French Toast egg mix, and it was brilliant. I'd really forgotten how much I enjoy nutmeg.

Tonight Chris and I are going to do some shopping; he needs new shoes and I'm pretty much always in need of new clothes since I keep shrinking. Afterward, we're heading to Chris' mom's house for dinner since his Grandma is back from Florida. Hopefully whatever she makes isn't too much of a caloric nightmare.

I was a a bad girl yesterday and skipped my planned 6.5 mile run. I ran a bunch of errands and then when I got home my toilet would not stop running so I had my dad come over to look at it. That unexpectedly consumed a good chunk of my evening.

I did do my first day of the Whittle My Middle challenge though. I'm a week late in starting, but better late than never. I also kind of threw it together last night while watching TV. I'll post mesurements today when I get home, and I'm going to start tracking it here daily.

Lsat night I did...

• 60 second plank
• 30 second plank
• 15 Stability Ball Crunches
• 15 Stability Ball Jackknifes

I also did a couple Sun Salutations before I went to bed. Tomorrow's plan is to get up early for another day of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I also have yoga class in the evening and the I'll be doing some speedwork on the treadmill afterwards.

Also, you can expect a pretty big post soon which more or less explains why I haven't been posting as much lately.