The Missing Link

Holy cow, it's back to the daily grind again! Another long week is in the works.. work is busy.. it's the end of quarter, so basically unless we are dead we have to come in to work. Of course, if we are dead, they may want us to be brought back to life to be in! But I think I'll survive it! Haha!

So the last couple of weeks I have been really really focused on building up strentgh- which is always a good thing.. right?? I've been working hard, and I can feel my muscles gaining strenth and I'm toning up- which is always a good thing right?

Not for this body! I forget that I gain muscle REALLY fast and if I don't also do cardio and YOGA. I bulk up. Yepppppp Mama don't wanna be no bodybuilder! I want to be toned and sexy. Not big and bulky. My jeans have been fitting tighter- and even though I haven't gained any weight.. I can feel my legs and my bum getting bigger. What gives??

The missing link is my yoga mat. I have been slacking hardcore on the one thing that brings me back down to earth and elongates my muscles at the same time! My yoga program of choice? Mark Blanchard's Progressive Power Yoga.

I have the video tapes (hello 2004!) and this is literally my favorite yoga video ever. I have tried many through Netlfix (hello 2009!) and following yoga pod casts online (hi 2010!). But no matter what I do, I don't feel pushed, prodded, and more sexually harassed in a workout like I do with Progressive Power Yoga.
Yes, Mark Blanchard thinks he's God's gift to yoga, yes, he breathes funny and it makes you think he's &*^%$#@#$%^ off, and sometimes the pace is slow. But if you connect your breath to the mat- good God it's a good workout! Everytime I do a full workout, it's like I just ran a marathon. It hurts so good!!!!!

So anyway, I'm going to be getting back to my dear yoga mat so I can stretch out these big muscles I have now. :) Plus adding in at least 2 cardio workouts a week, rather than keep doing the Jillian Michaels and the Core Fusion workouts by themselves.

I just got this DVD today in the mail- leftover from my $50 gift card from work.. I read all the reviews on it and decided this would be a good choice for some booty shaking cardio! Boy was I right! Once I have it down pat, I will, I swear on my life be taping this one out for you. It was SO much fun! And such a good workout! I loved every second of it. It was HARD and you will sweat like crazy but Quenia does an amazing job cuing the moves and she is really fun. But I will be totally honest, either the camera does add ten pounds, or they did some serious airbrushing on the DVD cover- cuz she is so curvalicious! I loved it! She knows how to seriously shake that booty!

So tonight, I was having major technical difficulties with my phone so I was on the phone with the phone company for FOREVER. I had planned on making salmon and green beans. But after I got off the phone with them, my issue unresolved! I was fed up but just kept it moving.. I heated this up!

I found this dinner at Whole Foods and I remember eating tempeh last year and absolutely hating it- but I was willing to go out on a limb and try it.

I added more BBQ sauce to the dish, just to be on the safe side- you know.. drown it in condiments!!

But this was excellent. The quinoa gave the dish a little extra chew- and I could barely taste the tempeh. No stinky feet taste. No terrible texture.. I was impressed! Now if only I could safely make this for myself, I'd be all set!

Well I hope you have an excellent Monday night! I'm heading to bed soon! Thanks to those who did comment on my "fashion" post! I'll be doing another one this week. I have a bachelorette party to go to, and I need to decide which dress to wear to go out "whoring and drinking" (a reference to a musical.. anyone guess???)

GOOD NIGHT ALL!!!!

Ups And Downs

Hi guys.. it is Thursday here and I am hunkered down in my house waiting for Hurricane Earl to strike at any moment... Actually I'm not, but that's ok! To all the people down in the Carolinas or anywhere Earl has visited, I hope you are staying safe! We are only supposed to get a lot of rain and a lot of wind. The last time we had a hurricane "strike" up here was Hurricane Bob- August 19th 1992. Please.. someone ask me how that date is so near and dear to my heart :)

So it's been hot. Agonizingly hot again and once again, I am suffering the effects of the air quality- wheezing and coughing- gross! Asthma, I hate you! So yesterday was especially hot and I decided, never mind the heat, I will work out in the gym at work.

Cue the violins...

I thought that I forgot my socks at 11:15 am. Planned to do yoga in the gym..

At 11:25 am, I found my socks and my big ole sweatpants that I grabbed instead of my shorts. Not great, but still ok for some biking..

At 11:35 am, I was in the gym, just about to sit down on the recumbent bike (my favorite place in the gym), when one of the engineers in my building came in. You know the type, skinny, geeky, wears his work shirt, basketball shorts, black socks, and sneakers that looked like they survived Pearl Harbor. (and he did too)

This MF sits right next to me on the other bike in the gym.

Never mind, the treadmill, the elliptical, OR the fact that I KNOW this guy "lifts" weights. He sits right next to me. Did I mention he smells bad????

I got up off the bike and went outside, muttering to myself about what a jerk he was.. Doesn't he realize he stinks and looks like a nerd crossed with a homeless man?

It was HOT. BIG MISTAKE. I should have sucked it up inside. But I was craving cardio and cardio I got. I almost fainted it was so hot. (A trivia side note, a major football team in the area stays at the hotel next door to my building) I really thought I was going to die. A couple of players drove past me in their tricked out Land Rovers and Escalades. I swear, if I were any less of a woman I would have collapsed crossing my fingers some burly football player would give me mouth to mouth. Then I remembered I am engaged and I don't think Charlie would like it if I got smooched by some hot big guy... Damn you conscience!!!

But I survived (duh) and was left with a major headache for the rest of the day. Oh God it was a rough afternoon. I drank so much water I could have floated home and somehow mustered up enough energy to make myself some really awesome shrimp.

The potatoes were these:

They were NOT as good as I make them! But they sufficed for a nice easy carb serving. (I could have had a bowl of cereal you know..)

Oh and one more FUNNY thing. My grandmother turned 830 today (just kidding, 83) and she went ahead and bought herself a birthday cake two days early on Monday. She had them put her name on it.
Her name is PALMA. But with her heavy Boston accent, she calls herself PALMER. OH GRAM!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well all my cousins thought it was hysterical.. and my mom made me take a picture of it. I feel bad for laughing about it, but she's a tough old lady, she'll probably out-live me.. I think she can take it!

I hope everyone has a great weekend ahead of them! With all the rain scheduled for tomorrow night, it's a good night to stay home and watch CAMP ROCK 2. Yes, I am 28 years old and yes, I LOVE the Disney Channel! No shame ladies!!!
And thank you for all your comments on my last post- STRONG STRONG STRONG.. :)

Bridal Shower

**I tried to post this yesterday.. Blogger was messed up- ARGH**

Noooo.. not mine.. I am forgoing the chaos and craziness that is a bridal shower for myself- I am traditional of course in wanting to get married- but shoot I'll be darned if I have people fuss over me and worry about what color I want balloons to be or whether I would like cheesecake or angel food cake.. (angel food cake... LOL) I can't stand being the center of attention; anyone else get really anxious when people fawn all over them??

Anyway, my friend Hannah is getting married and I couldn't be happier for her! Look at how beautiful she is!

Her shower was on Saturday afternoon. And yes, I know what a slacker I am for not posting about this sooner- sheer laziness! The shower was nothing short of amazing. My friend Jillian is a corporate party planner and has two Masters degrees; one in Hotel & Resturant Management and one in Sports Management. Plus she has an Event Planning certificate. Basically, she knows what the hell she is doing. Here is her work. Sit back and be amazed dears.. lots o' pictures!





Simply put, it was fabulous! I loved everything about it.. the food was good, the cake and cupcakes were sooooo good! Everyone had a good time.

I even won a prize! A Vera Bradley wallet to put in my already overflowing bag. I won the wallet in a "how much stuff do you have in your bag" contest. Obviously, I have a lot of stuff.. yes including the flip flops!!

So here is a picture of me.. please note, I am STILL white as a ghost and I really really need to cut my hair! But I am noticing that my arms are getting really muscular. Here in lies the problem with me. My ED is telling me that my arms are HUGE. Too big for me.. when I'm not sure that they really are.. I don't know.. but when I saw the picture I was flipping out inside.. and I shouldn't be.. Strong strong strong.. I need to repeat that over and over again!




Questions:
1. what's in your purse??
2. do you have any trouble when you go to parties NOT eating everything in sight?

I'm Over It

Holy crap.. I am totally over this rain! It's been raining since Sunday here in RI and I'm getting SO tired of it! Today I am off from work, so it was nice to sleep in a little bit- you know.. till 7! That's sleeping in for me now :)

Just to let you guys know.. that Abs and Arms DVD is a killer workout! I've done it a few times since then, and it's incredible. I'm definitely going to have to post up some pictures for you all. I always hesitate to do that because I don't want to look like I'm showing off, but shoot- if I have killer arms, you better believe I'm showing those babies off!

Alright.. so another confession- I'm over SALAD. Over it. Done. Done. Don't wanna eat it anymore! If you've been reading you know that I was on a salad kick there for a little bit, but I think I have lettuced myself out. Maybe it's the gloomy weather but when I look at those lettuce leaves I just feel blah! And that's ok by me!

I'm not sure what else to tell you about for food... but... I did forget to tell you what I got for my birthday! A new hair straightener!! So awesome! I love it.. My hair is naturally kinky-wavy and I usually straighten it every other day. I have been using a hair straightener that I bought in HIGH SCHOOL. It would be un-remarkable if I had graduated 2 years ago.. but I graduated 10 years ago.. Therefore.. amazing! But it's been on the fritz and when Peanut asked me what I wanted for my b-day I hinted that my hair was on the fritz too. LOL She got it!


This past weekend Peanut was in a play at church. She played David in David and Goliath! So adorable! It was really cute.. the kids did a good job. The tallest guy who goes to my church was Goliath.. he's 6'7" compared to Peanut's 4'1".. so it was pretty funny watching her sling a "rock" at his head!

Anyway, like I said, I am off today and it's pouring, so we'll see what happens for the day!
The plan is to go to Borders later for some hot chocolate and books.. : )

Whats your plan for this dreary Wednesday??

Skip The Gym & Eat Your Fishies

Hi all.. how's everyone doing so far this weekend? Not much going on here.. thanks for all the birthday wishes! I was trying to keep the fact that it was my birthday a little hush hush.. but shoot you guys figured me out! LOL! I "know" too many people in real life I guess!

Well, what's going on in your next of the woods?? Mine is pretty clear :)

So I told you the other day that I got a $50 gift card to Amazon.com right? Well, one of the things I bought was an Exhale: Core Fusion Arms and Abs DVD. Strong is the new Skinny right?? Holy moley- I couldn't believe how hard this one was! I loved it! It came with a bright green resistance band to do some of the exercises. If you already have one, you can use yours.


The DVD is set up with 5 ten minute sections each one harder than the last. I was planning on only doing the first 20 minutes and instead I kept going! I'm pretty sure that my abs have never had a workout like this before.. and my arms have been aching ever since I finished the moves.. Holey Moley!

Strong is the new Skinny people.. seriously! I can already tell that if I can keep working on this DVD, I will for sure be getting alot stronger- without even using heavy weights or doing crazy gym workouts. All I used was that dang resistance band and a mat!

So what was on my menu this weekend? Fish. Fish fish fish. Can you tell that I love fish? I suppose I should start calling myself a pescatarian (a veggie lover who eats fish too) but I hate labels, so I'll just call myself a fish lover!

Fish Night #1

Salmon.. bought from Target in a bag... topped with olive oil, garlic powder, a pinch of salt & pepper and cracked red pepper. Yummy! Served with sweet potato fries!
Fish Night #2

More salmon, from the same bag of frozen fish.. expect to see alot of this ok?? This time topped with BBQ sauce, served with fresh green beans steamed and sprinkled with a little garlic salt. See? It's not too hard to get healthy eats in a pinch. Both meals literally took 16 minutes from start to finish! (including cooking time)
I totally understand that I am not one of the most creative bloggers out there. There are other bloggers who just absolutely kill it in the kitchen, and every day I really really want to be like them! But I'm not, I'm a lazy cook, limited in my food choices due to my food sensitivities. However- I still enjoy my food.. and now you know how easy it is to make healthy food choices and not just curl up with a bowl of cereal (of which I am VERY guilty!!!!)

Well, I hope you all are having a great weekend!! Let me know how you are doing please!!!!

Snackity Snack

Hi all, I am back! I'm hoping that I can post a little more this week! We have a couple of people out on vacation this week, and that always stirs up some trouble.. but I'll just roll with the punches :)

This post will be short and sweet as I can manage because I need to get some cleaning done that I didn't do yesterday! Sunday is usually my cleaning day but I took a long nap in the afternoon. On Saturday I spent wayyyy too much time out in the sun and my chest is BRIGHT red. Like Red Sox red. That hasn't happened in forever! I feel bad for myself, but then again, I should know better! Idiot! But I have a tan on my legs, I feel that the ever elusive leg tan makes up for the pain of the chest!!!

So the weekend..... no big plans, but the Peanut and I had a good time! We had plans early in the morning for her with a play date and I dropped her off and then spent the two hours catching up with a friend of mine. Oh adult time is sooooo treasured these days!

Then we hit up Whole Foods and I bought this... YUMMMMMMM in store made Peanut Butter. I have a serious problem with peanut butter.. It's like my life force. But that's ok, protein is protein!


I put a blob in my oatmeal....holy wow! It looks like it's a small blob, but it's really not- all hidden under there!
Saturday afternoon we went to the petting zoo, taking a bag of carrots with us to feed the animals. And here's what we fed ourselves with..

Pretty decent snackage no?? I love plantain chips for sure!!! They are so freakin' awesome!
When we were at the petting zoo, we were attacked by savage goats. Look at these guys, practically beating the fence down trying to get to our carrots! SAVAGES!!

We saw some pretty interesting animals (well, they haven't changed much since we were there last.. but still.. lol) I pet the horse and the horse and I had a "moment" It was cute... Haha..
So like I said, I spent half of Sunday sleeping. I needed it!

Today- I made some shrimp. Can you tell I love seafood?? I made this with garlic, pepper, and wheat free tamari- simple and easy. Looks good right??


In terms of workouts, I'm still going strong and would you believe I'm already seeing a difference in my muscles?? I can't either, I'll have to post some pictures up at some point! Too bad I didn't do before and after shots! Ha!

Well, it's almost bedtime for me.. a few more minutes of Facebook stalking and then it's a wrap! Have an awesome Tuesday!
Oh and congrats to Anthony, son of my girl Katie.. it was his first day of school today- ummm Peanut doesn't start for another 3 weeks! Wow!

Friday Night

Happy Friday everyone! Oh goodness, I can't believe how fast the week flew by- seriously! I woke up today and realized it was almost the weekend and I got sooo excited! Not like I have HUGE plans, but I just get excited when I remember that I don't have to go into work. :)

Thanks for the congrats on the award! Ameena, you would not really want to come and see me at work! We don't sell anything that anyone would want, except every single manufacturing plant in the US. We sell parts that run plants, and I just spoke to someone today who told me that our parts help run the MBTA in Boston! So the next time my Boston readers get on the T you can think of me! Please don't curse me if something bad happens though!

So anyway, moving onto more important things in life.. My Strong is the New Skinny campaign.. I have been working my butt off all week long for it and with ANOTHER award I got at work (yesssssssss.. I've been feeling so special all week long!) a $50 gift card to Amazon.com, I got 3 new workout DVDs. Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and two Core Fusion DVDs. I can't wait to try them and focus on getting STRONGER.

That way I can whoop y'alls butts someday! Hopefully next week things will calm down a little bit at work so I can post more often!

OK- my food! Just two meals I had, not ALL of them.


This was so awesome. I loved it.. too good. The salmon cake was a little bit on the spicy side and the pilaf was a bit chewy.. but- overall a big YUM from me!

And this is what my mom made for dinner tonight. MY GOYA RICE. And MY SHRIMP. Glad to be giving food to my moms! Ha!


Other than that.. the weekend will be spent sunning, sleeping, and (window) shopping. My favorite things to do! I'll probably finish reading a couple of books!
What are YOU doing this weekend??

Strong Is The New Skinny

Good evening fine people! How are you all? I'm doing ok.. for a Monday! I wish I could say I had the Monday blues, but I didn't feel too bad.. went to work, got some good news this morning, and was on cloud 9 all day! It was great! Usually work doesn't equal good news, so it was fine by me!
I just wanted to go over some food stuffs that I got over the weekend when Peanut and I went to Whole Foods! I love Whole Foods.. I've heard it likened to a religious experience.. and I almost agree with that!


Look they even have a cow across the way from Whole Foods where you can get fresh milk!

Nah, I'm just playing- that's the JP Licks cow. JP Licks is possible the best local ice cream place in the Boston area. Peanut and I got some ice cream ;) The only dairy I just can't possibly resist!


At Whole Foods I picked up a delectable new yogurt- I tried this with a little sprinkle of granola. OMG.. It's not dairy free but it is lactose free- which is really what messes up my stomach. This was seriously soooooo good! I was mad that I didn't buy more of them after I ate this! And look at the nutrional facts! So good!



For dinner yesterday while I was bored at home.. meatless meatballs with gluten- free pasta, pasta sauce, "cheese" in the form of Rice Mozerella sprinkle cheese & nutritional yeast.. simple and delish!


So I've been seeing around blog world that "strong is the new skinny". Ladies.. we need to embrace this!! Seriously! Look at this video below:

This is a little kid trained by gymnast Damien Walters- check out my FB page for a video of Damien Walters. Email me, if you need my info for FB :)
Could we do that if we are running on empty? Struggling to be as skinny as can be? I mean, I don't think I could do any of that ANYWAY.. But that's not the point. The point is.. we need to fuel ourselves ladies!!! Don't be afraid to work your butt off and then eat a full meal! I know I have a hard time with this sometimes.. but I'm gonna be changing my tune up. I need to get stronger, not skinnier. I want a six pack, not rib bones poking out everywhere!..

I hope you can join me in my new mission!

So hey, my work news? I won an award for my excellent customer service :) The sales guy who gave me the big bottle of tequila nominated me for it. I was so happy and proud of myself. I'm the first one on my team to get one so far with our new employee regognition.. It goes on my yearly review, plus the award is worth $25. The more I get, the more money I get. Yay! All my hard work is finally starting to pay off a little bit!
Well, hope your Monday went well! I hope to be catching up on blogs tomorrow, work was just too busy today.. Goodnight!!!!

For The Very First Time

Hey guys! Am I coming back to no one?? Comment if you read, just so I know everyone is alive and well. I am! Well, barely hanging on by a thread anyway..

This week is my week before you know what, so I've been extra groggy and grumpy. The two G's are never a good thing! So I stayed away from the computer so I wouldn't sound like a whiny annoying sap. All things my dad called me this week... but that's not the point! The point is... it was the Peanut's birthday last weekend! I took a few days off from work to help her celebrate.. and we did, by throwing a party and having a fun day in the city!

Pics are as follows!
It was hot in the big ole city and we melted pretty much the whole day. We drank a lot of water and had a fun time navigating the subway and streets of Boston. Sorry for the lack of pics of me and her.. try to keep somethings sacred. (In other words, all my pics are of me; I look hot and sweaty.... I'm sending those to Charlie.. lol)


But we went to the Children's Museum and walked the Freedom Trail. We are history buffs and learning dorks for sure!

Later on in the week was her PAR-TAY! If you weren't invited you must not be cool- cuz all the cool kids were there! Actually, it was a small party, but we played in the pool, ate, danced, and ate to our little hearts desire. It was a good party- plus she got lots of presents... what can beat that??

For food we had typical Luau food- fruit, pigs in a blanket and sweet and sour meatballs. Here is a picture of the fruit, the only thing I managed to snag a pic of before it was devoured. YUM!

But here is a dish I made at some point last week in a brief moment where I remembered I had a blog.Shrimp and green bean stirfry. This was totally simple to make dears- saute fresh green beans in a little olive oil, onion, pepper, and a sprinkle of garlic powder. Add wheat free tamari sauce (or soy sauce...) and gluten free teriyaki sauce (to taste).. then add shrimp (I use cooked shrimp, tail removed). Shake it around in the pan a few times, then cover and let it simmer and steam. After about 5 minutes, uncover and EAT.

It was easy, a little spicy, and totally worth the 10 minutes it took to make it.

So, tonight, for the very first time, I was injured while practicing yoga. Yep. And not in a glorious way, where I was practicing pigeon pose and I dislocated my hip.

Look back in my yoga post... the one where I was standing on my head with my legs spread open wide like a stripper? I was in the kitchen (mistake) when I shifted my head about 1/2 centimeter to the right (mistake) and I tried to tuck and roll when I fell (mistake) but instead I crashed into the table. OUCH. Not even an ouch. There's probably no word to describe the pain I felt. I thought I cracked my neck, back, legs, arms, everything. I think I stayed on the floor for a good ten minutes before I moved, just to make sure I was still alive. The cat came over to check it out as I was splayed out under the table. I swear, she must have thought I was dead. I think she tried to start to eat me.
So far, the backs of my legs are bruised and my elbows are puffy and hard to straighten and turning suspiciously blue. I have a 1600 dollar deductible for insurance- so in case anyone asks.. unless you are sending me the cash, I will settle for bathing in ice for the next couple of days. It hurts to type, and is getting worse now. Ice bath here I come!

Shocking, I Know

Happy Weekend! It was a hot day today over here in NE. I still haven't made it to the beach yet. I'm very upset about that one, I need to tan! I really shouldn't - I'm trying to stay out of the sun, but.. I can't help but love the sun!!!

Well Friday was uneventful. And I mean that. My Pilates workout that I penciled in, I got in at the end of the day. And that's ok by me! As long as it gets done at some point, it's all good! I did eat my weight in fruit salsa and pita chips that my mom made. I really love this!! My mom has outdone herself! Simple! Sweet! Delicious!

My mom made Jambalaya with shrimp and chicken as well for dinner and I helped myself to a nice plate of it. This was easy as well. GOYA (be still my beating heart..) RICE and shredded chicken and cut up shrimp. See? It's easy to cook ladies, even if you have no clue what to do!

My dessert was something that has been sitting in my freezer for a while now-


This was so yummy! A nice little dessert for the end of a hot night!
Saturday was a big day for us, me and Peanut had a lot to do! I started the day by doing a Hip Hop Abs Total Body Burn.. it burned my body, gave me a nice boost!
My breakfast to power up for the day.. yummy waffles with Raspberry preserves and Dark Chocolate Dreams PB. YUM!

Lunch was.... a salad, shocking, I know!

I tried a new dressing, Annie's Raspberry Vinaigrette- it was pretty darn good. I liked it! But... I hate to break it to you, but I ONLY had a salad because for my "real lunch" I was having one of these:

This is a caramel frappacino from Starbucks made with soy milk for an extra 50 cents. I LOVE these things, but I practically have to pawn my belongings to pay for one. But, it was my treat and was worth the trade off for "real food" for a change. And hey, it's the weekend!!
And here, my dears was my dinner! Barbecue chicken and apples sprinkled with brown sugar. I had two pieces of chicken.. it was so good! The skin was crispy and juicy at the same time and the flavor was awesome!

Well tomorrow, there is not much planned. Church, pool, pool, sun, pool, sun. I expect to get crispy and juicy like my chicken. You know, burnt and wet. From the pool!! God guys, what kind of a person do you think I am?! Anyway- have a fabulous rest of the weekend dears, I'll be blog reading soon, tomorrow night, tonight, I NEED to get my laundry done! I'm such a rockstar!!!