Pushing past 2.1

The plan for today is to work, obviously. Make a couple of appointments for myself and the boo boo. She has lots of little teeth and is 2 now, so "Q" the Dentist. This is going to be bunches of fun. I can just see it now.

Then, a run. Shelly and I are running together today, and she said that when her husband ran last time he clocked it for us, and 3 laps around her neighborhood is a mile. I like having start and end points, it makes it  rewarding to run, knowing that there is a visual goal in mind. I also mapped the distance from my house to hers, and it is exactly 2.1 miles. So, here is what I am thinking. I know I can run 2.1 miles. I am going to run to Shelly's house (2.1 miles), and really push myself to run a mile with her (1 mile), and then run/walk home (2.1 miles). I will need a cool down anyways. If I end up walking, oh well. I know that the run to her house is going to be stop and go, since there are a bunch of stop signs. I am looking forward to this run big time. I wasn't planning on hitting my 3.1 mile, milestone this week. Now I am looking at a total of 5.2. I know that is a lot and I am still committed to being injury free. I will only do what I can. However, this will give me more time to get comfortable with it before my big 5K on April 7th.

Last night I ended up making sloppy joe's, and homemade potato wedges. They came out really well. My best friend makes them a lot and they always look so tasty. I figured I would give them a try. After dinner we went out for frozen yogurt. Averie loves yogurt, all kinds. This is just what she needed too. She did not get a nap in the afternoon. Can you say grumpy pants?! Not a happy toddler at all, but the frozen yogurt did the trick for a moment.

This morning I am trying a couple of new things that I picked up at the store yesterday. Bolthouse Farms Chocolate Protein Plus. It is a protein shake, and has 30 grams. That is awesome. I don't eat a lot of meat so I need to supplement with a shake or legumes, something. I just cracked this baby open and I like it. I prefer  the Odwalla brand protein shake if you gave me an option. This one is not chalky at all and tastes like chocolate milk. I would buy it again if it were on sale. The second thing I am going to try is BelVita Breakfast biscuits. I bought blueberry this time. I am going to finish my shake and break into these. Look how adventurous I am being. Normally I just stick to foods I know and don't move out of my comfort zone. World here I come. *laughing* I really have been trying hard to eat better. I know that I get out of my body what I put in, and if I want to push past 2.1 miles, I better fuel up!

After my run tonight, I am going to break into my crock pot for some yummolicious garlic lemon chicken with wild rice, and a side of asparagus. Buyah! I started it this morning and it smells so good. Amber, I think this one you are going to love.

A day worth talking about

Aside from being SUPER tired yesterday, it was a fantastic day. No really, it was pretty great. It contained a lot of this....

Then when the work day ended, I got to go home to my beautiful little girl, I mean family. When I arrived home, I found Brian and Luke in the front yard playing ball, and Averie, Grammy, and Heidi (Her PT), also playing on the lawn with balls. Averie always cheers right up when she sees me, it is one of the best feelings in the whole world.

After a little lovin'. I went and changed into.....that's right my running clothes. I was stoked to get home and go for a run. My goal was 2 miles, straight through. I have to start preparing for this like a serious person. I want to remain injury free. Luke insisted that he go with me. I told him how far I would be running, and he made it very clear that he could do it. We totaled 2.13 miles. He did a great job for the first mile, but the second was kind of rocky. He was fading out for sure. He still did a great job. I even got him to run the last 500 feet. Here is some proof. This was after the run when we were all tired, and giddy.

Run #5

Then there was dinner. Man I rock! I made Tony's Flank Steak, a recipe from one of my favorite blogs on the planet, Dinner a Love Story. She also has a book out, life would not be the same if this book was not in my kitchen. Side-note: I am not tracking everything I eat. It is just too much work, and I forget to take pictures, and then get irritated at myself. It is just a vicious cycle. I am thinking that life is just too short. You know? We had Tony's steak, mashed potatoes w/gravy, and fresh green beans with lemon. This dinner was DELISH!

I am excited for what tonight will bring. I would love to do another run, and then maybe make spaghetti with meat sauce, or sloppy joes? I have not decided yet. The great weather is really helping my state of mind. Now, I have to work, and catch up on some emails. I have not emailed my cousin in forever, and I have been meaning to. Sorry Cuz!

Tomato Pesto Foccacia

{that kind of looks like a pizza. Oops}

1. Slice fresh heirloom tomatoes, and bocconcini {small mozzarella balls}

2. I use Trader Joe's pesto, and just add a little extra olive oil.

3. You can use either the grated Parmesan in a shaker, or shred your own.

4. The dough I made fresh using this recipe.  http://www.dinneralovestory.com/money-in-the-bank/

5. Roll out the dough.

6. Spread the pesto and the Parmesan .

7. Add the tomatoes and mozzarella.

8. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

9. Cook for 12-13 minutes. If you would like to add fresh basil,

add it during the last 5 minutes of your cook time. {this prevents burning or browning}

10. EAT. Bon Appetito!

Copy{cat} Egg McMuffins

Copy{cat} Egg McMuffins



 



Attempt #1 Kale Chips

I have been staring at a Kale Chip recipe on Pinterest for about a month now, and a week ago I finally bougth some at the Farmers Market. I was thinking that it would be nice to trick I mean get my family to eat healthy salty kale chips instead of potato chips. Needless to say my first attempt at these chips was not very successful. However, I now know for next time the changes that I need to make to make them tasty. Here is the altered recipe for those of you that are magically attracted to the same pinterest recipe that I was.

Kale Chips

What you need:

Olive Oil
Kosher salt
Red Pepper flakes {only if you like to eat hot/spicy things}
Parchment paper
Cookie sheet

It is this easy really.



Wash the Kale, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Tear it into medium peices.
{it shrinks in the oven so keep the peices a decent size}

Toss all the kale in a bowl with olive oil and kosher salt.
Limit the salt, a little goes a long way.

Spread the peices out on parchment paper that you have placed on a cookie sheet.
Try to lay them flat.

You want to bake them for 10-12 minutes. 15 is too long.
They taste burnt.

Tada! Kale Chips. Like I said before this is a failed attempt.
Just think how good a successful attempt will look.

Election Day June 5, 2012

I am rested and ready to go, go to the polling booth that is. Except that there is one problem, I have no idea where I am going! I admittedly have not voted in the past two elections, and the guilt has settled in, starting now. I honestly am not all that interested in voting. I am not a very political person. However, I would say in the past month, I have slowly started to change my ways. I think that it is important for me to vote, have my opinion heard or documented at the least. Deep down I feel like it may not make a difference, but I am part of a bigger picture, you know. Maybe if a bunch of non-voters decide that maybe the difference is in the numbers it will actually stem change. I know that this is not the reason for the way the world is right now, but I do feel like maybe not voting has created some of the negative energy in the world. Silly, but maybe. Needless to say, I am going to do some serious reading today and seek out my polling place. I guess in the long run I would rather be a part of the solution and not the problem. So here is my attempt at making a difference.

Last night was a long night in addition to thinking {worrying} about voting. I was trying to get some quality learning time in with Averie, make dinner, and talk to my husband and step-daughter about their day. There is always a little, okay, I am lying a lot of cleaning to do. Especially when my husband and daughters are cooped up in the house all day. They make the house look like a tornado hit it. I have got in a routine of taking a walk through the house right as I get home, and picking up all the dishes, trash, and clothes that are left everywhere. That way it looks half way decent and I do not feel like screaming at the top of my lungs. Once I regain my sanity, I start dinner. We tried something new last night. I made two pork tenderloins in the crock pot a couple of days ago and used one for pulled pork with BBQ sauce, and the other for carnitas. Not authentic carnitas, Brian and I experimented. He thought that throwing in Salsa Verde would make the pork taste delicious. I am not a big meat eater, so I did not even taste it. Anessa and Brian thought it was to die for, so this is definitely going to make it into the dinner rotation. All I did was......

Put two frozen pork tenderloins in the crock pot with some onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and a onion quartered. Turn the crock pot on low for 8 hours. I usually do this in the morning before I go to work, that way when I get home it is all ready to go. I shred all the pork in the crock pot, and split it into two portions. I put one portion in the fridge {for a dinner another night} and mix the other with the Salsa Verde. We use Fresh and Easy Salsa Verde. I cut up toppings, like cilantro, onion, tomatoes, and lettuce and Tada!!!! Our spin on carnitas, Salsa Verde style. The trick to making then seem authentic is using corn tortillas and frying them just a little. I had a long day and so I needed to throw in a nice glass of white wine. I had a glass of Starborough Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. It was really tasty with the tacos and much needed. Thanks Amber, I think you were the one that mentioned this wine.


Week in Insta-pics

Here is the week in Instagram Photo's!! The pictures are pretty deceiving. My week was much busier than this.

There is a lot in store for this weekend, including a little baking, and making hummus for the first time. I will let you all know how it turns out. Until then, I am bound for the Sacramento Zoo, "Dreamnight" here we come.