Size "magical"

So I attempted to shop for clothes today and it was a COMPLETE failure. I tried on not one, not two, not even three, but 16 (YES, six-teeeeeeen) pairs of jeans today. How many did I buy you ask? NONE! Apparently I'm an original, one of kind, they don't make pants in this particular shape, magical size. I'm all for being unique but come on. Talk about frustrating. I was in the dressing room sweating like a furious psychopath. All the jeans were either too big, too small, too snug (in a VERY non flattering way) and of course my favorite, too long. Even the petite jeans were too long. Am I shrinking? :(

I did pick up a cute little shirt and necklace to make up for all the dressing room trauma. It helped, but only a little. :)

Enough complaining. Lets discuss food now. Glorious and amazing food. (my favorite!)

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 10:00am.

I had a handful of grapes with strawberries, cottage cheese with Splenda and cinnamon and a Thomas's English muffin with sugar free strawberry jam on one side and spray butter and cinnamon on the other. And a lovely cup of coffee of course!


An odd mix of delicious.

After I ate I met Ann at Mama and Papa Babushka's house to feed the beasts and then we "attempted" shopping. We all know how that went, sadly. After 2 hours I gave up and came home.

LUNCH (meal #2) at 2:00pm.

I had a wrap in a wheat FlatOut which I stuffed with leftover eggplant, spinach, cucumber and a drizzle of Sriracha.


On the side I had a juicy Macintosh apple with pumpkin butter. Who knew this would be such a good combo! I loved it!


After lunch Nick and I decided to watch an awesomely bad (which equals good, naturally) movie about Nazi Zombies called Dead Snow. It was Norwegian. And AWESOME! :)

SNACK (meal #3) at 5:00pm.

I snacked on some butter pretzels, Wheat Thins and 2 dark cocoa protein muffins during the movie. I also had a cup of coffee. :-O


Later in the afternoon we got a call from Nick's friends who just had a baby and we decided to FINALLY visit to see the little one. This meant an earlier dinner than expected.

DINNER (meal #4) at 7:45pm.

I quickly sauteed up some skinless boneless chicken breasts in Pam (seasoned with pink salt, black pepper and garlic powder) and made Nick and I some tasty salads. They contained spinach + kumato + baby orange pepper + bean sprouts and of course, the chicken. I just drizzle a bit of spray butter on mine. YUM!


Now I have to run so I can hold an adorable baby for a few hours (fantasize) and play some board games. Wine was mentioned. Uh oh. Perhaps wine will be Snack, meal #5? AWE SNAP!!!! :)

XOXO
-Ildie

Perfecting "Lazy".

Hello beautiful people.

I've just enjoyed the most amazingly lazy day. Seriously. LAZY!!! I feel almost ashamed at the absurd amounts of NOTHING that went on today. I did find enough motivation to visit Mama and Papa Babushka for lunch. Let me be clear though, that has been the full extent of my "activities" today. I've also indulged in a lot of couch bonding and TV brain washing. In the wise words of Mr. Campbell. It was "Mmm Mmm Good".

I woke up at 8:00 but decided to rot in bed until almost 9:00. Why? Why not? Why hurry? No one was waiting on me. There was nothing that needed to be done. Nowhere I had to be. I need to cherish these moments pf nothingness and savor them. So I cuddled with my fluffy comforter in my cozy bed, half asleep and half daydreaming about what to have for the most important meal of the day.

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:15am.

I decided on an egg white scramble. 4 egg whites + red, green and yellow peppers + tomato.


I also had a Morning Star Farms breakfast sausage with Smucker's sugar free syrup.


And a wheat Thomas's bagel thin which I topped with a mashed banana (which I added cinnamon and a dash of Splenda to).


Enjoyed with a frothy and light whip and cinnamon smothered cup of mocha java French Press coffee.


Foodie perfection. I proceeded to rot my brain with two (one was not enough) episodes of The Millionaire Matchmaker while I nibbled. Why do I love this show? WHY?

I followed up my bad TV session with blog reading and another cup of coffee. I was in full on Lazy Mode. Apparently I was also in a daze because I lost complete track of time. I'm pretty sure that 2 hours were somehow stolen from me this morning. I looked up and it was almost time to visit the Babushka Family. I quickly cleaned myself up and rushed over there to see my adoring fans. I didn't want to disappoint and skip the visit. I'm just so freakin fantastic that they cry when I'm not around. HAHAHA! Right Papa? (cry with joy sometimes I'm sure....) :)

LUNCH (meal #2) at 1:30pm.

Mama baked up a bunch of tasty chicken. I made a lovely salad topped with one of them.

• Sweet Butter Lettuce
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Dried Cranberries
• Oven Roasted Chicken Breast
• Spray Butter
• Black Pepper

I don't know how that woman gets her chicken so tender. Mama secrets I'm not privy to I guess. :)

After lunch we played a could of WILD rounds of Sorry. Aghhhh, I love that stupid STUPID game. I also sipped on another cup of coffee. I know, I know. LOTS of coffee today. I love the stuff. Don't judge!

To TORMENT me, the family busted out several boxes of Godiva chocolates and truffles to splurge on. Ann was ALL up in the research on which ones to devour.


Mama and Papa just dove in to get whatever. I (like a good little angel) stayed away from the sweet temptation. I won't lie. It wasn't easy!!!!!


When I got home Nick talked me into watching Shutter Island. SURE, I'll rot my brain some more with the dull, flickering light of television wonder. BUT FIRST, I NEEDED A SNACK!

SNACK (meal #3) at 5:00pm.

I've had a pint of pistachio ice cream (MY FAVORITE) in the freezer for about a month now. Purchased in a moment of weakness and briefly attacked with a spoon on a random Saturday night. Only a few bites were missing and every time I open the freezer, I stare at it, lovingly... and then shut the door... So did I eat it? NOPE! I gave it to Nick and made myself a tasty bowl of Banana + Cherry Soft Serve ice cream.

• 2 frozen bananas (guessing, I have a large bag of frozen banana chunks in the freezer)
• 4 frozen cherries
• 1 packet Splenda
• splash (maybe 3 tbs) of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze

Blended and whipped to creamy perfection in my food processor and topped with Udi's original granola from a bit of texture and crunch.


TAKE THAT my beloved pistachio ice cream. Though I miss you DEEPLY, this concoction fills your delicious void. I WIN!

The movie wasn't bad. Sadly, as with a lot of movies (because I'm brilliant) I figured out the plot well before the ending. None the less, not bad. After it was over, I did something horrible... I made ANOTHER cup of coffee. Hey, I have to fuel all of this NOTHING I'm doing today. Right? (for shame Ildie.... for shame....)

(insert more random moments of nothing here.........)

(and some more............)

DINNER (meal #4) at 9:30pm.

I brought home some of Mama's incredibly tender chicken for Nick to have for dinner. I decided to make shrimp for myself. It's been too long my crustacean little critters. Far, far too long!

I peeled them, seasoned them with Himalayan pink sea salt, black pepper and key lime seasoning mix. I tossed them into a very hot pan (sprayed with Pam) until they got nice and pink. This only takes a few moments.


I enjoyed them with leftover roasted veggies from last nights dinner.


And sweet Thai chili sauce for dipping.


Simple, quick, delicious and perfect.

Well, I think It's time to go do some more of that there nothing that I'm working on perfecting today. Might as well enjoy it while I can. It's back to cubicle florescent paradise tomorrow (AKA work).

Have a great night!
Oh, and stay lazy.....

XOXO
Ildie

I Heart Art...

Happy Saturday beautiful people! Today has been GLORIOUS so far. I woke up late! My lazy butt didn't roll out of bed until almost 9:00. I think I may have enjoyed just a tad bit too much vino last night. We had the best time playing games though. Naturally I lost EVERY SINGLE one. I SUCK at strategy games. I never plan ahead. I just wing it and have fun. :)

I opened all the windows in the house today to let some of that sweet scented Spring air in. The house was starting to feel "stale" and it was so lovely to air it out. Spring makes me giddy!

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:30am.

It was hard to resist oatmeal this morning but I didn't want something that heavy right before a workout. Instead I opted for an egg white scramble (made with 4 egg whites), bananas, strawberries and a toasted Thomas's wheat bagel thin. I smeared a bit of Better N' Peanut Butter one one side and had the other with spray butter and cinnamon.


Enjoyed with creamy caffeine of course. This was a cup of vanilla biscotti flavored coffee out of the French Press with a splash of sugar free vanilla cream.


And then it was off to the gym. I was feeling super motivated today. Guilt from too much wine last perhaps? NAH! I was just craving a good workout!

WORKOUT!

Leg Extension (cable)
90lb x 15 (3 sets)
Seated Leg Curl (cable)
90lb x 15 (2 sets)
80lb x 15
Inner Thigh Machine (cable)
75lb x 20 (3 sets)
Outer Thigh Machine (cable)
85lb x 20 (3 sets)
Squats
bodyweight x 15 (3 sets)
Free Weight Squats
45lb x 15 (3 sets)
Stiff Leg Deadlifts (straight bar)
45lb x 15 (3 sets)
Plie Squats
bodyweight x 15 (3 sets)
Elliptical Cross Trainer
30 minutes, 2.68 miles, 2 min. intervals of levels 6-8
Quick Stretch Session

Total time of workout = 1:26
Max HR = 172
Average HR = 148
Total Calories Burned = 780

This just felt like such an amazing workout. I had SO much energy today. I looked like a deranged, red and sweaty HOT mess by the time I was done. Very attractive! Fitness is sexy though right? I don't know. I'm not convinced that applies to me!! I always look WILD when I'm done. HA!

SNACK (sort of meal #2) at 12:45pm.

Ann talked me into going back to her apartment after the gym. She tricked me with the promise of tasty smoothie. She also wanted to show me the progress of her "decorating" and "organizing" at her new place. I feel for it and followed her home. She added unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, chocolate whey protein, spinach and mixed frozen berries into her Magic Bullet. Magic huh? I'm NOT convinced. My smoothie was full of spinach bits and berry chunks. Nice try Annie-Boo.I managed to down maybe half of it. I didn't have my camera with me so I have no photographic proof of this "chunky" concoction.

I hung out with Ann for maybe and hour and then hustled home. I was STARVING!

LUNCH (meal #3) at 2:30pm.

I started prepping lunch as soon as I walked into the house. I seasoned a pretty large chicken breast with pink salt, black pepper and key lime seasoning mix. I seared it in a pan (sprayed with Pam) until nice and golden. Maybe 15 minutes. ?? While the chicken was cooking, I made two salads for Nick and I.

• Spinach
• Romaine
• Carrots
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Tomato
• Garlic & Sea Salt Sunflower Seeds (from Kaia Foods)

I chopped the chicken up and split it between the two of us. I topped my salad with a bit of Spray Butter and a drizzle of spicy Thai Chili Sauce. It was delicious. I love a good salad!


After lunch I read some blogs and then decided to clean myself up. I still looked deranged from my earlier workout. No, I have NO photo of this either. Just take my word for it.

MINI DINNER (meal #4) at 6:00pm.

I had a quicky early dinner tonight. My salad from lunch had me pretty full and because of plans later, I was forced to eat dinner way earlier than usual. I improvised by having some fresh fruit and a sandwich. Nothing heavy of fussy. I quickly cut up some strawberries, 1/2 apple and a 1/2 banana. I topped it with lime juice and a bit of Splenda. DELICIOUS!


I also made a black bean burger, garlic hummus and pickle bagel thin sandwich. YUM!


And an iced coffee. It just sounded good!


We were invited to an art show at Art Bomb Tattoo shop tonight (from 7:00 - 11:00). Nick's good friend owns the shop and his best friend and brother work there as well. They have several art shows every year. It's such a clever idea. They offer select piercings and tattoos at a discount price and at the same time, they show off amazing art that can also be purchased. We always have the best time when we go. They usually offer snacks and beverages too, though I doubt I will partake in the snackage. UNLESS they happen to have something "healthy". I'm thinking NO on that one though. :)

There's also talks of going out after the show is over to continue the festivities. No location has been picked yet so I have no idea where the night may take us. Sometimes I sort of like it that way!

My camera is already in my purse to make SURE that I don't forget it! I'll share the fun pictures with you tomorrow.

HAVE A GREAT NIGHT!

XOXO
Ildie

Realization and supplementation

Hello my sassy little foodie vixens. I hope your day is going well!

Today started off sort of odd for me. I woke up, got dressed and as I walked past the hallway mirror, I stopped dead in my tracks. Why hello there shrinking wonder. I caught a glimpse of my profile and my jaw hit the floor. Where did my ass go? As in my "shelf" ass. The one that forms on top of your actual ass that someone could easily place a bottle of beer on. It was gone! GONE I tell you! As were my back boobs. Come on ladies, we ALL know what that is. I mean, I knew I was melting away but somehow the reality of how much din't hit me until that very moment. My profile has always been scary! I rather like it now and it felt freakin amazing to finally realize the full extent of my progress this morning. :)

I celebrated by changing and wearing a shirt that I haven't worn in well over two years. It was snug (accentuating my now flat and mostly toned back) and short (now showing off my curvy ass) and I felt damn proud strutting around the office in it. I had an extra little sass in my step. Shake yo self girl. SHAKE IT!

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:15am.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• pinch salt
• Splenda to taste
• (Topped with ground flax, 2 tbs sugar free strawberry preserves, more cinnamon & 1 tbs Better N' Peanut Butter.)

Work was much more subdued today. I enjoyed the silence and kept a low profile. Never go searching for trouble my friends. If you dig long enough, you'll find it. HA!

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

I basically had the exact same thing that I had for dinner last night. Well, almost. I had leftover roasted veggies and a toasted bagel thin with superfruit jam on one side and light laughing cow cheese on the other. I'm addicted to this combo of flavors.


I love mixing laughing cow cheese with jam. It feels like a treat every time I have a sandwich like this! YUM!


On our break today I attempted supplement shopping trip #2. Was I successful? You bet! I'm officially going to start taking the following supplements every day, starting today.

(Fish Oil for my healthy fats and Calcium 600 Plus for healthy bones.)

(Ginkgo Biloba for mental alertness (I NEED THIS, HA), Ginseng for energy, endurance and vitality and Centrum Multivitamins to cover everything else.)


I think I've waited long enough to incorporate some much needed supplements into my life. I have brittle nails, my hair breaks off easily, I yawn a lot and my skin has seen better days. I'm hoping this combo will help. Multivitamins and calcium are, of course, necessary for different reasons!

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

I made a quick yogurt mess with plain Yoplait Greek yogurt, cinnamon, a banana and the last of my superfruit jam. Twas delish!


I decided to skip the gym today and get a little workout in at home. I just haven't been feeling the gym this week and today was no exception. Not to mention that my upper body still feels SUPER sore and tight. My muscles needed to rest! My new schedule might not be working out. Though doing different portions of upper body, I still DO upper body three days in a row. I might need to rethink this!

WORKOUT!

I did a 20 minute ab workout. I downloaded a video from the Exercise on Demand channel. It was TOUGH! After that I did 10 minutes on the bike. Aaaaand basically that was it. What can I say. At least I did something. ;) (I only burned 266 calories though...)

SNACK (meal #4) at 7:00pm.

I didn't feel like a protein shake either so I opted for a juicy Fuji apple. It was a good one.


I cleaned my messy self up after my mini snack and relaxed on the couch for a bit with some girlie DVR love. Nick was visiting a friend so I watched some episodes of Say Yes To The Dress. LOVE that show. ;)

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

I had NO Idea what to make tonight. NONE! I've been a bit unmotivated in the kitchen as of late. It gets even worse towards the end of the week as I start running out of fresh supplies. I need to (must) work on that ASAP! I gawked at the things I had available to me and decided to have a salad with the last of my leftover roasted veggies and a pan seared chicken breast. Hey, I cooked, a little! HA!

• Spinach
• Cooked chicken breast (pan seared with S+P, cayenne, rosemary and garlic powder)
• Leftover roasted veggies
• Spray Butter
• Sprinkle of garlic sunflower seeds
• Small handful of dried cranberries

Ahhhhhhh-may-zzzzing! Not bad considering I had no idea what to make less than 30 minutes before devouring this tasty mess. I think it's my love of chicken (which I don't have often by the way) that keeps me from becoming a vegetarian. Just not sure I could give it up!

Nick came home right as I finished eating. We spent a good amount of time discussing where we might want to vacation this Spring/Summer. We keep tossing ideas back and forth but for some reason we keep leaning towards the beach. As far as the when and the where. Still undecided. Maybe NC??? I honestly don't care where we go. I'm just ECSTATIC that we're planning something! ;)


I just made a lovely cup of coconut chai black tea with a splash of milk and cinnamon to sip on. We're about to watch The Office. I love Jim and Pam! ;)

Question: Do you guys take any supplements? If so, what and why? Have you noticed a difference since taking them? Good or bad?

Night-night!
XOXOXO
-Ildie