Friend Making Monday: Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day

Here’s how it works: you copy the questions, answer them and post them to your own blog.  Then you come back here, and in the comments, post the link to your blog post with your answers to this week’s questions.  If you don’t have a blog of your own, just post your answers in the comments.

1. How was your Valentine’s Day?  What did you do?

I had to work and I’m single anyway, so it’s mostly just another day for me.

2. When you were a kid, did you exchange valentines in school with your classmates?

Yes, I loved it.  I loved picking out what valentines I would give to everyone else and I loved seeing which ones they picked out.  I wasn’t ever a popular child in school so I didn’t usually get a valentine from everybody in the class, which was sad, but I didn’t let it get me down.

3. What was your best Valentine’s Day date/day/etc?

Even though the guy ended up being a horrible person to me and cheating on me, when Valentine’s Day came around, we had only been together for a month so we were definitely still twitterpated with each other and he was all about spending money on me, so he took me to Truluck’s, which is a very high end surf and turf restaurant in Austin, TX.  I think our meal was $150.  We got crabcakes for appetizers (there were 2, 1 for each of us).  I got a sirloin medallion and the biggest shrimp I’ve seen in my life and I’m pretty sure there was asparagus or something else on the plate.  But, yea, it wasn’t a whole lot of food, but it was extremely yummy, the environment was gorgeous, there was a live piano player in the restaurant playing for the diners/couples and we got a free romantic music CD to take home.  It was a gorgeous dinner.

4. Do you like Valentine’s Day? 

Meh.  I do but I don’t.  I’m sure the reasons I like it are the same as other people’s reasons.  The reasons I don’t are that it’s a completely invented holiday that is just for companies to make more money and, here’s the main one, you shouldn’t need a special day to show/tell the person/people you love that you love them.  You should be doing that year-round.

5. What is your favorite Valentine’s Day treat?

I love cupcakes!

6. Do you have any Valentine’s Day traditions?

I have a relatively new one with my friend Amanda that we started last year.  We give each other a list of movies we want and then we pick a couple/few from the list the other gave them and buy them for them.

7. What is your least favorite thing about Valentine’s Day?

It’s commercially all about romantic love and, well, I’m single and not in any kind of romantic relationship.

8. Do you decorate for Valentine’s Day?  Share a picture if you do.

Nope.

9. What is the best present you have ever received for Valentine’s Day?

The movies Amanda got for me last year. 

10. Is there something you like to do for people you love on Valentine’s Day?

If I was someone that liked to or even had time to volunteer, I would probably go volunteer at an animal shelter for Valentine’s Day.

Weigh In & Recap

This is bullshahvic.  Straight up.  I've been working hard and eating right.  How is it possible that I GAINED .8 lbs this week?  How?  This always happens to me.  I'll start losing weight and be doing great, then it slows down, then it stops and then...then it reverses and I start gaining!  I don't know what to do to get back to losing weight.  I'm going to switch up my food this coming week.  Instead of sandwiches, I'm going to do some grilled chicken salads with vinaigrette dressing.  Instead of fruit for one of my snacks, I'm going to do some roasted brussels sprouts.

• Saturday: I had big plans for working out this day.  For starters, I went to the buy/sell/trade video game store and bought 2 new Zumba “games” for my Xbox.  YAY!  I got Zumba Rush and Zumba Join the Party.  Right after I went to the store, I headed to the gym.  I was going to do 3 rounds of the circuit training area but there was soooooo many people at the gym and at least 3 other people in the circuit training area, so that wasn’t going to work.  So, instead, I hit up the regular machines and would do 2 machines that were right next to each other (for example, the back extension machine and the ab twist machine) and then hop back and forth between the 2 for 3 sets, then move on to the next 2 machines.  I did more machines than the 15 that are in the circuit training area and I did 3 sets on all of them and it only took me 35 minutes to complete.  Then, I went home and I was going to do two 45-ish minute Zumba classes, but I was supposed to meet a friend for a mid-afternoon lunch at about 2:30, so I didn’t have time to do a second class.  Ended up I DID have the time because she overslept her alarm and we didn’t meet until about 3:30 (she works the night shift hence the afternoon wake up). 

• Sunday: my last “long” run before next Sunday’s marathon.  It was a good run.  I basically ran it at marathon goal pace.  Due to using different machines Saturday at the gym, I was a little sore.  YAY!

• Monday: I worked overtime on the night shift Sunday night so I wasn’t able to workout before my regular afternoon shift.  I had thought and expected to be working in a position that would require I stand up for the majority of my 8 hour shift so I didn’t think I would have time to go up to the workout room and use the rowing machine, so I didn’t take the chest strap for my Polar M400 with me.  Well, I should have brought it because I wasn’t working in the position I thought I was going to be in.  Oh well.  I planned my food out really good for this day so I was over 100 calories below my calorie allowance for the day. 

• Tuesday: did 4 miles this day.  I was trying to run slowly, but obviously I wasn’t trying hard enough because I was going marathon goal pace pretty much. 

•Wednesday: gym and Zumba!  I did my own thang at the gym again and I have to say, I think I’m preferring it.  I can work through the machines faster and that means that in the same amount of time as I was spending in the circuit training area, I am getting like 50% more machines done, which makes for a more thorough and a better workout all around.  I then went back home and did one of my new Zumba games.  I’m really liking the change in songs and dance moves.  I really enjoy my original game, Zumba Core, but all the songs and moves were becoming “old hat,” if you will.  Gotta keep it fresh if I want to make progress, right?

• Thursday: just a 3 mile run this day.  I tried to run about 45 seconds to a minute slower than marathon goal pace but only managed about 25 seconds slower than goal pace.  Ugh.  But, at least I didn’t just bust out at goal pace or faster, even though I really wanted to, believe me did I want to!

• Friday: I didn't do a "real" workout.  Why?  Because my knee started hurting Thursday afternoon for no reason I can think of and it still hurt Friday morning, so instead of aggravating it, I opted to let it rest.  I decided, however, that after work I would knock out 2000 meters on the rowing machine.  I did 2000 meters in about 12 minutes.  So. Slow.  Haha!

I’m having loads of fun with all these photo editing apps on my phone.  I have to use sometimes 3 or 4 different apps on the same picture just to get what I want for that picture that day.  I like to get fancy with my pictures. 

This has nothing to do with working out or eating, but I would like to take a second and toot my horn as far as getting my chores FINALLY caught up.  The dishes had been building up in the sink for a few weeks as I just kept putting it off and putting it off.  See, the majority of my dishes are plastic containers so I have to wash them by hand and it takes some time to do that.  But, I finally got all the dishes washed over the course of last weekend.  YAY!  My clean laundry had also been building up in the laundry room, waiting to be put away.  Well, between Monday night after work and Tuesday morning before work, I got ALL my laundry put away properly, including the load I did Tuesday morning!  YAY!  Also, got my comforter washed to get the entire cat’s-worth of cat hair off of it…haha.

Follow Along As I Run The Austin Marathon!

Want to follow along and get updated as I run the Austin Marathon this Sunday, February 15th?  Text "AUS" to 37619 and then enter bib # 622 and you will receive text message updates as I cross the start line, the 5K, the 10 mile, the half marathon, 20 miles, 23.1 miles, and of course the FINISH line.

Friend Making Monday: Fears

Fears


Here’s how it works: you copy the questions, answer them and post them to your own blog.  Then you come back here, and in the comments, post the link to your blog post with your answers to this week’s questions.  If you don’t have a blog of your own, just post your answers in the comments.
 
1. Do you have any “consuming” fears?
sort of.  I’m terrified of spiders.  No matter how small, they always scare the crap out of me and make me squeal or scream and jump and run away.  I’m also terrified to immobility by heights.  My drill sergeant in boot camp had to hold my hand in order for me to get my legs to move so I could walk across the horizontal ladder. 

2. Have you ever overcome a fear that was once consuming or crippling?
with my fear of spiders I’ve been slowly getting better about it.  I’m still terrified, but I am consciously making an effort to overcome the fear.

3. Do you have any silly fears?
I don’t think so.  I mean, I guess the fact that really tiny spiders will still scare the crap out of me is at least a little silly.

4. Do you know how your fears started, or have they always just been there as far as you know?
I have no idea how my fear of heights started but I do remember the moment I started being afraid of spiders.  It was my 5^th birthday and I woke up and there was a HUGE (like 1.5 inches PLUS across) brown recluse spider on my wall.  The fact that the spider was there didn’t scare me, per se.  See, before this point, my brothers and I would catch spiders and then pull their legs off and watch them walk funny…we were slightly cruel, but didn’t know any better.  What started the fear, in my opinion was when my mom laughed at me that I seemed afraid of this spider as I had never been afraid of spiders before.  It’s not my mom’s fault, not even remotely.  But that’s the only thing I can think of because before that happened, I had no problem with spiders but after that I did.

5. Do you like to watch scary/horror movies?  If so, what is your favorite?
not particularly.  I mean, I do have a few that I like…the Saw series was pretty good through the 5^th one, then they started getting stupid.  I like the Exorcism of Emily Rose, Drag Me To Hell, The Haunting in Connecticut, and The Unborn. 

6. Do you like to go to haunted houses?
no.  not even a little.

7. Are you easy to scare?
I can be, especially if I’m completely unprepared.

8. What is your reaction if someone scares you?
scream and hit and then run away

9. Are you afraid of clowns?
regular clowns are just creepy to me, but the scary ones are definitely fear inducing.

10. Did you believe in the boogeyman when you were little?
not that I can remember.

What's Cookin' Sunday

I subscribed to a few food related magazines a little while back because I got a great deal on them, just pay a $2 processing fee per magazine and I get a full year subscription!  How cool is that?  Yea, I couldn't pass that up.  I was wanting to be able to expand my horizons of food and cooking and this is a great way to do that.  Most of the recipes I've come across are healthy and then I can tweak them a little more and make them even healthier!

cooking up the filling

dredging the tortillas in the enchilada sauce

finished product!

SWEET POTATO ENCHILADAS

Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 can chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped
• 2 cans low sodium kidney beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 1/3 cup enchilada sauce
• 8 Mission carb smart whole wheat fajita sized tortillas
• 2 cups 2% Mexican blend shredded cheese
• 2 cups water

Directions:
• preheat oven to 425°.  in a large saucepan, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium.  add the onion, garlic, cumin, brown sugar, chipotle in adobo sauce.  cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.  add the beans, sweet potatoes and 2 cups water; bring to a boil.  cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender and liquid is absorbed, about 5-8 minutes.
• in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish, spread 1 1/3 cup enchilada sauce.  dredge both sides of the tortillas in the sauce.  divide the filling among the tortillas, roll up and arrange in the dish, seam side down.  top with cheese.
• bake the enchiladas until warmed through, about 10 minutes, then broil until the top is golden brown, 2-3 minutes.  let stand 15 minutes before serving.

**Note: I am not super talented and was unable to roll up the tortillas with the filling inside with the seams down, so i just left them open-topped like a row of soft tacos.  It all eats and tastes the same.

 __________________________________________________________

PORK CHOPS à L'ORANGE

Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 8 lean bone-in pork chops
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp clover honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp packed light brown sugar
• grated peel of one orange
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tbsp cornstarch

Directions:
• heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.  add pork chops in batches; cook 1-2 minutes or until browned on both sides.
• combine orange juice, honey, salt, brown sugar and orange peel in slow cooker.  add chops, turning each chop to coat well.  cover; cook on low 6-8 hours.
• remove pork to large plate.  turn slow cooker to high.  stir water into cornstarch in small bowl until smooth.  whisk cornstarch mixture into orange sauce or until thickened.  spoon sauce over each chop to serve.

Weekly Weigh In & Recap

If I said I wasn't disappointed, I'd be a big fat liar.  I mean, yea, of course I'm glad I didn't GAIN anything, but it's really frustrating that I had a really good week with exercise and eating and nothing happened.  The number on the scale didn't change one little bit...not even a tenth of a pound.  Ugh.  I was really hoping for 179.something when I stepped on the scale today.  I'm just gonna try again and see if it moves next Saturday.

• Saturday: I upped my game with my non-running workout.  Previously, I was doing 2 circuits of the circuit training area machines at my PF…now I’m doing 3.  Also, previously, I was doing the mid-length (45-ish minutes) Zumba classes on my Xbox Kinect…now I’m doing the full length (1 hour) classes. 

• Sunday: my last loooooooooooong run pre-Austin Marathon…22 miles.  And let me tell you, I was very intimidated by this run.  The last time I ran this route/distance, it was a horrible experience.  I didn’t hydrate or fuel properly the day before and it was warmer than I was expecting it to be.  I cramped and seized up so frequently that while it took me 4 hrs 38 minutes to do the running of the distance, I was out and about for over 6 hours because of all the stopping to stretch things out.  This time, I only stopped twice that wasn’t at a stop light waiting for the walk light to cross the intersection…once was to say hello to a friend that I occasionally see out running (we used to work together a few years ago) and the other was a little after mile 20 to stretch a bit.  Other than that, run run run.  I did it in 4 hrs 12 minutes and it felt easy.  The miles were just flying by.

• Monday: Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared February 2^nd to be Chris Kyle Day in Texas.  This day marked the second anniversary of his killing.  I ran my miles this day in his honor and memory.  I thought of him the whole run and it was a great run.  This was also my first run in my new Mizuno Prophecy 3’s.  I know, the 4’s are out now, but I just got the 3’s.  I got them in an end of season sale online for more than half off.  I have to say, I love them.  I feel like I could have run all day in them, that’s how comfortable they are.

• Tuesday: decided to give my legs a little rest and hit the gym and some Zumba instead.  I had a couple errands to run on top of working out, so I just did 2 rounds of the circuit training area and I did a short Zumba session.  I was hoping that the short classes were 30 minutes.  Nope.  they were all 18-22 minutes.  So, I picked one of the 22 minute ones.  There was no warm up or cool down song, just 5 regular songs to Zumba to.

• Wednesday: no workout.  Got lucky and picked up an overtime shift!  Super happy that even thought I didn't get in a workout that I still achieved 53% of my activity goal for the day when I spent the majority of the day sitting in a chair.  I had meant to take my chest strap with me and go to the workout room at work and use the rowing machine, but I forgot the chest strap so I didn't do it.  Wah wah.

• Thursday: went to the gym AGAIN this day!  WOOHOO!  I had enough time to do 3 rounds of the circuit strength area and then went back home and did 45 minutes of Zumba.  I was hoping to do my new full workout which would have been an hour of Zumba, but I didn’t have enough time.  But, I am super happy with what I did get to do.

• Friday: had a really good 7 mile run.  I had originally written up this week’s run schedule with a 3 mile and a 4 mile run, but because I really wanted to get a 3^rd day at the gym and Zumba this week, I opted to just combine those 2 runs instead.  I think it worked out just fine overall.  I’m really happy I got that 3^rd day in the gym and still got my scheduled mileage in for the week.  Also, I finally got a pic of what my Polar M400 displays when I’ve reached my activity goal for the day.  It’s elusive.  It only displays for like 5 seconds and then it resets to the clock display.  But I was ready for it this time.  Haha!

As always, any time I workout, I am happy with it.  I have more energy and just generally feel better about myself all day.  And, plus, I am “allowed” to eat more on days I workout.  Hahaha.  Priorities.

I hadn’t updated my weight with MyFitnessPal in a few weeks.  Well, I did that last Saturday.  When I did that, it prompted me to update my goals, so I did that.  It wanted to change my daily calorie allowance from the 1900 I had it at down to 1460.  Eeek!  That’s a big drop.  So, I compromised and went with 1700.  It’s still less calories and I’ll re-evaluate it in a couple weeks.  If I’m habitually 100 or more calories below my daily allowance, then I’ll drop it to 1600.  But, for right now, I’m not comfortable doing an almost 500 calorie drop in my allowance just because it will make me lose weight faster.  I’m okay with losing weight a little slower to make sure that I’m properly fueled.  I am a runner first, a weight loser second.

I discovered the most delicious hummus I’ve ever eaten this week.  What is it?  Hatch chile hummus!!!  Hatch chiles are big in Texas and there is even a festival put on by the HEB/Central Market grocery chain every year.  They add hatch chiles to everything from cheese to cookies to whatever you can think of!  They hit the jackpot when they added it to hummus, let me tell you!  I’m going back and buying a whole bunch of this hummus this weekend.  Can you freeze hummus?  I wonder.

Earlier in the week, I had to stop at the grocery store to get some relish for my tuna salad sandwiches I ate this week and a salmon filet for dinner later in the week.  When I got in the checkout lane, I was perusing the little cookbooks they have there and noticed a “skinny crockpot” recipe book.  So, guess what I bought?  Yep.  And there are loads of recipes that I want to try!  Also, speaking of plans for cooking, I will be making the zucchini taco boats again that I made this past Sunday…and the sweet potato samosa stuffed potato skins…yep, those too.  However, I didn’t make them right, I just threw out the insides of the russet potatoes that I scooped out and the recipe says to whip those up and then add the sweet potato mixture and then you put it all in the potato skins. 

Friend Making Monday: Love is in the Air

 LOVE is in the Air

Here’s how it works: you copy the questions, answer them and post them to your own blog.  Then you come back here, and in the comments, post the link to your blog post with your answers to this week’s questions.  If you don’t have a blog of your own, just post your answers in the comments.

1. February is the month of LOVE…do you have one?
No.  I have been happily single for over 4 years now.

2. Is there any activity you LOVE to do more than anything else?
Of course!  Running!

3. Is there a certain place you LOVE to go to on a regular basis?
Anywhere that I can go for a run.  Beyond that, not really.  I wish I had a coffee shop or a gazebo in a park or something like that where I went to collect my thoughts, but I just have running.

4. What animal do you LOVE the most?
Cats, of course.  I also love rats, but they are so fragile health-wise and only live 3, maybe 4, years if they manage to not have any health issues…so I won’t allow myself to have pet rats anymore because I get so attached to them and then they pass away so quickly and with no notice usually.

5. What do you LOVE most about the city/state you live in?
Austin, TX is a pretty open-minded place to live, so everyone can be themselves here.  Also, there are lots of places to go running.

6. Are there any people or just one person that you LOVE to be around?
Yes, there are a few.  Local to where I live, it’s Amanda.  She’s the other pea in my pod…seriously.  Back home in Oregon, there is Patricia and my entire family.

7. What food do you LOVE the most?
Well made fajitas.

8. What drink do you LOVE the most?
Water, followed by iced tea, followed by a well made margarita.

9. What book that you have read do you LOVE the most?
I love all of my Shannara books and will eventually read them all again, in the order that they are meant to be read in (which is not the order that they were published in)…but, I have read White Oleander more than once and love it…also, I love The Host and will read that again and again as well.

10. What is the craziest thing you have done in the name of LOVE?
I’ve done some pretty STUPID things in the name of love, that’s for sure.  I’ve also been a huge idiot as a result of love.  I have to say, though, that the craziest thing I have done in the name of love was to be single and love it.  How does this apply?  Well, because I LOVE myself and I want myself to be happy and I was just plain completely miserable whenever I was in a relationship, so I did what would make me happy because I love myself…I became single.  I took the pressure of NEEDING a relationship to complete me off the table and I have never been happier.