Random Rambles of beauty

Hello my gorgeous friends. I hope you're all having a wonderful Wednesday. Today was a bit busy and rough at work but I MADE IT! JUST BARELY I TELL YOU! The veins were a poppin and there was a lot of tongue biting goin on! ;)

Let's move right along into a random topic. I like to do this from time to time. Gotta keep it interesting right? SPICE THINGS UP A BIT!

I was checking myself out in the mirror this morning. Grabbing at my face and my neck. Inspecting my porous crevices. Yanking at my gut and arms and what not. You know what I'm talking about ladies. We ALL do it. I kept investigating my TINY yet visible eye wrinkles (EEK) and permanent laugh lines. Pinching my bits and pieces. I did this for a good 10 minutes before slathering on moisturizer, getting dressed and painting my face on. Why do we do this? This ritualistic, self worth evaluation? I get carded ALL the time. Clearly people think I'm way younger than I truly am. (LOVE IT) Please don't let me know if you disagree with their perception... HA! Sure, I could use to lose some more weight (which I'm obviously working on) but I think I look GOOD for someone who'll be 33 in less than two weeks! (OMG)

Sadly, a lot of women don't share my views and feel insufficient. I used to be that way but somehow grew to love and accept myself. I'm eating right and working out to be healthy and to feel good. It's not purely for the physical transformation. I won't lie though, having a smaller ass is nice too.

Where am I going with all of this? A blogger I read regularly, Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point has started the most brilliant movement. Operation Beautiful is so simple yet so amazing. Please check it out **HERE**. ;)

(Here is a snipped from her lovely site) - The mission of Operation Beautiful is to post anonymous notes in public places for other women to find. The point is that WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL. You are enough... just the way you are!

I just HAD to share all this with you. Random ramble session is now over. Thanks for listening.

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

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 tbs flax
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa
• 1 tbs Acai powder from Navitas Naturals
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• dash salt
• Splenda to taste
• 2 tbs PB2
• 1 tbs sugar free peach preserves

I swooned with my decadent bowl buddy for a solid 30 minutes. For reasons beyond me I ate it super slow today. I usually INHALE my food. This was a rarity!

I spent the rest of the morning working my tired brain to pieces. So many emails, so little time.

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

I don't know what I was thinking when I packed my lunch last night. The amount of food I had spread out before me was MASSIVE! I packed the last of the leftover sweet and sour veggies from the other day...


and a HUGE salad!

The salad contained the following.

• Romaine
• Sweet butter lettuce
• Green & Orange bell pepper
• Cherry tomatoes
• Asian veggie burger (Morning Star Farms)
• Drizzle of Spray Butter

I ate all of the veggies and maybe half of my salad (I picked the burger off the top of course!) and then sadly had to toss the rest. WAY TOO MUCH FOOD! :-O

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a hazy work coma. Before I knew it, my usual break time had come and gone and I never even left the building. This was probably wise because I would've ended up staying late to get everything done. Busy-Busy!

I was so busy that I almost worked through snack time. THE HORROR! Can you imagine missing snack time? So scary! I need to be more careful!

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:30pm.

The usual Mix of Oikos, Fuji apple and a drizzle of granola. It just never gets old!


I BARELY escaped the office on time today. Basically I forced myself to just walk away. The work will all be here tomorrow. No need to worry about that. It will be waiting for me.... silently.... lurking and slithering in the dark....

WORKOUT!

Bicep Curls (Barbell)
40lb x 12
35lb x 15 (2 sets)
Tricep Pulldown with Rope Grip (cable)
70lb x 15
70lb x 12
60lb x 14
See Saw Press (Dumbbell)
12.5lb x 15 (3 sets)
Hammer Curls (Dumbbell)
15lb x 15 (2 sets)
12.5lb x 15
Skull Crushers (Barbell)
20lb x 15 (3 sets)

Military Press (Barbell)
20lb x 15 (3 sets)
21's (Barbell)
20lb (3 sets)
Concentration Curls (Dumbell)
12.5 lb x 15
10lb x 15 (2 sets)
21's (Barbell)
25lb (2 sets)
Elliptical Cross Trainer, 30 minutes, 2.61 miles, 370 calories burned
1 min. - level 5
2 min. - level 6
3 min. - level 7
4 min. - level 8
5 min. - level 9
6 min. - level 10
7 min. - level 11
8 min. - level 12
9 min. - level 13
10 min. - level 14
_____________________
11 min. - level 5
12 min. - level 6
13 min. - level 7
14 min. - level 8
15 min. - level 9
16 min. - level 10
17 min. - level 11
18 min. - level 12
19 min. - level 13
20 min. - level 14
_____________________
21 min. - level 14
22 min. - level 13
23 min. - level 12
24 min. - level 11
25 min. - level 10
26 min. - level 9
27 min. - level 8
28 min. - level 7
29 min. - level 6
30 min. - level 5

Work stress fueled me through a GREAT workout. HA! I was feeling pumped and pushed it hard.

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

I recovered my tender little arms with a cool, protein packed smoothie.

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 1 banana
• 1/2 of frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1 tbs Acai powder from Navitas Naturals
• 1 packet Splenda
• Dash cinnamon (because WHY not?)

This was a tasty blend! The color was NOT appealing but the flavor was very good!

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

I have two words for you. Chocolate Pancakes! I was dreaming about them ALL day long today. It's been WEEKS (several long agonizing weeks) since I've indulged in their deliciousness and I could resist them no longer. Of course I made the healthy version! The best of both worlds!

Into my trusty little blender went the following.

• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
• 1/4 unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1/2 banana
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• 2 packets Splenda
• 1 tsp baking powder

Blended till smooth and creamy. This was enough to make 4 regular size pancakes. I heated up my largest frying pan, sprayed it with Pam and delicately poured my little round cakes of love. I cooked each side for about 2-3 minutes. I topped them with the last smidgen of PB2 that I had left (I WEEP OPENLY IN DESPAIR), Kaia Foods cocoa mole sunflower seeds, 1 tbs of coconut flakes and a drizzle of Smucker's sugar free blueberry syrup.

I took my first bite and gasped. Yeah, it was THAT good! Pat on the back Ildie. Pat on the back!

I think I'll end my night with a delicious cup of my new favorite coconut chai black tea (Zhena's Gypsy Tea) with a splash of sugar free cream. Divine!


Alright my lovelies. Time to unwind before I'm forced to return to florescent paradise (work) tomorrow. Have a great night!

HUGS!
-Ildie

Turning Green

It FINALLY stopped snowing. I say, I say Hallelujah! (whilst dancing wildly with hands up in the air...)

I had crazy dreams last night. They involved lots of fuzzy, faceless people and numerous WILD and unrealistic situations. Don't worry, I wont bore you and elaborate. I'll simply label them as intensely confusing and ridiculous!

My dreams never make sense! I've been known to obsess about them in the past. Are they merely suppressed thoughts roaming my sleeping brain at night? Are they things I wish I could change or fix somehow? Are they the life my "other" self is living in a parallel universe? Whoah, that was deep. I think I spend WAY too much time watching British accented nuclear physicists on the Science channel.

How about we move on and discuss a more easily understandable topic? FOOD!

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

I ate later than usual today. I was bombarded with emails as soon as I sat down at work. I tried numerous times to walk away but in the end I decided to get them all done before giving in to my decadent oatmeal desires.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 tbs ground flax
• 2 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa (Hershey's)
• tons of cinnamon
• Splenda to taste
• 2 tbs PB2 (made extra creamy and runny today)

Yep, just as good as yesterday. I love this dark cocoa. It has rich chocolate flavor without any bitterness.

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

I was craving another salad. I'll be turning green soon. Between my salads, wraps and green smoothies, I must consume at least 6 cups of spinach a day! A DAY!

• Spinach
• Green bell pepper
• Black beans
• Fat free cottage cheese
• Bread & Butter pickles
• (no dressing was needed)

I love cottage cheese with spinach. It gives the salad great texture and moisture. Dressing isn't even necessary. I devoured this. LOVE!

We actually got to leave the office for a break today. The lack of fresh snow fall meant FREEDOM for us flake haters. YEAH! We went to Mustard Seed Market to roam around. Bad decision! I have officially decided that I DESPISE this store. Overpriced and stuffy with snobby shoppers. I'm done with it! After about 20 minutes of torture I pushed the cart aside and walked out. BLEK!

To cheer up and not make our break a complete fail, Ann and I ran to turn in some winning scratch off tickets. I got them as a Christmas present and I've been hauling them around for well over a month now. I decided to turn them in for more tickets instead of my $11 winnings. Maybe these new ones are worth even more! Maybe I'm rich without even knowing it!


scratch......scratch......scratch...... Nope, not rich yet. HA!

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

I missed not having my precious Greek yogurt mess yesterday. It's my crack and I needed it BAD! I fed my face full of this sweet addiction and instantly felt better!

• 1 4oz container of plain 0% Oikos
• Fuji apple, sliced
• 1 tbs of peach preserves
• a sprinkle of Back to Nature chocolate delight granola

After work we FINALLY made it to the gym. Weeeeeeeeeee! As you know, I went Sun. and Mon. but skipped Tues. and Wed. because of the snow. I exercised at home on both of those days but it's just not the same. I pushed my ass hard today and had a great workout. Sweat was dripping in my eyes people. IN MY EYES! AND IT BURNED! Tomorrow morning is weigh in day. There's no time to mess around! It's time to get down to business!

WORKOUT!

Elliptical Cross Trainer, 60 minutes, 729 calories burned, 5.1 miles
1-3 min., (level 5)
4-6 min., (level 6)
7-9 min., (level 7)
10-12 min., (level 8)
13-15 min., (level 9)
16-18 min., (level 10)
19-21 min., (level 11)
22-24 min., (level 12)
25-27 min., (level 13)
28-30 min., (level 14)
31-33 min., (level 13)
34-36 min., (level 12)
37-39 min., (level 11)
40-42 min., (level 10)
43-45 min., (level 9)
46-60 min., (level 8)
Sit ups

x60
Crunches

x60

I initially had intentions on doing much more with my abs but I was beat. I also felt quivery. Signs of a good workout I guess.

AWE SNAP! There were two lovely boxes waiting for me when I pulled into the driveway. It's always so exciting to get mail! The first was from Jay Robb. I received an awesome bag of goodies to review. I've heard wonderful things about their products and I can't wait to devour them. I received packets of whey, rice and egg protein, a few Jay Bars (protein bars) and an awesome bag.


Of course I dove RIGHT IN and used the strawberry whey protein powder to make tonights smoothie. They claim to be OUTRAGEOUSLY delicious! I just had to know if it was true!

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• Jay Robb strawberry whey protein powder packet
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 cup frozen strawberry
• small banana

Hold the phone. IT WAS DELICIOUS! So rich and creamy. The flavor was excellent. Jay Robb products contain no gluten, msg, casein, artificial colors or flavor and are sweetened with Stevia. SOLD! It gets a very easy 10 out 10. Thanks Jay Robb! I would totally have this again. The stats are awesome too!


The second box was from Naturally Nutty. I received three sexy little jars of DECADENCE!


Chocolate cherry peanut butter, vanilla almond butter and white chocolate coconut peanut butter. I'M SO EXCITED! Honestly, I don't eat a lot of nut butters because of the high calorie content but I doubt I can say no to these! They sound incredible! A tablespoon in my daily bowl of oatmeal should be very doable. I'll probably try one tomorrow. CAN'T WAIT! Thanks Naturally Nutty!

Nick was having a business meeting which involved dinner with an associate, his boss and another programmer. This meant just Moi for dinner tonight. What to have, what to have...???

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

After some fridge gawking and cabinet raiding, I decided to make spicy Tilapia fillets with fresh green beans and acorn squash. I seasoned the fillets with sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, dill and cayenne and popped them into a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.


I tossed the acorn squash in along with the Tilapia. I just sliced it into wedges and seasoned the slices with Spray Butter, cinnamon, sea salt, black pepper and a dash of Splenda.


The green beans were sauteed in a covered pan with spray butter, more teriyaki and a bit of spicy Thai chili paste. What can I say, I like HEAT!


It was a hot, spicy, protein packed, low calorie, low carb and delicious dinner! I heart veggies!

Time for green tea and cuddle time with the Mr. He just got home.

Mr. Evil Scary Scale and I have our weekly date tomorrow morning. Will my good luck streak continue? Here's to hoping!

XOXO
Ildie