Check-in week 3.1

Hi friends!

How is Daylight Savings treating you? We woke up at 10, with all intentions of getting in a good workout, after a quick run to the store for bread, I made toast while S made poached eggs, and all of a sudden it was 5 pm and all we’d accomplished was watching a marathon of American Pickers. Followed by about an hour nap on the couch then another trip to the grocery store. Oh well, it was a much needed lazy Sunday.

So here’s my check in recap of March 4-10:

Work out 5 times, yes. They weren’t all traditional workouts, but 5 times this week I broke a sweat and did more than sit on the couch.
M – BodyCombat
W – TurboKick
Th – Eliptical
Sa – BodyJam, Yoga
Su – Yoga
Yoga/stretching 2x – yes. Barely got it in Sunday, but it counts.
add in weights – DNF – not going to count this one. I did some shoulder exercises at home with my free weights, but this was more to count an at the gym workout with multiple shoulder exercises.
Read “motivational” book – still trying to decide which one.
Read “fun” book – I have it picked out, but haven’t started yet.

Overall not too shabby for the first week.

Questions:
How are your March goals going?
Are you celebrating St. Patty’s Day?

It’s the Jam!

Hi guys.

I know it’s been a while since I’ve been here. I don’t even want to know how long. Let’s just move forward, yes? There was no reason for my absense.

So… today. I took a BodyJam class at the gym. It was so. much. fun! The instructor takes the class through a series of moves, then puts them all together so you’ve learned a whole dance routine. I was a sweaty mess at the end. And was able to use some of my knowledge from zumba and other dance classes (as I am uncoordinated and NOT a dancer!)

If you have a chance to check out a class, I would recommend it.

So, let’s talk about March. Yes, I know we’re a third of the way in, but it keeps me accountable to share my goals here, so here goes!

March goals:
work out 5 x week
yoga/stretching 2 x week
add in weights/strenghtening my shoulders
read 1 “motivational/self help book”
read 1 fun book
take a new class

The plan is to track each goal each week, so how did I do in the first week of March? (My weeks are Mon – Sun) I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap.

Questions for you:
What is your favorite workout or class right now?
What book are you reading?

2013 Welcome to the PUSH

Welcome to 2013. I hope 2012 treated you well, it was a good year for me, but 2013 is my year. There are so many things I want to do, and I’m going to PUSH myself to do them. So that’s my resolution for 2013… pushing myself to reach my goals.

And this year I’m going to break them down into monthly segments so I stay accountable to myself and don’t realize it’s November and I haven’t done anything.

This year I want to push myself outside of my comfort zone and become the person I want to show the world. Yes, this means I want to be a smaller size, because I want all my hard work in the gym to show. (There’s some inkilings of wanting to help other people become the best they can be… whether that’s eating better, working out or something else). I want to accomplish a fitness goal. I haven’t set the goal in stone, but it’ll push me outside my comfort zone.

Those are my 2 main goals for 2013, and I’ll be here to keep accountable for how it’s  going.

So for January I will push myself to:

1. have 5 fruit and veggie servings/day

2. drink more water, and less non-water drinks,

3. work out 5-6 x week

4. read a”non-fiction” books, maybe a “self-help” but I hate that classification

5. work on some fun projects

Are you excited fo 2013? What is your goal, and how are you planning on getting there?

November Foodie Penpal

Today is November Foodie Penpal Reveal Day! I received a package from Alissa at Life Like Fruit Salad!

Chocolate granola, so lovely, especially with some strawberry yogurt. Green tea is a lovely way to relax at the end of the day. Holiday cookies which were a great treat. Christmas shaped pasta, I can’t wait to boil a batch, and maybe have some olive oil, peppers and a runny egg over it. Pumpkin Spice pancakes, seems like a perfect Christmas morning breakfast to me, and some chopped dates. I tried to buy these when I was making the Halloween Trail Mix, but ended up getting whole dates, so I can’t wait to try it again! It’s good enough, now to find some candy corn.

Thanks to Alissa for a great FPP package. Would you like to participate? Check out The Lean Green Bean. December is going to be Foodie Penpals for Charity, where the money all FPP participants would spend on sending a gift to one another will be sent to a charity to help Hurricane Sandy victims. If you haven’t participated before, this is a great time to join. Click here for FPP for Charity.

You can check out my FPP Meg at Life is Better than Fiction.

In Pictures

I’ve been away lately. Life happened. You know how it  goes. It was October, work was getting ready for Halloween (we go all out) then I was studying for 2 tests to complete a certification, and I passed the last one this past weekend. Now I feel like I can breathe for a minute. But the holiday rush is about to hit.

Here are some random pictures of while I’ve been away.

Yoga cat. It’s in the bathroom where I get massages, and it never fails to make me smile.

Seafood Pho. Have you had this Vietnameese soup? So good.

Glitter cup.

Coworkers and I as Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, Dorothy & Tin Man.

Essie nail color in damsel in a dress.

Feeling crafty… Purple cowl I made… it matches the nail color nicely, right? Check out my etsy shop… it finally feels like fall in Texas which is exciting. Now it’s time for scarfs, soup, and holiday cheers!

October Foodie Pen Pals

Yes, I know it’s November 12… I’m late to the party, but wanted to  remind everyone about the great Foodie Pen Pal Program. Lindsay is doing a special in December… please check out FPP for Charity.

My penpal in October was Lindsey in Ohio.

She sent me some delish goodies. Black rice, sesame seaweed snacks, Pockey sticks, a noodle bowl and some Cincinnati recipe chili mix.

Everything was so good, and gone quickly. I’m saving the Chili for this week. It was still close to 90 degrees here in Texas, but this week is perfect chili weather.

I’m very excited to try this… and the package says to have it over spaghetti. Never had that before, but I’ll give the Ohio way a try!

Thank you Lindsey for my package!

And if you’re interested in participating in the Foodie Pen Pal program, please check out Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean.

Basically you get matched up with another blogger/blog reader, you spend $15 and send them yummy/healthy treats. It’s a great way to get to know more people, and when else would I have been introduced to Ohio chile?

[Book] The Sandcastle Girls

My last book to read for September, The Sandcastle Girls: A Novel, I was most looking forward to it, yet it took me the longest to pick it up and start reading. I enjoyed Chris Bohjalian’s The Double Bind, even though it dealt with heavy subject matter, and I figured this book would be about the same.

I am very glad that I made myself “read for just 15 minutes” that late evening when I did, because I kept reading for a few hours and got lost in this tale of Elizabeth and Armen. This isn’t your typical love story, not only because it’s set against the backdrop of the Armenian genocide, but because it’s told in the present as Elizabeth and Armen’s granddaughter learns about them, and also in flashback as Elizabeth and Armen are living their lives.

I will admit that the first ime I’d heard of the Armenian genocide was on an episdoe of Khole and Lamar. I will also admit that if I hadn’t have at least have heard about it before, I wouldn’t have read the book so soon, it probably would still be staring at me from my to do list.

(spoiler alert)

The book tells the story of Laura and how a picture of a woman with her maiden name leads her to learn about her grandparents, the picture and the associated letters and diary entries written by her grandmother as a visitor to Syria for the Friends of Armenians lead her to remember and put into context stories and things she saw in her childhood.

In flashback, Laura’s grandparents Elizabeth and Armen meet, become fast friends, and then Armen leaves to continue his journey to fight against the forces that have robbed him of his wife, child, and his country. It is a beautiful and tragic love story, simple in it’s construction, although I wish there was more of Elizabeth and

Armen’s life in the United States. The love story takes a back seat to the history lesson, even though this is a work of fiction.

(end spoiler)

I think the book is beautifully written, and I understand why the author didn’t go into more history detail. But that fact also left me confused as to where the genocide falls into the history of the world. It appears to have happened around the same time that Hitler was doing his worst. I wish I’d paid more attention in history class, but the book was a good jumping off place to learn more about history. Only 43 of the 50 United States and 21 countries recognize what happened as a genocide, but there really is no other word for the attempt at destroying an entire population.

Autumn Blog Challenge: Favorite Autumn Recipe

I don’t really have a favorite Autum Recipe that I make every year, so here are two recipes that I think epitimize fall. One is perfect for Halloween, the other for Thanksgiving.

Halloween first, as it’s in just a few weeks. Recipe is courtesy of Rachel Wilkerson, she calls it Stoned Trail Mix. I call it amazing.

You take dried chopped dates, candy corn, Hershey’s dark chocolate chips, and peanuts, mix equal parts of all of them all together, and eat like trail mix. It tastes like a snickers bar, but is probably more healthy.

The Thanksgiving recipe is  a new one I just found today, but it looks perfect, and I can’t wait to make it for Thanksgiving this year!

It’s Chipolte Mashed Sweet Potatoes by Jenna @ Eat, Live, Run. I’ve never been disappointed by one of her recipes, and do love me some sweet potatoes, and I so agree that the flavor of a baked sweet potato can’t be beat.

Next to the chocolate pecan pie I had a piece of a few years ago at Thanksgiving, I think this might become a favorite. But I guess you should check out the chocolate pecan pie from Cracker Barrel if you ge the chance too! (Or make your own!)

Autumn Blog Challenge: First time in a haunted house

My first haunted house experience was when I was 13 or 14. My aunt Christi and uncle Chris took me to the haunted house. I was so scared. I don’t do scary… we walked in, and I had my aunt in front of me, and uncle behind me, and I’m sure I was holding onto my aunt for dear life. There were black lights and strobes so it was a bit difficult to see clearly. We went around a corner, and all of a sudden a guy with glasses comes out of no where. He scared me, and I thought he’d go away, to go scare people behind us, but no such luck. He grabbed onto my shoulder and followed us. I was terrified at this point. Not only am I in a haunted house, it’s my first one, and there’s this random guy walking along beside me. He probably would have been scarier if not for his glasses on the outside of his mask, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I might have kicked his foot. It might have gotten him to let go of me. I’m not proud, but I was scared, and found out later they’re not supposed to touch you. I have never been back to a haunted house. It’s not my thing. I like to say I’m good enough at scaring myself, that I don’t need any help. It’s probably true, but I’m sure my first experience didn’t help matters.

Autumn Blog Challenge: What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen?

I am not a scary movie fan. But I have seen all 3 current Paranormal Activity movies. The first one I watched on a lazy Sunday morning with my boyfriend, and wasn’t scared at all. It was more creepy than anything with the way that she is possessed and isn’t acting like herself. I remember only one part where I jumped, the rest of it was too subtle to really be scary, which made me think I was a big girl and could handle scary movies.

Then I watched the 2^nd movie in the dark at night with my best friend. Much different reaction. It was a bit scarier. The possession was less subtle, more demonic and there just seemed to be MORE. Plus I then had to drive an hour home in the dark, and I kept checking my rear view mirror. I’m fairly good at scaring myself, I don’t really need a movie to help.

The very next day another friend and I went to see the third movie in the theatre. It was the most bizzare of the 3, really telling the origin of the possession. That house with the spirits and whatnot (I’m still not sure I “get” the entire movie) was more than enough for me. Just leave these poor girls alone! Needless to say it scared me. I was very thankful that it was a nice sunny day as we walked out of the theatre, and I got over it pretty quickly.

This is the main reason that I don’t watch scary movies/tv shows. I’m much better at scaring myself. I get sucked into the music, and anticipate when something is going to happen that I either have made it bigger than it is in my head, or I’m already covering my eyes.

And sidebar: I’ve always wanted to see The Shining. But I know that I won’t be able to sleep afterwards. That’s what really scares me about scary stuff, is the fear of having nightmares. I will watch some scary (to me) stuff with the boyfriend, then make him promise that if I have a nightmare I can wake him up. Which reminds me of Joey putting the book The Shining in the freezer when he gets to the scary parts. “I mean I never start reading The Shining, without making sure we’ve got plenty of room in the freezer, y’know…”  Maybe if I could put the scariness in the freezer like Joey I’d enjoy them more.