A positively perfect day

Today I want to rant about POSITIVITY and happy-happy, joy-joy type goodness. I was in a special mood yesterday. I'm sure my post made that painfully obvious. Or did I hide it well? Either way, apologies my lovely (and patient) readers!! We all have those days! I'm in a much better mood today. So much so that I would like to declare today positively perfect day! I have some personal matters that I'm currently "handling" and they had me bit frazzled yesterday. I'm happy to report that as of this morning, things seem to be moving into the right direction. I'll share all the details with you once I get it all sorted out. Just know that as of right now, everything is just peachy keen.

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

I swear my oats tasted better than usual. It probably has something do with the absent stress monster that was clinging to my weary back yesterday. AHHH! I'm in such a good mood!

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cups water
• dash cinnamon
• dash apple pie spice
• pinch salt
• Splenda to taste
• 1 tbs flax
• 1 tbs Trader Joe's pumpkin butter

I completely forgot how much I ADORE this sweet and creamy pumpkin butter. It was SO good with the oats. Now if I could only stock up on canned pumpkin and add that to the mix as well. That would be amazing! I've been hording one large can of pumpkin at home and I'm scared to open it. I know once I eat it, that will be the last of it. I'M SCARED TO LET GO! I can't find the stuff ANYWHERE right now! I've been looking for months! IT'S A CONSPIRACY!

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

I'm a lover of leftovers. I'm also a lover of cabbage. This made packing lunch for today a no brainer. I had the slaw-cauliflower combo leftover from last night and topped it off with a black bean veggie burger from Morning Star Farms. It was SERIOUSLY amazing! I enjoyed it way more than my dinner last night. Sometimes the trick is to just let your food hang out in the fridge overnight. Magical things can happen inside refrigerated tupperware. MAGICAL!


On our break away from the office today we were on a secret mission. It may or may NOT have involved Birthday purchases for a certain fantastical Papa. Mr. wonderful will be celebrating his eternal youth on the 21st. HI PAPA! You know I love to torture you so. ;)

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

I had the pleasure of another Dannon strawberry Greek yogurt today. I'm loving these little sweet treats. Great flavor, creamy texture and 12g protein. SOLD!


After work it was off to the gym for my weekly LAST CHANCE workout before weigh in tomorrow morning. I know most people HATE scales but that square little devil sure keeps my ass in check. For me, weighing in weekly (though lightweight stressful) just works. Of course this method doesn't work for everyone and you should always do what makes you comfortable. To some people this means tossing the scale out the window or burning it in a ritualistic ceremony. HA!

WORKOUT!

Elliptical Cross Trainer, 1 hour, 5.1 miles, 716 calories
1-5 min., (level 6)
6-10 min., (level 7)
11-15 min., (level 8)
16-20 min., (level 9)
21-25 min., (level 10)
26-30 min., (level 11)
31-35 min., (level 12)
36-40 min., (level 11)
41-45 min., (level 10)
46-50 min., (level 9)
51-55 min., (level 8)
56-60 min., (level 7)

GOOD GRIEF! I thought the hour would never end!! People that find an hour on the elliptical to be "fun" or "easy" are either crazy, or great liars. Maybe one day cardio will grow on me. Until then I will openly HATE IT and FORCE it.

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

I got home later than usual from the gym. I had to make a quick stop and Mama and Papa Babushkas house to pick something up. By the time I walked in the house I just had no desire to mess with the whole smoothie making process. I opted for a fudge brownie Jay Robb protein bar instead. I LOVED IT! It was dense, chewy, chocolaty without being too sweet and just plain tasty!


The stats were pretty nice too with 14g protein, 6g fiber and 220 calories. The carbs were a bit higher than I like at 23g but not bad overall. I would totally have this again. I give it a 9 out of 10.

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

While devouring the bar, I also started prepping my dinner. Mama Babushka hooked me up with some brussel sprouts during my quick visit after the gym. I completely depleted my veggie stash at home because I've been on some sort of a vegetable kick this week. CAN'T GET ENOUGH! In a last minute desperate attempt I politely asked my Mama if she had any to spare. Of course she did. LOVE HER!

I seasoned the brussel sprouts with sea salt, black pepper and cayenne and tossed them on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. I decided to bake the last of my orange cauliflower as well. You know, just to cover all of my veggie bases. For some protein I tossed a jalapeno chicken sausage in with the veggies as well. SO EASY! Of course I drizzled some Sriracha on top as well. I need my heat!


Well that's it beautiful people. I'm going to call it a night and maybe watch an episode of Dexter before crashing. We're already done with season 1. I LOVE IT!

I'll fill you in on my weigh in and how I did last week in my usual Sassy Friday Update Style. Have a great night.

XOXOXO
Ildie

Twas the night before weigh in

Twas the night before weigh in
And all through the house
Not a carb was a stirring
Not even a crumb for the mouse

HA! HI EVERYONE! It's Thursday night and I'm SO excited! Friday is almost here. It's been a long week and I'm very ready to unwind this weekend. Though I will admit, I'm nervous for tomorrow morning. STUPID SCALE better be on my side or I may resort to "violence".

It was a very busy day at work today. My brain hurts!! Tomorrow should be just as busy. It's the last work day in the month and those are always crazy at the office. To focus this morning I started the day right with a warm bowl of goodness.

BREAKFAST (meal #1)

• 1/2 cup Irish oats
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup pumpkin
• 2 tbs fat free french vanilla pudding mix
• dash cinnamon
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• Splenda to taste

I just can't get sick of this stuff. It's just so satisfying and delicious! YUM!

Work...Work...Work...Work... The hours were just flying by this morning. WOW! I swear I blinked at it was noon!

LUNCH (meal #2)

Twas..... Twas.... DELICIOUS! And simple, healthy, low calorie, high protein and low fat. Did I already say it was delicious? Okay, just making sure you understand HOW MUCH I enjoyed it! I was still thinking about it hours later and will probably pack the exact same lunch tomorrow. It was a breakfast burrito made with 4 egg whites, cilantro & jalapeno hummus from Trader Joe's, Sriracha and spinach leaves. I stuffed all of this goodness into a whole grain and flax FlatOut. I AM IN LOVE!


I also tried the last of the fruit leathers I received from Kaia Foods. It was the lime ginger flavor. I have to admit, it was least favorite of the tree that I tried. It was almost bitter and didn't really have any sweetness to it. A bit bland too. This one gets a 5 out of 10.


After my feast I got some more work done and then decided to leave the office for a bit. I needed a mental health and well being break. I ran to the grocery store with Ann. My LOVELY sis-sis treated me to a few goodies. THANKS ANNIE-BOO-BEAR! Amongst my gifted goodies were a bag of flax seeds and some wheat bran. YAY. We searched for Chia seeds too but had no luck. BAH!

SNACK (meal #3)

It appears to be my typical mushy bowl of creamy goodness right? NOPE! Check THIS out ladies. Dannon now makes GREEK yogurt. I tell no lies! Here is photographic evidence. This bad boy packs 15g Protein, 80 Calories and 0g Fat. LOVE!


I guess I don't know if this is a NEW product or just NEW to me. I know that I've never seen it around here at any of the grocery stores that I frequent and I frequent a LOT of them. Ann and I both picked up one to try while we were out earlier. Not bad, not bad at all!! For those of you who may not have access to Greek yogurt where you live, there may be NEW hope. :)

Anyways, I'm rambling. Here's what was in the mix. Which by the was Ahhhh-mazing!

• 1 container Dannon 0% plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 banana
• dash cinnamon
• 1 packet splenda
• PB2
• Kaia Foods, Cocoa Mole sunflower seeds (LOVE THESE)

After work it was off to our LAST CHANCE workout before my scary scale encounter tomorrow morning. EEK!

Stair Glider - 10 minutes
Level 3
.62 miles
110 calories burned
Elliptical - 35 minutes
Min. 1-6 (resistance 6-8)
Min. 7-12 (resistance 8-10)
Min. 13-18 (resistance 9-11)
Min. 19-24 (resistance 10-12)
Min. 25-30 (resistance 10)
Min. 31-35 (resistance 8)
2.94 miles
435 calories burned
Bike - 5 minutes
Level 6
40 calories burned (I forgot how much I hated this thing. Waste of time)
Treadmill - 10 minutes
5 min. - 5 incline, speed 3.0
5 min. - 2 incline, speed 3.0
70 calories burned (+/-, I turned counter on midway through)
5 minutes or so of random ab moves. I wasn't feelin it.... ??

And that was that. What's done is done. Now I wait.... (tic-toc. tic-toc) for the alarm to ring tomorrow so I can weigh myself. ;)

SNACK (meal #4)

When I got home I quickly made myself a "mini" smoothie. MMM. So good!

• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein
• frozen peach slices
• frozen mixed berries
• xantham gum

I'm enjoying this new diet staple so much now! I'm actually sad that I won't get to have one tomorrow. I wouldn't feel right drinking one without a workout though and I never work out on Fridays. Tis sad....

DINNER (meal #5)

Tonight was another NO CARBS for dinner night. To keep it simple I decided to make chicken and veggies. I seasoned the chicken with soy, teriyaki, cayenne, sea salt and cilantro and popped it into a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes or so.

I also sauteed a big batch of broccoli, sugar snap peas and baby carrots (which I boiled first for maybe 15 minutes) in a mix of sweet chili sauce and teriyaki. The veggies took maybe 10 minutes. SO EASY! AND GOOD!


As I sat down I stared at my plate and realized that something was missing. SRIRACHA! I love this stuff.


Ahh, there we go. MUCH better.


Dinner was delicious. For a bit of a nightcap later, I made a cup of tea. A lovely coworker of mine gave me a chocolate covered strawberry teabag to try. I added a splash of milk and a dash of cinnamon. WOW. It was amazing. Tasted just like a chocolate covered strawberry. She picked it up at World Market. If you have one near you go get some. I think it's a Valentine's Day, seasonal item.


Alright my lovelies. Time for bed now. Wish me luck. I'll update you tomorrow and I hope to have good news.

HUGS! ;)

Ildie

The Eagle shall fly again.

Hi my lovelies. I'm enjoying another tantalizingly lovely Tuesday here in gloomy-grey- land. The sun has left us yet again. A rich blanket of funk currently covers the skies above. At least it's trapping in a bit of the heat. The high for today will be 58. Yep, I'll take that, thank you very much!

I woke up feeling fantastic this morning. I think I actually slept through the whole night! I don't recall waking up even once to the usual dull and achy leg pains that haunt me! Rare indeed!! For those of you who don't know, I was hit by a car when I was 9 and broke my right femur. I didn't walk for months after the accident and the leg never healed quite right. I was told I would have problems as I got older. I guess I just considered older to be WAY older then my current age. Guess not! HA! It's not debilitating by any means. This should be obvious considering I work out 5 days a week. It is however, the reason why I don't run. It also starts to ache if I sit or lay for too long. Thus making sleep a "bit" of an issue at times.

Now that the leg woes are all cleared up, let's move on to some tasty foods! Breakfast was another fall explosion, served bowl style.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup water
• dash salt
• dash nutmeg
• dash cinnamon
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• Splenda to taste (use as much as you like or preferred sweetener)
• 1 banana, sliced
• 2 tbs pumpkin butter

Oh sweet, steamy, rich bowl of goodness. I love you!


After breakfast I got caught up on some work and finally did some filing. YAY for me!

Lunch was so refreshing. It's been a while since I made a pumpernickel sandwich and I've been craving them like crazy. So today I packed up two slices of bread, a wedge of light laughing cow cheese, red and yellow peppers, red onion, sliced mushrooms and sweet butter lettuce. YUM!


I also enjoyed a jonagold apple on the side. These things are so juicy and sweet. I love them!


For a break today Ann and I decided to once again take a stab at early Christmas shopping. We MUST STOP trying to do this on our lunch breaks during the week. Both of us are way too picky (and indecisive) to find or purchase anything and it always just ends up feeling like a waste of precious time. I think I would have better luck going on my own. No offense Annie-boo. I think us both being unsure of each others selections and saying "I'm just not sure" back and forth is only complicating the process. :)

For my afternoon break today I had the plain Chobani sprinkled with a TON of cinnamon and a dash of Splenda. I missed cinnamon-y plain yogurt. It was SO good!


After work it was off to the gym.

Cable V-bar Lateral Pulldown

40lb x 25

50lb x 22

60lb x 18

70lb x 10

Cable Standing Lateral Pulldown

30lb x 15

35lb x 12

40lb x 5.5

30lb x 12

Row Machine

25lb x 20

35lb x 20

45lb x 16

55lb x 12

Cable Face Pull with rope grip

50lb x 25

60lb x 22

70lb x 20

80lb x 12

Barbell Curls

20lb x 20

25lb x 16

30lb x 12

20lb x 18

Dumbbell Curls

7.5 lb x 15

10lb x 15

12.5lb x 10

Hammer Curls

7.5lb x 18

10lb x 12

12.5lb x 8

One Arm Bent Over Row

15lb x 15 (each arm)

20lb x 15 (each arm)

I arrived home to a dark and quiet house. Nick was at his moms. Ladies and gentlemen, today is a GLORIOUS DAY. Nick is over at his moms so he can park his old car (Eagle Talon) over there. YEAH! I AM SO EXCITED! YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!!! That monster of a car shall have one more glory ride before we wrap her up for the winter. He purchased a snug little car cover for it and everything. In a way I think he is sad. He loves that old car. It's a monster I tell you. Fast and Furious, but not LAME like that movie. HA! He plans to do some work to it and then sell it in the Spring. FINGERS CROSSED!

As I walked into the dark house, unexplainable thoughts of that STUPID movie (Paranormal Activities) came flooding into my brain. I'm such an idiot! HA! Why do I watch these stupid movies that only freak me out? I must stop I tell you, I just must!!!

Instead of monsters though, I was greeted by two lovely boxes. YAY! It's like Christmas all the time around here and I love it. I'm so lucky...

I received a package from the lovely people at Xagave. They sent me a ginormous bottle of Xagave along with a cookbook. AWESOME! I can't wait to try this naturally organic, low glycemic index sweetener and let you all know what I think.


The second box was from Amazing Grass. Oh my, amazing indeed. They sent me a bunch of stuff. Energy Bars, Amazing Meal packets, Super Food packets, Wheat grass packets and a lovely shaker cup. Flavors ranging from chocolate, berry and plain to pomegranate mango.

All of their Amazing Meal packets are organic and packed full of plant based proteins!

Their Green Super Food Bars are are raw, cold processed, gluten free, dairy free, vegan and organic as well. They provide more organic whole leaf greens that any other leading super green formula.

I've been dying to try this stuff! The calories and fat are incredibly low which makes them super easy for me to squeeze into my diet. I'm very excited!!

I'm supposed to meet Nick over at his moms in a little bit so he can have a ride home. I quickly cleaned myself up and made a delicious little salad to snack on before I took off.

• Sweet butter lettuce
• Red and yellow bell peppers
• Chick peas
• Black beans
• Feta cheese
• Spray butter (instead of dressing, I'm telling you, it's GOOD!)

While I nibbled on the salad, I decided to make myself a shake to take over there with me. The salad was not going to be sufficient!

• 2 cups vanilla Almond Breeze
• 2 banana, sliced
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 cup frozen peaches
• 2 ice cubes
• 2 packets splenda
• 1 packet of Amazing Grass (chocolate amazing meal packet)

Easy peasy. DONE AND DONE! The chocolaty flavor of the amazing meal packet was very tasty. And I felt good about having it. It's jam packed with good for you deliciousness yet manages to stay yummy! I give the chocolate flavored Amazing Meal packet a 9.5 out of 10.

I drove over there and hung out with his mom, her boyfriend and Nick's younger brother for a while. I love his family. They are crazy. Amusing crazy, not the scary kind. :)

By the time we got home it was nearing 11:00. I had to hustle to put this lovely message together for all of you fabulous people. So here you have it. ENJOY! ;)

Goodnight everyone.