Randomness and jibberish

Random thoughts on a Monday....

1. Why do cats scratch at closed doors and then not come in when you open them? WHY?
2. Also, why do they always vomit on carpeted areas instead of tiled? Damn it Oliver!!
3. Why can't someone come up with a full bodied, robust and LOW calorie wine? We've been to the moon for Pete's sake. There's got to be someone out there that can make this a reality!
4. Why do I yawn all day long? I'm pretty sure it's not lack of oxygen like people claim. Last time I checked, I knew how to breathe! It's sort of necessary for staying alive.
5. Am I addicted to caffeine or do I just like the flavor of coffee? This one is tricky because it's freakin delicious!!
6. Why do grown men play shoot em up video games while talking smack and strategy to each other through headsets? Currently witnessing this and I find it fascinating.
7. Why are my biceps growing and my triceps NOT shrinking fast enough? I work them both to death. BAH!

Okay, enough randomness. It's been raining all day here in Dull-Ville Ohio. There's actually a thunderstorm going on right now. Gloomy days always make getting out of bed even that much more difficult. Better than wasting a sunny and gorgeous day in florescent cubicle paradise though. I would rather be at work in crappy weather. Well wait, I would rather not be at work at all but you know what I mean. ;)

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:00am.

I fueled the brain with a massive cup of coffee and a yummy bowl of oats. I didn't have oatmeal at all this weekend and I MISSED it so much!

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cups water
• pinch salt
• 1 tbs cinnamon
• dash pumpkin pie spice

Microwaved to creamy perfection and topped with...

• 1 tbs flax
• 1 tbs Better N' Peanut Butter
• 2 tbs sugar free strawberry preserves (Smucker's)

Yummy in my tummy, oohhh honey honey.

I got a lot done at work today. I was having one of those rare productive days. Was it the power of oatmeal fueling me? I like to think so!

Another Random bit of jibberish. Babushka style! Nick and I spent a good 30 minutes chatting in bed last night after the lights were turned off. I don't know why we do that. We have all day to talk but we discuss important things in bed, in the dark, with the stupid cat scratching at the door. BAH! (Random picture of this alleged door scratching phenomenon. IT'S A CONSTANT!)


Anyways, after MUCH discussion we have decided against Vegas this May. The way we see it, we can go somewhere else (possibly drive instead of fly) and save a ton of money. Who doesn't love a good road trip? We have both been to Vegas before and felt that a long weekend, let's say 3 days, was sufficient to take it all in. A whole 7 day week might be a bit too much of a good thing. Vegas is known for a few specific things. Lets look at the list below shall we? (I love list making, clearly!)

Gambling - I don't gamble damn it. I love money and work hard for it. NOT SHARING!
Drinking - I clearly adore it. HA! BUT, not like I can or want to do it every day. Who has the energy for that?
Shows - Vegas has tons but for the most part, they're quite expensive.
Food - Now this I could have gotten into, however, dining out every day for 7 days would get pricey. Basically, nothing there is cheap. Don't let the rumors fool you.
Dancing and nightlife - I love dancing but Nick does not. A clear dilemma that would have surfaced in no time I'm sure.
Flying - I would rather shovel Shi!!. If you catch my subtle meaning. I don't even like stepping on a ladder. I hate heights and having no control over my situation makes it 1000x worse! :-O

Anyways, I think that about sums it up. I'm sort of bummed but excited all over again. We promised each other that we would go SOMEWHERE this Summer. Now the excitement of planning can commence all over again. OHHHH!

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12:30pm.

I had a mega, jam packed plate of goodies today. Two kiwis with skin, a large carrot, some cauliflower. A spinach salad with tomato, Morning Star Farms black bean burger, spray butter and Sriracha.

I slammed people. I slammed like it was my job!

I never left the office today. It was rainy, Ann couldn't get away because of too much work, I had nowhere I had to be and there was nothing I had to run out and get. Lame I know. I made some green tea and read your lovely blogs instead. I also visited Ann in her office and forced her to take a mental well being break. :)

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:00pm.

I found a plain Dannon Greek yogurt in the back of my fridge two days ago and I've been saving this baby ever since. Those Greek's are brilliant I tell you! Brilliant! I had it with a Fuji apple and a sprinkle of cinnamon.


After work Ann and I hustled to the gym for Triceps, Biceps, Shoulders and Cardio day. I was on a mission to get in and out as soon as possible tonight. We only have two more episodes of Dexter Season 4 left. For those of you who have seen the last season, I'm sure you can understand the URGENCY! NAIL BITTING BRILLIANCE! AGHHHH!

WORKOUT!

Tricep Pulldown

80lb x 15

70lb x 15 (2 sets)

Bicep Curls (barbell)

40lb x 15

35lb x 15 (2 sets)

Front Raise (barbell)

20lb x 20

20lb x 15 (2 sets)

Skull Crushers (barbell)

25lb x 15 (3 sets)

21's (barbell)

25lb (3 sets)

Standing Military Press (barbell)

30lb x 15 (3 sets)

Tricep Pushdown (cable)

70lb x 15 (3 sets)

Bicep Curls (barbell)

30lb x 15

Elliptical Cross Trainer

30 minutes, 2.6 miles, 2 minute intervals of levels 6-8

Total time at gym = 1:12

Max HR = 169

Average HR = 145

Total Calories Burned = 646

I sped home (safely and without breaking the law of course Mama and Papa) and made a quick smoothie.

SNACK (meal #4) at 7:30pm.

1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
1 scoop chocolate peanut butter whey protein powder
1 tbs sugar free chocolate Torani syrup
2 cups ice
The gums (xanthan and guar)

I haven't had the gums in a while so I thought I would give them a whirl. They made my smoothie so thick that it took me for ever to finish it. With a spoon at that.


Thiiiiick! I think I can safely call this protein pudding instead of a smoothie.

I took a warm bath right after I finished my pound of frozen pudding to warm up. It felt so good on my aching muscles! My arms felt super tight from today and I still had DOMS in my legs from the workout last Saturday. Fun combo!

DEXTER TIME!

We watched episode 11 of 12 as soon as I stumbled back downstairs. Way before I even contemplated the idea of nourishing my body with a nutritious dinner. There's no time for food with all of this TV excitement! Of course it was another suspenseful episode! I'm almost scared to watch the last one. I know they'll leave us with a horrible cliffhanger that will cause me to scream, rip at my hair and throw things!

DINNER (meal #5) at 9:30pm.

While trying to mentally prepare for episode 12 of 12, I made a quick and easy dinner. Taco Salad. Original recipe can be found here. The only additions to the regular recipe were blue corn chips and jalapeno slices.


Alright my lovelies. Time to watch episode 12 of 12. CAN'T WAIT!

Night!!!!
HUGS
Ildie

A Little Wild!!

Hello lovelies. Happy Saturday.

Today has been such a fun day! GLORIOUS! I woke up at 8:00 and stumbled around the house in a hazy fog. The smell of my chocolate chip cookie flavored espresso slapped me right out of it though. I managed to scrape enough grounds out of the bag for one last cup and now it's all gone. NOOOO! I must find it again! I came across it while digging around at HomeGoods. I've never seen the brand anywhere else. Sigh!


I woke up hungry and remedied the situation with a tasty oatmeal concoction.

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 8:30.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 tbs flax
• 1 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Splenda to taste
• 1/2 frozen blueberries

I frolicked and lollygagged in my BlogLand while enjoying my steamy bowl and then it was off to the gym. I had an amazing workout today!

Treadmill warmup
6 min., 3.0 speed and 2.0 incline
Leg Extension
90lb x 15 (3 sets)
Outer Thigh Machine
75lb x 15 (3 sets)
Inner Thigh Machine
65lb x 15 (3 sets)
Seated Leg Curl
90lb x 15 (2 sets)
80lb x 15
Hack Squat
50lb x 15 (3 sets)
Reclined Leg Press
180lb x 15 (3 sets)
Stiff Legged Deadlift
45lb x 15 (3 sets)
Elliptical Cross Trainer
30 minutes, 2.61 miles, 366 calories burned

I did two ten minute sessions of the following...

min. 1 (level 5)
min. 2 (level 6)
min. 3 (level 7)
min. 4 (level 8)
min. 5 (level 9)
min. 6 (level 10)
min. 7 (level 11)
min. 8 (level 12)
min. 9 (level 13)
min. 10 (level 14)

And then I did level 8 for the last 10 minutes. WHOOPED MY BUTT!!! ;)

When I came home refueled with pure liquid protein perfection.

SNACK (meal #2) at 12:15pm.

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein
• 1 tbs sugar free chocolate Torani syrup
• 1/2 cup ice cubes
• 1/2 cup frozen bananas and pineapple mix

What does this combo equal? DELICIOUSNESS! YEAH!

After my smoothie I changed and then proceeded to spend my kidneys at the grocery store down the street. BLEK!

I came home, restocked my fridge, cabinets and pantry and fixed myself a quick lunch. I basically loaded a plate with all the flavors I was craving. Sweet, savory and tart/sour.

LUNCH (meal #3) at 3:30pm.

I toasted an English muffin and smeared pumpkin butter on one half and superfruit jam on the other. SO GOOD! I was also craving eggs so I made a scramble with 4 egg whites, chopped spinach, pink salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper and drizzle of Sriracha. For dessert I sliced up a gigantic navel orange.


The rest of the afternoon got a LITTLE WILD. I'll just apologize ahead of time for what happens next. It went a little something like this.

Me: Hey Nick, let's drink.... It's the weekend, let's enjoy it.
Nick: Okay....
Me: Want to do a shot?
Nick: Sure, (we pour two shots of Sailor Jerry's rum and down them..YUK!)...
Me: Wine sounds good... ( I crack open a bottle Riesling and start sipping it...)

Nick: Ohhh, I have some Red Stripe in the fridge! (he dives right in...)
Me: Let's watch Dexter, cuddle, snack (I made a bowl of pretzels and hot wasabi peas) and hang out in our pajamas all afternoon while enjoying our cocktails of choice.

Nick: Sounds good. Want another shot of rum?
Me: Why yes polite Sir., thanks for asking. (OH MY!!!)

So uhm yeah, THAT'S how our ENTIRE afternoon was spent (starting at like 5:00). And you know what? I HAD THE BEST TIME EVER! ;) We chased each other around the house. Had tickle sessions. WRASTLING sessions. A push up contest, WHICH I LOST! Declarations of love for each other followed by massive amounts of SASS talk and threats of unnecessary bodily harm (in a comical way). I love my crazy man!

In the midst of all of this insanity, we somehow managed to finish season two of Dexter. LOVED IT! Seriously. If you're not familiar with the show, GET HIP! It's simply amazing, brilliantly written and perfectly casted. I'M IN LOVE WITH A SERIAL KILLER! Well wait, let me clarify. I am in love with my adorable Nick AND a made up fictional serial killer character on the best damn TV show ever! Except for House MD. of course! Nick doesn't mind. He understands my "television needs" and desires. :)

DINNER (meal #5) at 9:30.

The only thing that sounded good tonight was something that required NO COOKING or preparation of any kind. What does this mean? LEFTOVER CHILI FROM THE FREEZER OF COURSE! I'm so glad I made extra the other day. I had no desires at all for cooking tonight. I'm too consumed with cuddling, silliness, lovey dovey talk, wine, Dexter and lazyness. I guess you can say I'm taking the night off from the usual.

HA! (wine's a talking)..... Loving this weekend!!!!). I topped my bowl with shredded fat free cheddar cheese and fat free sour cream.


SO TASTY!!!!! AHHH!

GOODNIGHT EVERYONE! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!
XOXOXO

Ildie

Chicken Hater

Slow, forever dragging, stupid Mondays. You bother bother me! This past weekend flew by way too fast and I was not ready to deal with grownup reality this morning. The office felt like a frozen morgue again. As is typical for Mondays in our building. I should bring a fluffy blanket or a robe to work and wrap myself up in it while I type away at my desk. I wonder if they would get the hint? Would they even notice?

Moving on.....

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:00am.

A steamy bowl of the good stuff, naturally.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cup water
• tons of cinnamon
• dash apple pie spice
• dash sea salt
• Splenda to taste
• 2 tbs PB2
• Navitas Naturals cacao sweet nibs

While enjoying this tastiness, I found myself browsing hairstyle pictures online. Ann and I have hair appointments on March 5th and I'm not quite sure (other than coloring it dark) what route to go with the cut. I'm thinking DRASTIC! Ann always says I'm the rebel of the family. Perhaps I should prove it! My hair is VERY long (too damn long) right now and I find myself leaning towards the styles below. IF I can manage to grow enough balls by then and actually go through with it.


So uhm yeah... I'm sort of freaking out about it.

Our IT department was ALL over my office today. They decided to rewire the entire building (it's a nightmare) to avoid future issues and crashes etc... I would love to know why they chose to do this on a Monday instead of the weekend. I'm just saying. They're cutting into precious "find hairstyle" time!! Clearly work was on the slow side today.

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12:15pm.

I made a delicious veggie wrap with green and yellow bell peppers, spinach, bread & butter pickles and a wedge of light Laughing Cow swiss cheese. All rolled up into a honey wheat FlatOut.


I also had a Tanjelo and some more veggies on the side. I'm having one of those HUNGRY days again! BEWARE!


We decided not to leave the building for a break today. I spent it sipping green tea in my office while reading blogs and searching for more haircut ideas. I'm clearly going to obsess about this deeply until our appointment. It's a little Birthday treat to myself. I'll be turning the big 3-3 the day after the SCISSOR MADNESS. EEEEK!

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:15pm.

I indulged in a protein and carb packed yogurt mess. I have one more container of my beloved Oikos left at home. I could just cry. CRY!

• 4oz container of plain, 0% Oikos
• 1 banana, sliced
• sprinkle of Navitas Naturals cacao sweet nibs
• 1 tbs of Back to Nature chocolate delight granola

I thought 5:00pm would never arrive today. By the time it did I was already changed for the gym and ready to GO. YAY! (I was excited about getting to leave, not the idea of sweating for the next hour and a half).

WORKOUT!

Seated Chest Press (plate loaded)

60lb x 15

60lb x 15

50lb x 15

High Row (plate loaded)

100lb x 15 (3 sets)

Inclined Chest Press (plate loaded)

30lb x 15

30lb x 15

20lb x 15

Lateral Pulldown with straight bar (cable)

60lb x 15 (3 sets)

Seated Chest Press (cable)

50lb x 15 (3 sets)

Row Machine (cable)

60lb x 15

50lb x 15

50lb x 15

Rotary Torso Machine (cable)

30lb x 15 - per side (2 sets)

Elliptical Cross Trainer, 20 minutes, 1.75 miles, 252 calories

1-2 min., (level 6)

3-4 min., (level 7)

5-6 min., (level 8)

7-8 min., (level 9)

9-10 min., (level 10)

11-12 min., (level 8)

13-14 min., (level 10)

15-16 min., (level 8)

17-18 min., (level 10)

19-20 min., (level 8)

SNACK (meal #4) at 7:15pm.

I decided to try another one of the Jay Robb protein packets that I received last week. They haven't disappointed me yet.

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 Tropical Dreamsickle flavored Jay Robb protein packet
• 2 cups spinach
• 1/2 cup frozen pineapple
• 1 banana
• 1 packet Splenda

So good, so green, so pretty, so delicious!

Nick was already chilling on the couch waiting on me to get home so we could watch more Dexter. The show is like crack! We were up until 1:00am last night watching it with blood shot eyes. I'm not even sure if I blinked during the last 30 minutes. I was tired as heck but I didn't want to miss anything. HA!

DINNER (meal #5) at 9:00pm.

I haven't cooked chicken in a few weeks. You see, Nick is a self declared chicken hater. I should clarify. He only hates it when it's not deep fried and dripping with grease. HOWEVER, I thought a chicken breast salad sounded really good tonight so he's just going to have to deal with it! ;)

I pan seared the chicken with Pam, black pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and Morrocan seasoning until golden and then popped them into the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 min! They came out juicy and perfect! I sliced the breasts into bite size pieces and lay them on a bed of spinach. I topped it all with cherry tomatoes, creamy avocado, sugar snap peas Kaia Foods sweet curry sunflower seeds and a drizzle of spray butter.


The salad was delicious! Nick enjoyed it too. Operation Chicken Hater, Annihilater is in full effect. The second phase shall commence sometime next week. Details to follow.

Alright my lovelies, time go hang with my other man (Dexter) now. Have a great night!

XO
Ildie