Amazing Deals and what not...

It's quite possible that in my half asleep, delirious and frazzled state of mind (it just turned midnight) I may start to ramble uncontrollably. It's very possible that this post will lose all meaning, sense and direction. Please bare with me my lovelies. I MUST post for you no matter the time. I think I have a writing addiction problem. :)

My three day weekend is officially here and I'm overwhelmed with joy. I WELCOME THEE! BRING IT ON BABY! Weekends rejuvenate my spirit. I need them in my life like bloggers need their camera. That should sum it up for you quite nicely.

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

A teeny tiny twist on the usual.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• pinch salt
• Splenda
• (Microwaved and topped with 1 tbs Better N' Peanut Butter and 20g of organic raisins.)

Good GRIEF. WHY did it take me so long to combine raisins and PB in hot, creamy oatmeal? I wept. Yeah, it was THAT good!

Am I the only one that finds it annoying when you have things at home for MONTHS that you never think to use? Such as raisins! Then one day you dig around, try something and immediately feel like a BLIND FOOL for not thinking of it before. I plan to dig around in my cabinets some more this weekend. Who knows what else my cabinet jungle is hiding. I bet it's full of brilliant treats, flavors, combinations and goodies yet to be discovered. Just waiting on my clammy little hands to find them. CHOMP!

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

I had a spinach salad topped with leftover peas and green beans from last night. I also added a sliced kumato, sprouted sunflower seeds and a Morning Star Farms black bean burger for some protein kick. It was amazing. Hot, spicy and flavorful. :)


Our break away from the office involved a VERY IMPORTANT MISSION! Jean shopping extravaganza #2 for the week. I would very HAPPILY like to announce that operation "locate magical sized jeans" was a complete success. I found a pair that were NOT too long and realized that I dropped yet another size. Yep. Life is good.

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

I contemplated not boring you with the repetitive tasty mess that has been my snack all week but here it is anyways. Go ahead, take it all in. Enjoy the view..... I took the picture in front of the VERY classy picture of Nick and I in our Redneck gear for a Halloween in August party last year. HA! (I am NOT meant to be a blonde, good grief, I love that stupid wig!!) And yes, I keep this on my desk. No shame! Gotta stay classy!


Ahhhhhhh. I love yogurt!!! Here we have a plain Dannon Greek Yogurt topped with two mini chocolate protein muffins and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

As I was enjoying my little afternoon treat, I slowly began to realize that leaving work at 5:00 was not going to happen today. In a way I dealt with it and just decided to stay over and get some things done. Part of me found it hard to walk away because I knew I wouldn't be in tomorrow. Annie-Boo was semi upset with me I think. (I LOVE YOU ANN). She sat around in her gym clothes waiting for me, but alas, it wasn't meant to be today. I skipped my workout. :-O

Honestly, I wasn't feeling it. It was getting late, I was mentally exhausted and my leg still felt a bit "off". I wasn't in pain or anything. I could just tell that something wasn't right. So I took a day off. BIG WHOOP! I think this is maybe the 5th or 6th workout I've missed in the last 9 months. I TELL NO LIES! (pssst, I just lied right there...) Okay, I do lie sometimes. You know, to be polite and what not. I'm serious about the workouts though. I hardly ever miss them.

I decided to go grocery shopping instead. Oh to fill a cart with healthy goodies (and wine) makes me so happy. It was nice today, not rushing around the store. I took my time wandering every single isle, slowly, taking it all in. I enjoy shopping for food. I really do. Though I will admit, the longer I'm there the more I spend. YOWZA!

After putting my groceries away, I made myself a nice cup of coffee to take the edge off. Coffee calms me. Sweet, soothing cup of Joe, I love you. Why is it Joe by the way? Why not Jill or Jan?


IN OTHER NEWS! have you ever heard of Zeni Optical? No? Well if you wear glases GET HIP! The site is amazing. I have a SLIGHT (severe) obsession with glasses. I think I currently own 10 pair. Seven of them are from Zeni. :-O

I ordered three more about a week and half ago. I paid $35 dollars for all three!!! This INCLUDES prescription lenses AND shipping. HOLLA!

I love the orange pair. I think they really make my green eyes pop. :)


SHHHH, do you hear that??? That's the sound of an AMAZING DEAL! I love this pair too!


AWE SNAP. Shady Shades...... I ordered these lenses with 80% grey shading. I picked the largest, bulkiest frames I could find to get that very fashionable BUG EYED look that all the cool kids are wearing. HA!


Nick called these grandma shades. You know, the ones that old ladies wear OVER their glasses while driving. PLEASE TELL ME IT ISN'T TRUE! I haven't owned shades in years because I'm blind without glasses and prescription shades are EXPENSIVE! When I realized that I could add shading to any pair of glasses for $5 I thought I would give it a try. I think they look pretty good. However, I think 80% shading might be a bit TOO dark. I won't know for sure until I can test them outside on a sunny day. TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS! Be honest. I'm not trying to look like a crazy grandmother! HA!

DINNER (meal #4) 9:30pm.

We kept it simple tonight. Tomato soup....


And Grilled cheese on wheat with fat free cheddar slices and bread and butter pickle rounds. Trust me, the pickles go GREAT with the hot melted cheese.


Wow, it's only 1:05. I can't believe I typed this up so fast. TRUST ME! 1 hour is just shy of a MIRACLE for me. Somehow most blog posts take me at least 2 hours every night. Well, they take that long when you factor in the downloading, uploading and inserting of the photos as well. That and I tend to walk away from it and then finish it later. I get distracted easily.

Tomorrow morning is weigh in Friday. I'll let you know how it goes. EEEK! (Stupid, STUPID Mr. Scale. You evil little thing you.... I can't resist you....)

Be back tomorrow... Must...Go...To...Bed...

XOXO
Ildie

All up in my grill-d cheese

Szerbus (hello in Hungarian) dear ladies and gents. Hope you're all having a fantastical day. It's sunny here which immediately puts me in a happy-gabby mood. Ahhh, the power of the sun. If only I could bottle it up and have it with me always! Sadly, a storm will be moving through this evening which may bring some freezing rain by the morning. I hate freezing rain! This classy, sassy lady doesn't mess with black ice driving/sliding adventures so I hope it all works out. EEEK!

To keep right on track with my oatmeal obsession, this mornings breakfast was a bowl of Doing Just Peachy Oats. Because my day was sunny and peachy. Get it? :)

1/2 cup Irish Oats
1 1/2 cup water
1 banana, sliced
1/2 cup frozen peach slices, thawed and diced
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
dash salt
Splenda to taste
1 tbs sugar free peach preserves


Twas..... Twas..... Just peachy! :)

After breakfast I took a mini break from work to discuss tonights workout with Ann. We discussed it yesterday before arriving at the gym and it worked out beautifully. We got more done in less time. Sometimes (meaning ALWAYS) we spend TOO much time trying to decide what to do next. I find this to be highly annoying. After a little HUNGARIAN MINDS UNITE power meeting, we had tonights moves all planned out. YAY!

Lunch consisted of steamed greens beans and carrots sprayed with spray butter and a light FlatOut wrap with turkey breast and dill pickle wedges.


I love green beans. Veggies are our friends boys and girls. Don't be scared!


We escaped the office (just barely) and decided to venture WAY across town to pick up some of my beloved Oikos. The only place around here that sells the plain 4oz four packs is the always scary Super Walmart. Oh the sacrifices I make for my beloved Greek Goo! I may have went overboard. I picked up five 4 packs. Yes, I said five!! I spent a small fortune on the stuff!! Oikos..... Will you marry me? (please say yes....)

My pre-workout snack was the last of my Trader Joe's plain Greek yogurt. I had it with pumpkin pudding (left over from last night) and a sprinkle of pomegranate granola. SERIOUSLY! I love this pumpkin pudding mix (link **HERE** for pudding recipe) It's like sex in a bowl! PLEASE try it! PLEASE! At first I took sweet, innocent little nibbles of the pudding and the yogurt separately.


Then I made a GRAVE mistake and mixed them together.


Uhm, not good! The somewhat sour flavor of the yogurt did not blend well with the sweet pumpkin. OH THE TRAGEDY!!!! NOOOOOO! At least I got to enjoy some before I made this horrible decision. HA!

After work it was off to the gym. With our plan of attack and moves in mind, we were able to get in and out quickly and had a stellar workout. My arms and shoulders are on FIRE this week! This was my second shoulder, triceps & biceps workout in 3 days. OH IT BURNS SO GOOOOOOD? BAD? BOTH?

Arnold Press (dumbbells)

15lb x 15

15lb x 15

15lb x 15

Bicep Curls (barbell)

35lb x 15

35lb x 15

30lb x 15

Tricep Pulldown with bar (cable)

80lb x 15

80lb x 15

70lb x 15

Standing Military Press (barbell)

35lb x 15

35lb x 15

30lb x 12

Hammer Curls (dumbbells)

15lb x 15

15lb x 11

12.5lb x 12

Overhead Cable Tricep Extension (cable with rope grip)

40lb x 12 (from bottom pulley, did not like this)

40lb x 15 (from top pulley)

40lb x 15 (from top pulley)

Concentration Curls (dumbbells)

15lb x 10 (each side, arms are now FRIED)

12.5lb x 12 (severely losing form.. ha)

12.5lb x 10 (so bad lol)

Elliptical - Interval Training - 15 minutes total

7.5 minutes (resistance 8-10)

7.5 minutes (resistance 8-12)

200 calories burned

When I got home I was greeted by a lovely package from Nature's Path. YAY! They sent me two boxes of cereal (Crunchy Maple Sunrise and Millet Rice Flakes) and a box of granola (Pumpkin Flax Plus) to sample. I can't wait to dive in! Thanks so much Nature's Path.


Dinner was low key and simple tonight. Tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. This meal always brings back my youth, which now seems like ages ago. AGES! I made the grilled cheese sandwich using sprouted 16 grain & seed bread from French Meadow Bakery.


I received a loaf of this bread to sample a while back and boy am I glad I did. It gets a 10 out of 10! It's dense, delicious and jam packed with flaxseed and sunflower seeds which give it a great crunch. Not to mention each slice has 6 grams of protein. I think I'm in LOVE!


I used a slice of fat free American cheese and a wedge of light Laughing Cow cheese. It was freakin delicious! ;)


Dinner was enjoyed with a nice warm cup of wild berry blend tea. Ahhhh.


I think I'll go rot on the couch with a fluffy blanket now. Nick is already curled up, looking all warm and adorable. I want in on some of that comfy action!

Friday morning is weigh in. EEEK! Wish me luck and please don't cry, I'll be back tomorrow!! ;)

(It's already raining and I hope it doesn't freeze by he morning..... UGH!!)

Bloggerin Blogatash!

I'm addicted to blogging! I came to this realization at 12:30 AM last night. Half asleep with heavy lids, I found myself rotting on the couch with the laptop illuminating my tired face as I desperately tried to finish up Wednesday's post. Nick stumbled downstairs half asleep and asked me to come to bed already. NOT YET I explained. I'm not done yet and I need to finish. As in "I need to" or I will go crazy. SIGH! I enjoy it very much, I truly do. However, I need to rethink how I do it. So today, I shall implement the NEW plan. I will add to my blog post bit by bit throughout the day and wrap it up at night right after dinner. Can I do it? Probably not! Will I try? YES SIR! I work in front of a computer all day. Some people take smoke breaks. I could take a bloggy break right? HA!

Okay, here we go. Wish me luck! Breakfast today was the usual. Old fashioned oats with cinnamon, a nanner and a huge cup of coffee. I blame the cool weather for what you may consider to be dull repetition. I like eating oatmeal when it's cold out. Warms me up!


For lunch I enjoyed some left over green beans with dried cranberries from last night and a La Tortilla wrap with chicken lunch meat, lettuce and some raw slaw mix. Tasty. The slaw gave the wrap a nice crunch. I don't know why I never thought of this before. I'm so smart. And cute! HA! :-O


For our break today we busted out and went to the ever popular Target. Ann is OBSESSED with this store. I'm not even kidding. She will make an excuse to go on Saturday, even if she doesn't need anything. I'll ask, "Ann, what do you need"? She'll reply with, "nothing, but I will find something I'm sure". HA! I don't get it. Anyways, we roamed the place for a while and then headed back to work.

My afternoon snack was another plain Oikos Greek yogurt but this time I added some pumpkin pie spice. BRILLIANT! It was so good!


After work we were off to the gym. As soon as we walked in we were greeted by Mr. Peschi and Mr. Fabio... Joy! We were there for about 1:20 and worked on our chest and triceps. I was TIRED I TELL YOU! TIRED! Then it was off to relax at home. For a snack before dinner (I was starving) I had a glass of vanilla Almond Breeze and a handful of pretzels. It hit the spot.


I wanted to keep dinner simple and old school tonight. We had tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. I love this stuff! Something about soup always calms be down when I'm all tense. Doesn't even mater what sort of soup it is. Ahhhhhh... I felt much better after dinner.


AND WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT!!! It's 9:47. I finished before 10:00. It's a Thursday Miracle everyone. Okay, now I have to go. We're about to press play and watch the hour long Wedding special of The Office. I CAN'T WAIT!!! I LOVE EM!

Ch Ch Chaaanges...

Szerbus (hi in Hungarian).... I was just curled up on the couch with my killer cat and watching What Not To Wear (guilty pleasure) while drinking a tall cool glass of lemon water. I lead an EXCITING life! Yes, this is true.... Some call me a rebel. I don't disagree. But now it's time to blog about my amazing life and day and in general. I tried a Kashi dark chocolate cookie for breakfast. It was much smaller than I thought it would be, but very tasty. I enjoyed that with my usual, over-sized mega cup of coffee (see visual below) and an orange.

For lunch I had some grapes and one of my favorites, a crab meat tortilla wrap with romaine lettuce. I love this stuff. Makes packing lunch on a busy morning very easy. I woke up late again. :-O

For my mid-day pre-workout snack I had cottage cheese with some fat free jam. I like this stuff. Satisfies my sweet tooth in a completely non guilty way.

It was chest, triceps and shoulder day at the gym today. Ann and I were just discussing that squeezing all three of these things may be too much for one day. We plan to revamp our workout schedule this Sunday and will start fresh on Monday. Right now we dedicate two days to legs, one to cardio, one to chest, triceps & shoulders and one to back & biceps. I think the below is probably what we will settle on for a while but we will discuss this in more detail on Sunday. We've been doing the same thing for almost a month now and change is good.

Mon - Cardio
Tues - Back and Biceps
Wed - Cardio & Shoulders
Thurs - Chest and Triceps
Fri - off
Sat - Legs
Sun - off

For dinner I had tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. Simple but delicious. I didn't want anything heavy for dinner, the night before weigh in. (I'm scurt!)

Here's to hoping for a loss. Not like the lack of a loss will stop me though. I feel fantastic and have way more energy than I did a month ago.