BOOGEDY BOO!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! This glorious day has finally arrived and I couldn't be more excited!


I celebrated this joy with a breakfast parfait and a cup of coffee. Oh man, this parfait was filing and delicious.

• 1 4oz container Oikos Greek Yogurt, blended with splenda and cinnamon
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 Trader Joe's Apple Cranberry Bran muffin, crumbled

After gulping this bad boy down, I got dressed and met Ann at the gym. Here's what went down.

Treadmill warm up, 5 min. at 3.2 speed
Seated Leg Curl Machine
62lb x 20
67lb x 15
72lb x 15
77lb x 10
Seated Leg Extension Machine
62lb x 20
67lb x 15
72lb x 12
77lb x 10
Single Leg Press Machine
45lb x 25 (1 set per leg)
55lb x 22 (1 set per leg)
70lb x 20 (1 set per leg)
90lb x 15 (1 set per leg)
Ab Machine
80lb x 20
90lb x 20
Barbell Stiff Leg Dead Lift
35lb x 20
45lb x 15
55lb x 15
Barbell Bicep Curl
20lb x 20
25lb x 15
30lb x 10
20lb x 18
Dumbbell Hammer Curl
7.5lb x 20
10lb x 15
12.5lb x 10
Cable Triceps Pull down (It was at this point I realized how tired I was)
40lb x 20
50lb x 7

I was WORN OUT, covered with sweat and yawning. What the heck? I didn't mention this before but I slept horrible last night. I stayed up till 2:00 AM on purpose so I would sleep in and not get tired at the party tonight. Well as luck would have it, I woke up at 5:30 AM and spent the next hour trying to fall back asleep. GOOD TIMES! Sleep was on and off after that point until I finally got up at about 10:00. So much for getting rested for the party. HA! My body was also tired from working on the yard yesterday. I was definitely weaker today than usual. I tend to bust out more sets/reps than this when I am rested. Oh well.

When I got home, Nick scared the crap out of me. He was hiding in the dining room which is right next to where we walk into the house. OMG.. What is wrong with him? I screamed like an idiot. HA!


He will pay for this later!


For lunch we decided to make breakfast food. I'm trying to keep it low calorie today since I'll be partying it up later. I'm guessing it'll be bad food overload paradise later. Such as desserts, snacks and finger foods. I'm sure I'll indulge just a bit, but as usual, I'll aim to be as GOOD as humanly possible. I'm hoping for a veggie tray, fruit tray, hummus, or pretzels, etc... I'll take a Luna bar or something for backup as well. As far as drinks go, yes, I'll be drinking (I'm not driving, YEAH). I've been looking forward to this day for months now. I do plan to indulge and I refuse to feel guilty about it! Enjoy your life damn it! You can't always be good, and careful and cautious. It's okay to be naughty every once in a while. I will just kill myself at the gym all next week to make up for it. Wow, I'm rambling. Sorry. Here is what I made.

• 4 egg whites
• green bell pepper, chopped, just a bit
• mushrooms, chopped, just a bit
• green onions, chopped, just a bit

I whipped them together and had an English Muffin the side. I also added some mango habanero salsa on top to make them perfect.Tasty and filling.


Then the fun started. I cleaned up, put on my little bloody dress and started applying my gruesome makeup. IT TOOK FOR EVER! Blood here, scab there, scar here, gore there. After about an hour and a half, this is what I accomplished.


And now I have to run. I will update you on the party tomorrow.

ENJOY YOUR HALLOWEEN!

Leaf induced lethargy and a man name Joe!

Hi everyone. Guess what???? I LOST 3 MORE POUNDS! Oh I'm just giddy with excitement I tell you, GIDDY! It's the best way to start a Friday!! Especially a Friday on which I don't have to work. I know I already mentioned that I requested today off. Ann and I decided to take it off together and enjoy a long weekend. We also wanted to FINALLY drive to Cleveland today to visit Trader Joe's for the first time. I've heard great things in Blog Land about this place. I can't STAND it anymore. I must see what all the hubbub is about!! (And yes, I will be taking my camera to document and capture this momentous event!)

I woke up bright and early (8:00 AM). This is bright and early considering that I didn't get to sleep till almost 2:00 AM. I fell into the deep trance that is "Blog reading" late last night and couldn't bring myself to stop. Must..... Keep..... Reading..... I'm addicted I tell you! Nick was up with me the whole time playing his new Forza game. Aren't we a lovely pair? :)

I quickly poured myself a cup of freshly ground coffee and took a big steamy gulp. AHHH, much better already!


And you will never guess what I did next! Yep, I opened up my laptop and went to Blog Land again..... I was able to pull myself away long enough to make a quick and tasty breakfast. English muffin and egg white sandwiches.

• 1 English Muffin, toasted
• 3 egg whites, cooked with salt and pepper in a pan sprayed with Pam
• 1 slice of fat free American cheese, split two ways
• 1 tbs of Mango Habanero salsa on each

PERFECTION in the most simplest form! Fussy doesn't always equal delicious! This is fact!


After breakfast I slapped myself together. Ann was already on her way over. HERE WE COME JOE! We got in the car at 10:00 AM sharp. Bearing full smiles, which now appeared to be permanently plastered on our cheerful faces. No work today! YEAH!

Google maps was WRONG! The drive only took us 30 minutes and the plaza was right off the highway. GLORIOUS! Oh.... Oh, what's that..... Oh my goodness....... There it is.... TA DAAAAA!


The place was awesome! I was so awe struck that I forgot to take pictures once we got inside. Forgive me! They were busy too. Not that I'm surprised. It was a perfect blend of well stocked, good for you, tasty, healthy, perfectly packaged, friendly staffed goodness! I WILL BE BACK! Here is what I purchased (I took this picture after we got home.)


After we left, we didn't want to the fun to stop. The store was located in the cutest little plaza so we decided to roam around. And get this, it was actually nice out today! Mid 60's, partly cloudy. WOW. What a brilliant day off from work! We celebrated with a cup of Skinny Caramel Latte from Barnes & Nobles!


Which we enjoyed while walking around outside. The place was adorable!


I think the coffee had us a bit hyper!


We even made some wishes at this fountain. I made several actually. Why not! You never know right?

Then we decided to move down the block to check out this place.


I kept seeing this place in Blog Land as well and wanted to see what all the hype was about. Not as friendly or as frugal as Trader Joe's in my opinion. I guess by just leaving Joe's, this place stood no chance. We left empty handed. No big whoop. It was nearing 2:00 anyway and we decided to head back home. We made the quick 30 minute drive in no time.

Halfway home I remembered that I needed more BLOOD! EEK! I used up the last of what I had on my dress this morning! DANG IT! I swore that I wouldn't do anymore Halloween shopping this season. However, I had no choice. So we ran to pick some up. They didn't have exactly what I was looking for but I managed to find a tube of something that should work. I will of course update you on that tomorrow, once the makeup application begins. DA DA DAAAAA!

By the time we got back we were starving. I quickly made us a delicious and healthy lunch. Pumpernickel veggie sandwiches with a small side salad.

• 2 sliced pumpernickel bread
• 1 wedge lie laughing cow cheese
• sliced mushrooms
• sliced tomato
• sliced green bell pepper

Voila!


Not sure I really needed to list the ingredients for that above. It's pretty self explanatory. Add any veggies you like or that you have on hand. The side salad was just some fresh spinach with green onions, tomato, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and a little spray butter. (FYI, everything tastes BETTER with spray butter magic... I'm just saying... HA!)


After lunch Ann took off and Nick and I decided to tackle THIS!


My backyard.. Tragic right? SO MANY LEAVES! Nick raked a week ago while I was at the gym and you can't even tell he was ever back there. Sad.... True story!

1 hour in...... Not bad. And for some reason, we were having fun.


The cat was not. He was lonely. I LOVE YOU CRAZY!


Nick even started a small fire to burn up some of the fallen tree branches I've been collecting behind the garage. Men love fire... I don't get it!


We were outside for two hours. So much for not working out on Friday. This was one hell of a full body workout. Raking worked the arms and the shoulders and bagging the leaves worked the legs and the glutes. Oh who am I kidding, it worked every muscle in my body. YEAH! I think the grand total for the number of bags we filled with leaves was 15. Sadly, Nick already had 13 or so stashed in the garage from last week. WE NEED A TRUCK to get rid of them all! (Hi Papa, hint.... hint....)

After our backyard Fall Festival, we both cleaned up and started on dinner. As you all know, it's TACO SALAD NIGHT on Friday around these parts. I just never get sick of this stuff. I added mushrooms this time. Even better.

• 110 grams (2 servings) Morning Star Farms Grounds (frozen, right out of the bag)
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 3 white mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 2 tbs white onion, chopped
• 1/4 bag of taco seasoning packet (any variety you like)
• 4 tbs water, to give it some moisture

Heat all of these ingredients together. It only takes about 10 minutes. I always pour it over some romaine lettuce and then top it with fat free shredded cheddar cheese, fat free sour cream, tomatoes and avocado. No chips are necessary. Just try it, you'll see!


I enjoyed it with this diet pomegranate pop I picked up at Trader Joe's. Yummy!


For a bit of a treat later I decided to make a cup of cocoa using Vanilla Almond Breeze and the new Trader Joe's cocoa I purchased today.


And I added some of this....


And some of this.....


MMMM. Now I feel all warm and cozy inside. Lovely!


WHEW! What a day! And that's it. My day in a nutshell. Have a great night everyone! :)

The flavors that make up my life.

Currently watching my recorded episodes of So You Think You Can Dance. AWE YEAH! Love it! Nick is visiting a friend and I'm taking full advantage! It is FORBIDDEN when he is home. I never hear the end of his whining. HA! MEN!

While it's on in the background, I thought I would recap my lovely day for you curious little critters. It was jam packed and full of the flavors that make up my life. A dash of drama, a dash of whimsy, a dash of joy, a dash of rage, a dash of fun, a dash of love, and of course, a dash of delicious. Juuuuuuust the right blend of ingredients to make it an alright kind of day. You need a little dash of this and that in your life to see the difference between the good and bad right? I think you do!

I'm off tomorrow and all weekend, YEEEEEEEEEEES! I just don't want to dwell on the negatives with you today.


Let's start with breakfast shall we? I had the always hearty and delicious mix of love.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 banana, sliced
• dash cinnamon
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tbs pumpkin butter

I have to tell you. I don't think I could be happy without the addition of oatmeal in my diet. The stuff is amazing and the combination possibilities are endless! Oh, and it's healthy AND delicious! DUH! If you're not hip to it, you better get hip! Go get some, right now!


Lunch just made me happy today. I love all Morning Star Farms burgers. I tried the Mushroom Lovers for the first time today. LOVED IT! I had it on an English Muffin with some romaine lettuce. I also had some tomatoes, carrots and some applesauce sprinkled with cinnamon on the side. It was perfect! Just the right amount of food.


For a quick escape from work today, Ann and I ran to Barnes and Nobles and enjoyed some health magazine reading with a cup of coffee. Nothing overly exciting BUT it got us out of florescent light paradise (the office) for a bit, which is always good!

When we got back, we treated ourselves with some deliciousness from Vita Muffins. I brought in the Chocolate Fig variety for each of us to try.


Uhm, delicious. I can't believe they're only a 100 calories. Where have you been all my life? HA! It was rich, chocolatey and full of fig goodness. Just look at them all. Come here you.....


Mmmmmmmm!!!!


Go buy some. They were kind enough to send me a lovely box of 10 different varieties to sample along with a box of brownies. I will be JOYFULLY updating you on what I think of them as they get consumed. :)

Ann - a solid 8 on a scale of 1-10. She loved it but thought it was just a bit dry.


Me - I give it a 9 on a scale of 1-10. I thought it was rich, dense, filling and the flavor was excellent. Reminded me of a dark chocolate cake. I agree that it was a bit dry but I liked it regardless.

The rest of our afternoon FLEW by. Probably due to some of that drama I was telling you about before. See, I can see the good in all circumstances if I just try a little harder. With as busy as we were, it was 5:00 PM before we knew it.

The gym hit the spot today. I was feeling good. Here's what we did.

Barbell Upright Row
25lb x 25
35lb x 20
45lb x 15
Dumbbell Overhead Press
7.5lb x 20
10lb x 15
12.5lb x 12
15lb x 10
Dumbbell Side Raise
5lb x 25
7.5lb x 20
10lb x 15
Dumbbell Front Raise
5lb x 25
7.5lb 15
10lb x 15
Behind Neck Press (machine)
10lb x 20
20lb x 15
30lb x 12
Treadmill (15 min. total)
2 min. at 3.2 speed
2 min. at 3.4 speed
2 min. at 3.6 speed
2 min. at 3.8 speed
7 min. at 3.2 speed
Bike at Random setting, Level 5 (15 min. total)
5.4 miles, 100 calories burned

WHEW! Then I changed and ran to the grocery store. I usually go after work on Friday but since I took the day off (YAY) I decided to go today and get it out of the way. As usual, I paid a ridiculous amount. Sacrifices of a healthy lifestyle are worth it though. I've spent money on more worthless crap then the nutritious and good for you food that I eat every day. Your body is your palace. ALWAYS remember that!!


For dinner I decided to spoil myself a bit and make a healthy, vegan, stuffed pepper. Actually it JUST finished and I'm about to go enjoy it. I was blogging while it was cooking away in the oven and while watching So You Think You Can Dance. Multitasking RULES! The house smells amazing and I'm starving! It's super easy to make... Check it out.

FILLING

• 1 cup Morning Star Farms Ground (frozen right out of the bag)
• 1/4 cup cooked rice
• 4 white mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
• 1 chopped green onion
• 1/2 of a small yellow onion, chopped
• dash salt and pepper
• dash cayenne (I add this to everything, you can leave it out)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• dash cumin

I cut the top of a green pepper off and put it in a saucepan with about an inch of already boiling water in it. I covered and cooked it for about 5 minutes to soften the pepper a bit. You can also add it to a steamer, I just don't have one. Then I stuffed it with the filling and put it in an oven safe dish. I actually have smaller bowl that is oven safe so to save on some dishes, I just baked it in that. I also took a can of tomato sauce and poured it around and over the pepper. I know most people eat it with ketchup but I grew up eating stuffed peppers with tomato sauce.


OH MAN. It's delicious! I'm finishing this blog in between bites. I could't even eat it all. The pepper I had on hand was HUGE!

By the I finished Nick was home. I immediately turned off So You Think You Can Dance to keep the peace! He was already huffin and puffin before I was able to grab the remote. HA! I told you, it takes him no time at all!

And now I must go and hang out with Mr. Man, Mr. Cat and watch the new Office episode the DVR recorded earlier. I LOVE YOU DVR! Enjoy the rest of your night everyone!