A Hot Hot Hot Thursday

Good evening!

I have to start with this funny picture.

Quality television

I came home from babysitting to find this...
All of the guys watching The Choice which may be one of the trashiest shows of all time, but oh my is it hilarious.

Last night was night 3 and counting of sleeping with no AC. We've been keeping all of the windows open to try and cool the place down, but there was no breeze at all last night so I could barely sleep in the heat.

After rolling out of bed as a zombie this morning, I needed a nice cold breakfast. Enter.... bowl of overnight oats from the fridge. YES!

I got a little creative with the placement of the ad-ins :) 

I don't do overnight oats often, but I felt like changing it up. All you do is put quick oats+ almond milk+ a little water+ cinnamon + vanilla extract in a bowl and pop it in the fridge over night. This morning I added berries from the farmers market and vanilla Chobani on top! Perfection. 

Then I went on a 1.5 mile walk to a health food store down the street to get a few special groceries. It was SOOO hot that I needed a cool treat on my way back... 

*Selfie Alert*- enjoying a soy green tea latté (unsweetened) over ice

Buys from the health store: Quinoa, Ezekial Whole Wheat Bread, Organic Lite Popcorn, Organic Mediterranean Hummus, Plant Fusion Protein supplement packs to put in smoothies, and a Kind Bar (unpictured)

I came home and made this delicious lunch...

One slice of Ezekial bread with Barney Almond Butter and 1/2 a nanner, and one slice with hummus and farmers market spinach .... Kindle on the side for some reading! 

Then I ran to the gym which is only 2.1 miles, but wow was it miserably hot and humid out. I walked into the gym dripping from head to toe in sweat....and then jumped on the treadmill again for a quick hill workout:

2 mins at 2% incline at 6.8 pace
2 mins at 3% incline at 6.6 pace
2 mins at 2% incline at 6.8 pace
2 mins at 5% incline at 6.6 pace
2 mins at 2% incline at 6.8 pace
2 mins at 7% incline at 6.6 pace
5 minutes of recovery at a fast pace walk up hill. 

I was cardio-crazy today..after treadmill I went on the elliptical for 10 minutes a fast fast pace and full incline. Sweat on sweat on sweat.

5 minute abs + bicep curls + pushups + romanian deadlifts...

Then we made a quick trip to the grocery store to stock up on many essentials and now I'm just at home snacking on some apples and almond butter post dinner which was sautéd Chicken Grillers (faux chicken actually), steamed corn, reduced fat soy cheddar cheese, and Gatorade (electrolytes = necessary for this dehydrated chick).

Alright I should get back to watching Real Housewives of New York City... guilty pleasure of mine. Night guys!

Burnt Baked Goodies and Fresh Produce

I hate the internet in our house. It makes posting every day super hard when it goes in and out every five seconds! Ughh...I've resorted to writing this while I'm babysitting (not to worry...the kids are asleep/watching Kippur the Dog, so I'm not neglecting them) because the internet connection is much better here.

Anyway, when I left you guys the other day, I was having a rather relaxing morning of blogging, but pretty soon it was time to get up and get some things done. I ended up going to the gym later that day and doing my normal run routine, some elliptical (with incline all the way up...my calfs and butt were on fire!!), and then some quick abs before running home to grab Evan and take him to the airport :(

After he left I came home and whipped up some quinoa, eggwhite scramble with veggies for dinner..along with a greek yogurt and apple with almond butter. YUM! It was a boring night after that for moi, just some reading and hot tea (and maybe an episode of Lost or two...we're addicted, but so close to the end!!).

I woke up the next morning and by golly what do you know...the internet was out. Again.

So since I couldn't do any posting, I got right to breakfast...

Vanilla greek yogurt, berries, and muesli. Yerba Mate green tea too :)

At one point yesterday, I made whole wheat chocolate chip banana bread from this recipe. So I'm not sure if something was wrong with our oven, but the recipe says it should bake for about 50 minutes so I popped it in the oven and went for a run for 35, and when I got back...it was BURNED...NOOOO!!! I hate beyond hate burning baked goods :( It's so sad.

I came back later that night to find this....obviously it wasn't too bad because the guys still ate it!

So after the disaster of the banana bread (I'll have to make it again sometime to redeam myself), Devron and I hit the gym for a quick quick workout. I did another 1.5 miles on the treadmill (bringing my total of the day up to 5.25 miles), and then I did some abs (like the 5 minute circuit I posted the other day), some pushups, and then some squats and lunges.

Dinner last night was packed to go because I went with the guys to their first of many weekly concerts. I got to be their "merch girl" and sell tickets. Woohoo! 

In the bag went apples, carrots avec toasted pine nut hummus, a tuna packet, and peach greek yogurt

I wasn't feeling the tuna packet later so I actually ended up skipping that one, which means I didn't have a ton of protein in my dinner at all and ended up starving by the time we got home. Carrots dipped in almond butter + a little trail mix hit the spot!

Today was a very fun day. I can't reveal too many details about it yet, but I promise I'll fill you guys in on what we did ASAP! I'll just say that the guys and I were working on a project out on the beach that will be revealed soon hopefully! It was a ton of fun. 

No interesting eats today, unfortunately...same ol' same ol'. I sound like a broken record. I promise I'll get to the store soon so I can start mixing things up a little more. 

I did get to go to the farmers market today though! I love buying all of my fruits and veggies there because they're so fresh and definitely much cheaper than buying them at the grocery store.

I bought a carton of rasberries, a carton of blackberries, one of those cartons of white peaches (see above picture), a stalk of celery, and a bag of spinach all for just $17! Joey got a carton of giant yams, an onion, two giant cartons of blueberries (to freeze and put in smoothies he says), plums, and a couple bell peppers for $20. I think we're good to go in terms of produce for a while. SCORE!

Alright the chillen' are a-callin'. Adios!! 

These are a few of my favorite things...

It's pouring rain here today so since I'm not doing much of anything interesting, I thought I'd do a different kind of post. Whether they are already, or I want them to be in the near future, here is a list of some products that are a great complement to a healthy lifestyle. Enjoy!

I Be Up In The Gym Just Workin' On My Fitness-

1. Polar Watch- I got this watch (I have the FT40 model for Training and Cross-training) for my birthday last year and although it comes at a hefty price, it's worth it because I use it every day. The watch comes with a thin heart monitoring band around your upper waist and that links up to your watch and tells you not only your heart rate throughout your workout, but also calories burned, percentage of those calories burned that are fat calories, and also whether your training is effecting fat burning or fitness improvement. I'm sure it can do much much more, but I just haven't figured all of that out yet.

Click here to get to the Polar website! 

*Tip-When you first get the watch, make sure to follow the directions and take the quick "fitness test" so that the watch can accurately measure your heart rate and calories burned*

2. Autoseal Kangaroo Water Bottle with Storage Compartment- Don't have it. Want it. Need it. Cheep price. Completely makes sense for those days when you don't feel like carting a big gym bag with you.

Click here to get it!...it's also available on Amazon 

3. Naked Sorts Gear- Courtesy of Pinterest (follow me!). These look like they would be so cool and again, really practical because their fabric keeps weird sports bran tans at bay. I currently have serious sports bra tan lines that I will be working all summer to get rid of. They're a little expensive though, so I doubt I'll have one any time soon :\

See here 

4. No Tie Shoe-Laces- I have always hated tying my shoes, so these laces are perfect for me. I just slip on my shoes and go! 

Here! 

5. Lululemon workout apparel- I live in everything Lululemon. Their yoga pants are great for yoga, of course, but their also just so comfortable that I wear them around the house. Their running pants were so great in the winter when I was running in chilly Baltimore. They're light-weight enough that they aren't uncomfortable, but they also kept my legs nice and toasty warm. Their workout tanks are so flattering and feel great while I'm working out because they're not too tight. Lululemon just has a great mission to build a supportive community of confident athletes wherever they go. In their store they have inspirational quotes on the walls, goal setting charts to write in, and big posters of their "Ambassadors" who are local athletes from your area. My local Lululemon store also does Saturday morning yoga classes which are awesome. So yes their apparel may be pricey, but I promise that when you realize how much you're wearing what you bought from them, you will consider your money more than well spent.

Shop online!! 

Food Products NOM-

1. Barney Butter- I have always loved almond butter. It used to be a daily staple in my packed lunch for high school. I have tried many many brands over the years, but this one has to be my favorite. My mom actually introduced me to it, and we're both hooked. My favorite use for it is as a spread on a nice juicy apple. My mom loves it on Ezekiel whole wheat toast in the morning with a sliced banana for a quick and easy breakfast! I've only ever been able to find it in special health food stores like Earth Fare and Whole Foods, but you can also order it from their website (and from Amazon of course tehe). 

Order here! 

2. Chobani Greek Yogurt- No surprise on this one. Definitely one of my favorite foods. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between. I love it plain (with lots of mix-ins like berries, agave, granola, etc.), or flavored (Apple-Cinnamon, Blood Orange, Raspberry are my faves). They're all low in fat, if they even have any at all, and are a great source of protein, which is great for me since I don't eat a lot of meat. They taste great, AND keep me full for a substantial amount of time so it's a win win!

See their website to learn about all of their flavors!

3. Kind Bars- These are great because they are readily accessible almost anywhere from grocery stores, to Starbucks, to even most gas stations (great news for healthy road-tripping). I like them because they are vegan and gluten free, while still being really tasty and keeping me full. They have minimal ingredients, and for some reason, they are one of the only nutrition bars that don't give me a stomach ache. There are a lot of different flavors, but my personal favorites are Cranberry Almond + Antioxidants, Pomegranate Blueberry Pistachio + Antioxidants, and Peanut Butter and Strawberry (peanut butta jelly time). They were also featured in an article from Runner's World about energy bars that are made of ingredients you would recognize, and are great for fueling you for physical activity. Here's the link to the article!

Link to website

4. Three Sister's Oatmeal- This oatmeal comes in a box that has individually packaged serving sizes of oatmeal that have very few calories compared to some other oatmeal brands. It is also made with minimal ingredients, but still tastes amazing and not too sweet. They have tons of different flavors, and my favorite would have to be the Chai Spiced, but I just discovered that they have a dark chocolate flavor...ummmm...I must find that. They have been featured in a number of healthy living magazines, including Women's Healthy as one of their "125 Best Packaged Foods of 2012". ALSO, it was featured on Oprah's blog (I have an Oprah obsession so I am thoroughly pleased by this), and the Today show! It's a teensy bit hard to find (I only ever see it at Whole Foods, but again...Amazon to the rescue!)

Three Sister's Website

5. Amy's Kitchen Bistro Veggie Burger- They're tasty, organic, gluten free, vegan, dairy free, lactose free, low fat, and have no cholesterol...could you really ask for more in a veggie burger? I think not. Check them out!

Amy's Kitchen website

6. Green Tea- I don't care what brand it is, whether it's plain, or has a flavor, but I'll drink green tea anytime of day or night. Sometimes I add a little Agave Nectar in for a touch of sweetness. Green tea is so so good for you so if you haven't tried it yet, I really urge you to. It has tons of antioxidants and is shown to increase metabolism as well. It's so relaxing to drink. Mmmmm...

I hope you guys like this post! Maybe it will give you some new things to try! Have a good start to the week!

Surprises, Circuits, and Salmon

Hey! Hope you guys have had a good weekend and a relaxing Sunday!

Yesterday I had a great job interview for more babysitting, and then raced back home to get out on the beach (surprise surprise) because it was a beautiful day. After a few hours it was time to come back in for lunch....

Spinach salad with strawberries, goat cheese, cranberries, and a veggie burger. Pink Lady apple and Light and Fit yogurt on da side. 

Then I read and took a quick cat nap before the boyfriend and I hit the gym for a bit. At the gym I ran 33 minutes on the treadmill doing a similar circuit as the one I posted yesterday. Then I did some pushups, squats, and more lateral leg raises with a resistance band. A quick round of abs, and then it was time to get home and shower before babysitting.

This is going to seem random for a sec, but I promise I have a point. When I was a sophomore in high school I spent the first semester living in Zermatt, Switzerland with 34 other sophomores from around the US. To say we had the time of our lives would be a vast understatement. I look back and still think that deciding to take a chance and do that was the best thing I have ever done for myself. We still went to school, but we also spent a lot of time hiking, biking, rock climbing, skiing, traveling, and eating A TON of amazing food (cheese, bread, hot chocolate, crepes, chocolate...sooo much good food). Along the way I made some pretty incredible friends and we still keep in touch to this day. One of them (my roommate in Switzerland actually) goes to Hopkins too!!

So the point of all of this being....when I got home from babysitting last night, two of my very best friends from Swiss were in my living room!! Kathryn and Sophie came from NYC to visit for the night and I couldn't have been more excited.

We spent a long time catching up last night, but crashed soon after because we were all tired. This morning we got up and went to breakfast at a classic diner style breakfast place down the street. I got a veggie egg white omelet and whole wheat toast. We went immediately to the beach after breakfast because it was another beautiful day and of course we three girls wanted to get our tan on.

My lunch was really pitiful...green tea soy latté (unsweetened) from a quick Starbucks run we decided to go on, light and fit yogurt, and a cut up apple and peach.

After the beach we spent another couple of hours laughing about old stories from our semester abroad and from previous reunions with all of our friends, and of course we spent a little time looking laughing at pictures of our heinously awkward 15 year old selves.

We found this gem of our group of friends...rough....

Sophie on the right! On the left is Alex...my old roomie who goes to Hopkins! :)

Kathryn is on the right! She's going to kill me, but I had to do it. 

Then it was sadly time for them to ge back to the city :( but I'm so so glad they got to come even if it was just for the day! 

When I got back Joey and I went to the boardwalk for a 4 mile run. Hot, sweaty, tiring...as always. We got back, picked up Devron and went to the gym where they lifted and I hopped back on the treadmill for another 1.5 mile hard and .5 mile cool down looking like this:

Hard part 

Cool down

Then I did a mini circuit on the bike that included arms (killing two birds with one stone). 

Bike/arm circuit:

1 minute medium-high level (medium resistance and fast pace)
1 minute high level (lots of resistance and fast pace)
1 minute medium level (medium resistance and medium pace) WITH ten lb dumbbells in each hand doing bicep curls straight into shoulder press (doing as many as you can in that one minute)

Repeat as many times as you want! I only did it three times today.

Ab time!

5 minute ab workout: (shout out to my good friend from high school, Emily, who showed me this quick killer a couple of years ago during cross country season...this is a variation of hers though)

Do each exercise for one minute with NO REST in between each one.

Crunches with legs straight up in the air
Bicycles
Seated oblique twists with 8 lb medicine ball
Situps while holding 8 lb medicine ball above head
V-ups

All done with fitness for the day! Time for food...ayooo.


Dinner- Seared salmon (sprinkled with salt, pepper, and a little agave nectar for sweet crunchiness. Seared in pan with olive oil for about 4 minutes on each side..depending on how rare you like it). It. Was. Amazing. Steamed corn on the side and some of those yummy Crispy Wheat things on the side.

Mmmm...I want more. Now.

Now I'm off to shower so I can read some more and hit the hay early. I'm sleepyyyy. Night y'all!

Beach and a Circuit Workout

Good Morning!

I feel I have been blog deprived. Our internet was down all day yesterday and it was awful. But, I have a lot of fun stuff to get to so I'll just jump right into it!

After I left y'all Thursday, Evan and I ended up hitting the beach for a couple of hours before we finally had to come back inside because it was too darn hot (name that musical anyone?? Answer-Kiss Me Kate).

The shore is finally starting to pick up! More and more people are here every time I turn around 

After our short lived trip to the beach I came back inside I had another random assortment of things for lunch: light and fit yogurt, mozerella cheese stick, apple, and a little air-popped popcorn (bad move on the popcorn).

Then it was time to quickly change into workout clothes and once Joey got back from work, he, Devron, and I all left for the gym.

I would be lying if I said I had a good workout yesterday. I was really not feeling up to doing anything because I had a horrible stomach ache from lunch. I used to get them ALL THE TIME during cross country and track season. It seemed like no matter what I ate, I got a bad stomach ache while running and wanted to just pass out on the trail/track. Sometimes I look back and think it was just as much the anxiety of getting a stomach ache that caused them, as it was food. 

During my senior year cross country season, I went into it so ready to kick butt and run some great races. But the stomach aches persisted and although I always tried to push through them, my body just always seemed to hit a wall. Later I learned that I had a stomach ulcer that was bleeding, which also caused me to be severely anemic (gross I know :\ ), but at the time, it was so frustrating to watch my last cross country season go down the drain when I had no idea why. 

Now I take medecine to ensure that I don't get any more ulcers, and if I'm starting to feel really fatigued a lot, then I have Iron pills that help with the anemia. 

Anyway...when I do get a stomach ache nowadays, it brings back a lot of anxiety and frustration. Yesterday I'm pretty sure it came from that stupid popcorn that I love so much. I have no clue why it gave me a stomach ache yesterday and not other days, but I just have a funny feeling that it's to blame. 

Now that I have managed to word vomit my entire medical history...let's get back to the gym...

I managed to do an easy 30 minutes on the treadmill, 15 minutes on the stair master, and 10 minutes on the bike before calling it quits. I was just too miserable to continue. Some days your body just isn't up for it, and I have to remember that that is OKAY. 

Thursday night we took my brother to the Ocean City boardwalk for a fun night out! 

Yesterday morning I was up at 9 ready to eat and then blog, but of course the internet was out, like I said. Ugh I hate that. Get it together Comcast. 

Breakfast = Grape-nuts, almond milk, cinnamon sprinkled on top of berries. Pomegranate green tea. 

Then I proceeded to be VERY lazy the rest of the morning. I just hung out with Evan and some of the guys watching the Today show and then some very classy Jerry Springer (that show is WILDLY ridiculous). 

Finally I got around to doing some laundry and getting to the gym. 

Here was today's workout. Try it out!! 

Treadmill workout: 

First I started by doing a 5k (3.1 miles) in interval sets-

1 minute at a fast pace (for me this started at 7.4 speed and by the end I was doing 8.4)

1 minute a little slower pace (started at 7.2, ending with 8)

1 minute sprint (started at 8.6, ending with 9.6) 

Repeat that circuit until you've run 3.1 miles! (for me, I had to repeat it about 7 ish times) 

Best picture I could get while stepping off the treadmill for a sec. I ended up finishing the 5k in 22 minutes and 30 seconds. Not too bad! My PR for a 5k is 21 minutes and 15 seconds, so I'll take it! 

 Then I slowed it down a bit and did this circuit for another 9 minutes:

1 minute at a speed of 8
1 minute picking it up to 8.4
1 minute sprint at 8.8
repeating 3 times. 

Add caption

Then it was time for a COOL DOWN. Yay!! a nice 4 minutes going no faster than a speed of 6.4. 

I wanted to get on the stair master after my run, but it was taken so I hit the bike for a solide ten minutes of fast pace biking with a good amount of resistance. My legs were a screamin'! 

Finally it was time for this fun circuit! yayy!! 

What you will need...

Circuit workout: 

10 Bosu ball pushups (real pushups! no girlie ones please)
20 (on each leg) resistance band leg raises laying on ground...see diagram below of how to do these

15 shoulder reps with 5 lb weight...not sure what this is called exactly so see diagram

1 minute fast jump rope

15 burpees 

repeat cycle 4 times! 

Lateral leg raise- make sure to keep legs straight and feet flexed and you'll feel the burn! 

Shoulder reps 

I know you can do the math but if you do the whole thing 4 times then you'll have done...40 pushups, 160 leg raises (total), 60 shoulder reps, 4 minutes jumping rope, and 60 burpees (which is a huge deal for me because I loathe burpees with a passion). Each cycle takes about 5 minutes so you can pretty easily knock it out in 20 minutes...not too bad eh? 

I hope this is informative enough! Have fun with it! 

I'm off to make some breakfast before I have to get ready for a job interview. See y'all lata and happy Saturday! 

Cookie Crisp and Cats

Good morning!

Yesterday was a bit of a crazy day so I didn't have time to get to blogging last night, unfortunately.

I woke up yesterday morning around 9 and proceeded to make pancakes for Evan and anyone else who wanted some.

*disclaimer- these pancakes were in no way "healthy"..I had to whip them up quickly because Evan was hungry so they are basically straight out of a box* I do know a couple of really great healthy pancake recipes that I'll have to post up soon!!

Half chocolate chip, half plain, all delicious 

Not to toot my own horn...but I pretty much rock at making heart shaped pancakes, which are of course the best kind 

I think Evan enjoyed them, but he did say that the chocolate chip ones were "too chocolatey"...ummm since when is that a problem??

Happy broder 

His leftovers...I don't care what anyone says, they couldn't have been too chocolatey. But that criticism was coming from a kid who doesn't even like cake...what kid doesn't like cake??! I am baffled by this..

My breakfast consisted of the rest of the box of Grapenuts, almond milk, and berries of course...cup of green tea on the side.

After letting my food digest, Joey and I hit the boardwalk around 11:30 for a HOT run on the boardwalk. I definitely hadn't had enough water yesterday morning, so that, coupled with the blazing sun beating down on us, caused some serious dehydration for this girl. Luckily there were some showers along the boardwalk for people who need to rinse off sand from the beach, but Joey and I took a couple of nice breaks to drench ourselves in ice cold water towards the end of the run :) 5.5 miles later, we were back indoors, and thank goodness. A couple minutes more stuck outside and I probably would have just collapsed on the on the sidewalk in a sweaty dizzy heap. #iknowi'mdramatic

Luckily that didn't happen. I downed a bottle of water, took a cool shower, and got ready to go to work for the rest of the afternoon/night.

I babysat until 1:30 am last night, so you can understand why blogging was kind of out of the question once I rolled into the house at 2 am looking like a zombie.

Also, no good eats yesterday to share :\. Lunch was another blueberry smoothie (like the one I posted the other day) on my way to babysit, and dinner was a random assortment of stuff I packed to eat while the kids nommed on pizza and french fries (oh to be a kid again).

I crawled directly into bed and fell into a deep sleep (sooo abnormal for me..usually I am such a light sleeper), until 9:15 am.

Plain Chobani greek yogurt with pear butter spread from Earth Fare (SO YUMMY!), museli, and berries. Green tea on da side 

Little bro enjoying a big bowl of Cooke Crisp. I would have chosen Fruit Loops or Reeses Puffs if I were embracing my inner kid...but I guess Cookie Crisp was good too. 

Now, after a filling breakfast and of course my morning cup of green tea, I'm ready for the day! It's even hotter than it was yesterday so I may skip the run today in favor of a trip to the air conditioned gym later, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a nice afternoon on da beach!! 

Towel, check
Sunscreen, check
Good read, check
Happy wittle broder, check


Good to go! 


I'll leave you with this hilarious video for entertainment. Joey's friend posted it on his Facebook last week and I can't stop watching it. I die every time...

Have an amazing Thursday! 

Back to Normal

Hello Hello!

Sorry I didn't get around to posting yesterday :\ It was another longgg day in the car and by the time we got home around 9 last night, I was too wiped out to post...all I could think about was A. eating a quick dinner and B. watching some Lost before heading to bed.

I'll back up a bit though. Our last day in Charlotte (Sunday) was very relaxing. We literally had almost nothing to do but relax and hang out back in the beautiful weather. With 8 guys, it only took us about 30 minutes to tidy up the backyard. I whipped up some cinnamon rolls for them while they were outside hard at work :) No chance for a picture, they were gone as soon as they were out of the oven.

After that Joey and I made a quick trip to the gym just to get a workout out of the way. I haven't been feeling treadmill running lately so I went outside and did about 3.6 miles in the hilly neighborhoods around the gym. It was a nice change of scenery, but SO hot. When I got back inside 30 minutes later I was pouring sweat and in desperate need of H2O. What a great feeling. Next I did a quick ab set (more on that in a second), some glute work, and finished everything off with a little jump roping (maybe one of my favorite things to do at the gym...why don't I do it more often?!)

After the gym we got back home as quickly as possible and commenced to do this the rest of the day....

A random assortment of veggies, leftover black bean hummus, and Wheat Thins (obviously this picture was taken after the boys dug in)

Loungin'

So relaxing...I wish I was back there now :(

At one point I looked up from reading my book and this is what I found....

Smoothie for my lunch (along with some veggies and Kashi crackers). Into the blender went frozen blueberries, half banana, spinach, almond milk, a little whey protein, a light and fit yogurt, and some ground flaxseed. YUM! 

After everyone woke up and was ready to eat, Evan (little brother) got out his newest Target purchase...his mini grille...and proceded to make some cheeseburgers for the guys.

Such a proud chef...

My mom made a great spread to accompany Evan's meal. Hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken with a lemon marinade, corn on the cob and watermelon.

On my plate went chicken (even though I don't usually eat meat...this chicken is just too good to resist), an ear of corn, and an apple (because watermelon is the one and only fruit I don't care for). Later I also had some more Kashi crackers as a snack because I got hungrayyy.

After dinner I made a quick trip to Earth Fare before they closed so I could grab some groceries that I can't get anywhere else. Barney Butter Smooth Almond Butter, Corn Thins, and Low Fat Apple Cinnamon granola, and Green Tea Matcha powder to name just a few of the items.

Then it was back home to watch  Shawshanke Redemption (such an amazing movie) with 12 out of the 12 people in our house at the time. Everyone passed out after because it's such a long movie. The next thing I knew, my alarm was going off so I could go on a quick 40 minute run before everyone else got up. It was a pretty crappy run for me honestly. Some days I'm just really not feeling it, and that was one of those days for sure. I just couldn't get into a rhythm, but I'm glad I did it anyway. I needed to get my legs moving a little before I was about to sit in a car for 10.5 hours. 


Like I said, nothing too much exciting happened on our way back yesterday or last night for that matter.
One thing to note though is that my brother actually decided to come back with us for the week!! He really enjoyed hanging out with the guys and he didn't have to work at tennis camps this week so we were all excited when he decided to tag along! Maybe this will provide us with some nice brother-sister bonding time :)

Breakfast this morning- Plain Chobani greek yogurt with museli, and berries...green tea on the side.  

Mmmm...

Lunch today- spinach salad with sautéd mushrooms, strawberries, cranberries, goat cheese, and a veggie burger, skim cheese stick and apple (not pictured) on the side. 

This sandwich was made by Devron, who called it "the ultimate manwich". I have no clue what's in it, but he was so proud of it that he requested a pic be taken...so why not throw it in here? 

Joey, Devron and I hit the gym late today. I willed myself onto the treadmill and had another very off day. I think I was seriously dehydrated because I kept getting lightheaded and seeing spots every so often...you know that feeling when you've stood up too fast? That kept happening. In the end I had to settle for 40 minutes on the treadmill with only 4.34 miles completed. Ugh. It's okay...it happens.

Then I went and did 4 rounds of 10 squats on each leg holding twelve pound dumbbells and then a little shoulder work.

Back and oblique work on this machine...holding a 10 lb weight. 

Just a little idea of how this machine works if you didn't know. It's amazing for feeling the burn in your lower back, which I usually find hard to work. Turn to your side to feel it in your obliques.  Hold weight to make it a little more challenging. 

Then I did the same ab workout I did the other day. It doesn't take too long, but it really kills (in a good way) if you do it right. It's from the Insanity Workout by Shaun T, but I got it from a post on Peanut Butter Runner (duh) so I'm going to refer you to that post about it because it's hard to explain with words.

Click here for to get to Jen's post and then scroll to the bottom to see a video of it!

It was only a matter of time before I referred you to her blog in one of my posts...and this definitely will not the last time. She really is an inspiration to me starting this blog at all.

I'm off to have another cup of green tea and then read some more probably. Dinner isn't really worth noting because it was just a random assortment of snacks. I was still feeling pretty icky from the gym and wasn't really feeling like a full meal.

Night night!!