I sincerely apologize for my very lengthy hiatus (just something I had to do to regroup and enjoy life!), but after running to a former reader of the blog today (if you are reading this email me – maybe we can meet up for some gym time!), I’m contemplating returning on a weekly basis and taking the blog on a completely new angle (recipes and occassional product reviews, tips n tricks, etc.) with more of a laidback focus on recipes, reviews and life balance vs. fitness and dieting… stay tuned if you are interested!
16 Jun
Fresh Air Fund PSA
I’d like to share with you a wonderful organization that contacted me during my hiatus called “The Fresh Air Fund“.
THE FRESH AIR FUND, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2008, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.
From now until June 30th, any gift given will be matched dollar-for-dollar, so it’s a great reason for you to donate!
Check out the below video and their website (linked above) for more information 
15 Jun
Much Needed
Hi! I can’t believe its been almost a month since blogging but I wanted to let you know that I will be returning but probably just in an occassional, once or twice a week format… I have been feeling really burnt out lately so I decided to take an abrupt break from blogging. By taking the break, I was able to focus on throwing two really great bridal showers for two of my friends whose weddings’ are coming up, work on the house, and get a lot of work done in terms of our wedding album, oh and also, ENJOY LIFE!!!!!!
I have decided that I really enjoyed going home and not turning on the computer, but a part of me also misses the blog, so I think if I blog in moderation (hehe) I can get the best of both worlds. What do you think?
Part of me stopped blogging because I realized that I think I’m done with blogging what I eat. I have come to accept that I eat pretty much the same things over and over again for most meals, but dinner is where I tend to get creative, especially now that I have limited time, so I’m considering just focusing on new recipes. Any feedback you want to leave is greatly appreciated!
I’m sorry for leaving you all in the dark, but I just wanted to take a break without thinking about it. I still have yet to sort through all of the emails that you all have sent me, so I appreciate you bearing with me! All is well with me though, so I appreciate the concern from all of you Just dealing with house projects, family & friend functions, and a jam-packed work schedule has prevented me from blogging, that’s all
19 May
Mocha Maniac
While I was away, I was lucky enough to receive a new Odwalla bar in the mail to review on the blog!
I was really interested in trying out Odwalla Mocha-walla bar because I have never had a chocolate-flavored Odwalla bar, plus I was also excited to try it out since it was a brand new exclusive foodie product!
I have to admit I prolonged trying this bar simply because I didn’t want to be let down and I really wanted to be in the mood for it, so I saved it until this afternoon to have as an afternoon snack before taking a bodyworks (strength training) class. Upon opening it up, I was greeted with the pure smell of coffee. I didn’t really smell any chocolate so that kind of bummed me out, but I did enjoy the coffee smell because we all know how I love my coffee
My first bite was a blast of flavors – I expected coffee in chewy form, but my bite was actually a nice mix of chewy chocolate chunks with a hint of espresso. The texture of the bar was right inline with all of the other Odwalla bars, but I must say that this was my favorite flavor simply because I can’t resist chocolate & coffee in a nutritionally sound bar!
Have any of you tried this bar? What did you think? Have you seen them in stores yet? If so, let me know because I’m now on the hunt for more of them…
17 May
One Week Ago Today
I luckily picked up a new card reader yesterday so I am really happy that I get to share pictures with ya’ll again! Thanks for the great suggestion to get a card reader instead of a cord – much easier!
Anyway, I’m a week behind but I figured it’s better late than never to share with you the details of our Mother’s Day 5K (Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure) and our Mother’s Day Family Cookout!
Here’s the start of the race…
Here’s us getting ready – we were both a bit nervous due to the whole lack of running/working out the entire week before. Seriously, I didn’t get to work out AT ALL the entire week before the run due to my business trip, but I must say I think it helped me b/c I was really motivated (a little nervous too) and didn’t feel overtrained/overworked…
A few minutes before the start…
We finished! We ran pretty much the entire time, but I did have to stop three times to take a few walk breaks because I felt like my lung was going to pop out … I was purely motivated by Bill along with all the other participants… It was a nice trail too with plenty of “cheerleaders” and volunteers along the way, so that helped a lot! We wound up finishing at 34 minutes, 11 seconds but it probably would have been a little sooner since there was a backlog of people crossing the line turning in their runner number stub I was really happy with our time and just the fact that we finished was a HUGE accomplishment for me.
My post race meal consisted of none other than a Philadelphia soft pretzel!
Here’s some scenic pictures!
Here’s all the goodies we took home!
After our race, we headed home, showered, and prepped for our guests! We had my parents, grandparents, brother over along with Bill’s parents, grandparents, brothers, sister/husband/niece! It was a LOT of fun… We had a lot of yummy appetizers and dessert, but the best part was the grilled burgers and hot dogs cooked by grillmaster Bill hehe… he definitely got a lot of use out of our new grill!
I hope you enjoyed this long and late recap and hope you had a great Sunday! We had my friend Kelly’s bridal shower today (she was my maid of honor) so it was a very busy, exciting, fun, and exhausting day, so I am ready to collapse! Good night
Now I’m off to collapse…
16 May
MIA Cord!
Hi Everyone,
It’s been forever!!!! I’ve been busy but I’ve missed blogging; however I have a slight problem. I seem to have lost my camera cord!!!! I think I left it in my hotel room during my business trip :/ Figures, right? I am hoping to go out today and go on the hunt for a new cord, but I fear that I may have to order it online because it has a funky connector, we’ll see!
Anyway, I have a LOT to share with you, so I can’t wait to get my camera cord back because…
- Bill and I ran our first 5K last Sunday for the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure and it was amazing
- We held a Mother’s Day cookout party at our house with both of our families
- I’ve been on a fitness mission lately
- Have lots of new product reviews to come
- Cookbook review
- Amazing Grass
- Odwalla new bar
- Officially in training mode for the ACS Bike a Thon – received my rider number in the mail yesterday (#630!)
Anyway, keep your fingers crossed that I find a new camera cord at Best Buy today And thanks for your patience during my little hiatus! Love all the wonderful e-mails I received
Happy Saturday!
7 May
cheeburger?
Last week when we were fridgeless we decided to go try a new restaurant called Cheeburger Cheeburger. The restaurant has been in our area for a while but I never thought to try it until we got a coupon in the mail! When I scoped out their menu I was pretty pleased with what I saw because if you were craving some comfort food like a burger (or veggie burger) you can go there and customize your burger with whatever toppings you like (think avocados, artichokes, veggies, etc) and have it on a wrap, bunless, or on top of a salad. Great options!
The atmosphere in there was awesome too. Totally felt like you stepped back into the 50’s with oldies playing and records on the wall ~ too cute!
I ordered the smallest burger they had and had it on a wrap with pickles, tomatoes, onions, salsa, cheddar cheese, and hot sauce. It was SO good and not too heavy. They went really light on the cheese which was a huge plus for me, I’m typically not a huge cheese person as I have said before, so I prefer just a lil bit to satisfy me!
I loved how they topped the wrap with a green olive, too!
Have any of you been here? If so, what did you get? I want to try their milkshakes, next!
6 May
Apple chips
Over the weekend, I found myself with an abundance of apples so I decided to try my hands at making apple chips using an oven, since I don’t have a food dehydrator. I sliced up 5 apples into thin slices and spread them out on a baking sheet. I baked them for an hour at 200 degrees, flipped them, and then baked again for an additional hour. When they were done they were still a little chewy so I let them sit out and cool for a few hours. By the time they were cooled, they were perfect: crunchy in some spots but also chewy in others.
This is a great snack when you are craving something sweet but nutritious I have to try adding these apple slices to granola!
I’ve also been obsessed with making granola and having it with milk or mixing it into my yogurt. Here’s my recipe:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix 3 cups of old fashioned oats with 1/2 cup unsalted mixed nuts, 1 tsp EVOO, sprinkle of salt, 1/4 c real maple syrup, 1 T cinnamon, splash of vanilla extract. Mix it well until it is all covered and let it sit for 10 minutes to soak up the flavors. Spread out on a sprayed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring ever 10-15 minutes. Then, raise the temperature to 350 degrees and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until golden. Let cool for one hour and then store in a covered container.
Enjoy!
5 May
Restaurant Finds
For this edition of trying it out Tuesday, I decided to share with you two new meals that I’ve had our at restaurants that were yummy!
The first meal was enjoyed at lunchtime on Saturday. Bill and I were out running errands and he decided to treat me to a lunch at Panera Bread since I’d be away this week. He knows me too well I ordered the half Mediterranean Veggie sandwich with the Orchard Harvest salad. I absolutely loved the veggie sandwich partially because of the amazing hummus that was smeared on the hearty bread. I’m not a huge cherry person but I really enjoyed the tartness of the dried cherries in the salad as well. The balsamic dressing provided tartness too, but the pecans evened out the salad with a nice crunch.
The next meal I’d like to share with you was Sophie’s Salad at Saladworks. This salad is a featured seasonal salad but I really hope they keep it around for a little bit longer. It contained spring mix, grilled chicken, blue cheese, craisins, pecans, green apple slices, and a raspberry vinaigrette. It was a little heavy but when I had this salad I was starving so I inhaled it. My only complaint was that it was really heavy on the cheese and craisins and that next time I may sub out one of them for some carrots or other veggies to make it more nutritionally dense
4 May
Lack Of Time
So, how did I do with last week’s Manic workout schedule?
Here was my plan:
And here’s what I actually did:
All in all, I feel good because I didn’t follow the workout exactly to plan but I listened to my body and did what felt right. I also learned to exercise in the morning and felt great initially in the beginning of the week, but then was dragging by the end of the week. I think because for me to workout in the am I have to start by 5:15 since I have to leave for work by 6:50am… its a bit of a stretch, so we’ll see if I can keep it up!
My plan for this week since I’m traveling is not going to be structured at all. During this trip we go from 7:15am until 10pm at night every day except for Friday, so I’m going to be exhausted and trying to fit in exercise is going to be tough. I’m hoping to just focus on eating right and getting in as much activity as possible. I brought my P90X Kempo X dvd with me to do one or two mornings in my hotel room and I’m hoping to hit the gym in the hotel one or two mornings, we’ll see how I do!
How do you fit in exercise with a jam-packed schedule? Do you sacrifice sleep or do you focus on better nutrition instead?
