Sunday

The opposite of healthy

This weekend, we went to visit some friends in Springfield, IL. All we did was drink, eat and sleep. In that order. We had a pretty fantastic time, but it was not easy on the waistline. I came prepared somewhat - I had a bag of almonds/dried berries in my purse. I also made the guys pick up some oranges for me when they went on a beer run. Oranges are probably my favorite travel fruit because it won't get ruined in my purse (like a banana) and does not need to be kept cold (I prefer my apples chilled).

I didn't take photos of the horseshoe my husband ate, but just know that it's a pile of fries, toast, cheese and meat of your choice. Most people say they are amazing, but I don't like it when my food touches and I really hate soggy fries or bread. So, I opted for a cheesey-potato soup and salad.


Our first stop was the Cozy Drive In for a corn dog or four (I had grilled cheese and asked for it "dry"). Our friend's kid calls it "Cuddly Wieners" because of the logo.


The next morning, we woke up early to get to JP Kelly's for bloody mary's. You probably know that I don't like spicy, so I mooched the olives and cheese from the hubs' bloody mary fixin's. 


We also ate at Buffalo Wild Wings, but I'm sure you know what that looks like. And then we went to another bar for more drinks. Tomorrow = broccoli-for-lunch-detox.

Thursday

Cheesy spinach

The hubs always cooks a great meal, but doesn't always remember to add a green veggie into the mix. Tonight, he made rib-eye steaks with potatoes (regular for him, sweet for me) and a salad. For some reason, I'm just not into salads in the winter, so I opted to cook some fresh spinach instead.

I just threw a large handful of spinach in a pan with a bit of EVOO and cooked it down. When it was almost finished, I added a garlic laughing cow wedge. It was such a good combo!! And you'll be pleased to see that I actually remembered to take a photo of it!!

Wednesday

Taco idea

Last night the hubs made an awesome dinner. He made shrimp tacos (shrimps marinated in hawaiian sauce, then cooked + creamy coleslaw that he made from scratch) that I should have taken a picture of, but failed.

Just thought you might want to have shrimp tacos for dinner soon.

Tuesday

5K and no soda update

I took a minor hiatus from the 5K training. After the first week, my back started hurting from working on re-doing the kitchen floor, so I didn't think it would be a good idea to run when it hurt just to stand up for any period of time. Then, last week I was just lazy. I have no excuse. I did not motivate myself from the couch any night after work. Instead, I read the Girl Who Played with Fire - which I highly recommend if you haven't read it yet.

I did run week 2 of the 5K business yesterday and today. So, I'll consider myself back on this temporary track. As the husband likes to remind me, I tend to start high-quality workout regime, and then quit after two weeks when I get bored.

In case you were curious, I have not had a soda since Jan. 3. I did have one small sip of the hubs' soda about a week ago because I had a gross taste in my mouth. I figure I didn't earn any cancer-causing thingies just from that one drink.

Monday

Babies galore!!

In the next two months, I have not one, but four baby showers to go to and that means I have four friends giving birth in the next few months. If I said that all this baby stuff isn't affecting me, it would be a lie.

I've been shopping for shower gifts and everything is just so. darn. cute. I plan on visiting at least two of those lovely ladies in the hospital after they go through the traumatic event that we won't discuss here. That most likely means buying more cuteness.

I kind of want to buy little baby clothes and dress up my pug. But I know that would just cause him to freeze in that position and not move until I take it off. And really, what kind of life would that be for a dog?

Thursday

New food for us

I've tried two new things that I thought you might want to read/see.

The other night I made tuna "burgers" which are basically a can of tuna, an egg, some garlic salt and bread crumbs mixed up. They turned out super delish!!


When the husband is at night class, I try to cook things I know he won't eat. I bought quinoa a while ago, but have been hesitant to cook it. I decided to finally grow a pair and try it. I made it very plain so I could really taste the flavor of the quinoa itself. I just cooked it and then threw in some roasted broccoli on top. The next day for lunch, I did the same thing but threw a leftover turkey burger in the mix. I liked it both times. It does have a strange flavor that I'm not used to, but it wasn't bad. I can see why the blogosphere loves it's protein-ey goodness.

Sunday

Week One Complete

Last weekend it was semi-nice outside, so I took advantage of the 32+ degree weather and went for a run/walk outside. I thought it was a good idea to start a couch-to-5k running program. My plan was to run on Monday and Thursday during the week, but a massive snow storm forced me indoors to the boring treadmill. I didn't run on Monday, but did on Tuesday and Saturday. So, I'll call that week one.

I feel like I should register for an actual 5k to have a set deadline, but I don't really care about running a race. I'm really doing it to drop a few lbs and see if I can get myself into a running mode before spring hits. I'm pretty good at being motivated during the warmer months, but the winter makes me want to sit by the fire and read - the opposite of working out. Hopefully, this plan will keep me on track. I'll let you know how it goes.

What's your motivation to work out during winter?

Friday

10 years.

I was talking to my dad last night about my blog and how my mom says "nothing on here interests her." I'm sure that's the case because she's always been naturally thin, and eats well. I think she weighed 105 lbs when she got pregnant with me, but unfortunately didn't pass along those thinny genes. During this conversation, though, we realized that mom used to read my blog all the time back when I started blogging - ten years ago. I can't believe it's been that long!!

So, I'll have to do something special on my 10-year-blogiversary. Mark your calendars for Dec. 9, 2011.

Wednesday

Chicken wings at home

The hubs and I love to eat at wing places (like BWW). Really, I only like chicken with BBQ sauce, but the hubs loves wings. Lately, instead of going out to eat wings and fries, we have been steaming/baking chicken wings for big sporting events (for example, the super bowl) at home. The hubs follows an Alton Brown recipe for cooking chicken wings, which is a long process, but definitely worth it. We made some yesterday for dinner (the hubs' favorite team was playing) and I didn't even eat mine with any sauce - they were that good!!

We also had baked sweet potato fries with the wings, so by baking the wings and eating baked sweet potatoes instead of fried, we saved 829 calories and 60 grams of fat for 1lb of wings and 6 oz of fries (we shared both). I also had some broccoli to make sure I ate something green.


Tuesday

New Veggie Quest

The other night, my frequent commenter Katie came over and we made roasted kale chips!! If you haven't tried them, I encourage you to do so tonight! I bought a monster bag of kale because it was all I could find, so I've had kale chips twice now. They were better the first time (with Katie) because I might have burned them a little the second go-round.

I also roasted some mushrooms, which were good, but I love the crunch that roasting gives broccoli and kale and that just doesn't happen to mushrooms. I've also tried asparagus (awesome) and still plan to try green beans (they are waiting patiently in the fridge).