Hello Your Majesty

Ok, so I wish I could say this to LeBron James tonight but I know it ain't happenin'. I even fixed my hair today in preparation for our big meeting...just in case.

I'm not a big fan of the NBA and all their shenanigans but for whatever reason I'm really stoked about the game tonight. Actually I'm probably more stoked about spending some quality time with my main squeeze.


This was dinner last night...

A gigantasaurus salad, some broccoli with light butter sauce and a few (times 10) slices of turkey pepperoni. Almost immediately after scarfing all that down, I started reintroducing myself to carbohydrates...

I'm taking it one step at a time. Step number 1- an apple. Hello there lover, sorry I was away for so long. I promise to never leave you again!


After dinner was study time...I can feel my brain just bursting with knowledge. Not really, I'm sure I'll never use this information in life, but what the heck. Then it was...T-SHIRT TIME!!! Don't act like you don't know what I mean...Duh...Thursdays are Jersey Shore night! Was it just me, or was that darn "grenade horn" scene the most hilarious thing ever? We also snuck in a little Vampire Diaries, another guilty pleasure. Scott and I have been seriously missing out on one of the greatest inventions of all time...DVR. So now we are able to watch a show in almost half the time that it takes live...I don't know how we've made it this long without it. 


Breakfast this morning was a Chocolate Peanut Butter Atkins bar...probably not the most nutritious choice but I was on the go...and some coffee of course. I had an orange for a mid-morning snack and then I enjoyed this delightful creation for lunch...

Thats chicken, lettuce, tomato, olives and onion all wrapped up in some spinachy goodness.


I'm prepared for afternoon/car ride snacks, but I'm not so sure about dinner. I know it'll be eaten on the road, so hopefully we'll be able to find something semi-nutritious. I thought about trying to wake up EXTRA early to get in a workout before I left for work this morning, then about a second later nixed the idea. Today is going to be a rest day/cheer on the Heat day but I'll make up for it Saturday and Sunday.


Well, I'm off to finish my work day and to run through what I'm gonna say to King James and D. Wade tonight...Ta ta!


Whitney

Epiphany.

Over my lunch break I had an epiphany...

I was sort of looking at my most recent posts and they all seem to have one thing in common...I'm tired, and kind of grumpy too. I couldn't really figure it out. It's not like me at all to feel this cruddy and unmotivated. So I put some thought into it. Yes, I've had a lack of sleep...but not that much. Yes, I'm a little stressed with school and moving...but stress doesn't usually have this much of an effect on me. Then it dawned on me...I NEED CARBS! For the past couple of weeks I have really been limiting my carbos...as in consuming less than 50 a day. That was sort of my unspoken goal...but this is obviously just not going to work with me and the whole active lifestyle thing. I don't want to cut back on my cardio, I NEED that cardio for not only my physical health, but also my mental health. In order to accomplish 50 to 70 minutes of cardio activity on most days, I need to eat more carbs or it just ain't gonna happen. I can't keep going at the pace that I'm going with the level of energy that I have. Granted, I'm still not going to go crazy about it, but I think I at least need 1 piece of fruit a day and some sort of oats or whole wheat something or another to get me back in gear.

Not only has my energy level been suffering, but I've also logged my diet into www.myfitnesspal.com for the past couple of days and noticed a HUGE increase in the amounts of cholesterol I've been consuming. This is something that I never have really paid attention to before, but I know it's definitely not good. Heart and blood pressure issues tend to run in my family and I don't want to give them a leg up, even if I am only 24.

Needless to say, I am going to be incorporating some carbs back into my diet. I'm sure this will not only help my energy and motivation, but my mood too. No carbs = Whitney the Grouch.

It's all about the food...and a tiny confession

I'm feeling much more energized today. Probably because I got a lot more sleep last night...and because I had coffee with breakfast...and I'm having coffee right now (there was my confession). I know I'm consuming way more coffee today than I have a right to, but that's just the kind of mood I'm in I guess. Call it my version of being rebellious. I was also being a tad rebellious when it came to the gym last night. When I left work I was still feeling totally blah and unmotivated, so I decided to postpone my workout until later in the evening. I went for cooking dinner first instead and I think it was a good choice.


When it came to cooking dinner I felt a little adventurous. I was inspired by a few other blogs to try...tofu. I made the purchase a couple of days ago at the grocery store, completely uneducated on what type to buy. Who knew there were so many different types of tofu? I settled on the light, firm kind. I googled a few different tofu recipes and decided that I would start off with something seemingly unoffensive- scrambled tofu. I modified the recipe some and ended up with this...

Who knew that something so plain and boring looking could be so tasty?! I started by "smashing" half the block of tofu (only 100 calories!) to get most of the water out. I cubed it up and put it in a skillet that I had coated with olive oil cooking spray. Once it was starting to brown a little I added in a couple of egg whites, chopped green onion and fresh mushrooms. I let it all simmer for a lil bit and then topped it with some grated parmesan. A nice big leafy green salad was enjoyed on the side as well. Totally yummy, easy and healthy.


I knew that H-E-double hockey sticks would have to freeze over before the Scottster would eat this with me...so this is what I whipped up for him...

Baked pork chops, baked potato and corn...what can I say? He's a mid-western boy through and through. And yes, don't hate on him...that is a big blob of ketchup on his plate. He eats ketchup on everything but cereal- Ok that might be a little extreme, but seriously...he'll douse a $30 steak with ketchup. I've tried telling him that this is sort of a slap in the face to the cook, but he likes what he likes I guess.

After letting my food settle a bit I was finally in the mood to get my sweat on. Scotty had to go back to work to finish a few things up, so I drove over to our condo complex (am I still allowed to do this since we technically don't live there anymore? Who cares, we're still paying for it so I'm still gonna do it) and decided to use the gym there. I knew I had some major iron pumping to do (haha) and I really hate doing this at my real gym...there's usually a bunch of 'roided up guys there that make me sorta intimidated. Anyways...I started off with 53 minutes on the treadmill. I had planned on starting out with the elliptical, but the treadmill was calling my name. 
After that I had a killer upper body workout. I can really tell that my hard work is paying off. I'm lifting more weight and I'm beginning to see a little bump on the bicep that I think might be a muscle...I'll see if I can snap a pic sometime before it deflates.


I did manage to get in about 45 minutes of studying before taking a shower and hitting the sack...can't believe how the night flew by and I didn't even watch any TV except for a little American Idol on the treadmill. That show is just not even entertaining to me any more.


I came to work with skank hair today because I didn't wake up in time to wash it. I had actually intended on making it look sorta cute and presentable but that just wasn't in the cards. At least I had time to whip up a delicious and nutritious breakfast...aka 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg with some veggies. Unfortunately I didn't have time to eat it all, but I made sure to gobble up all the eggs...I'm really working on upping that protein intake. 

I'm getting excited because tomorrow we're hitting up the MIA...and I get to leave work an hour early! Woo Hoo, starting the weekend off right. I'm not really into the NBA but I'm pretty stoked about seeing some of these big name guys. 

Ok--back to the real world now, so long bloggy land. Ta ta!


Whitney

Is it Friday yet?

What? It's only hump day? Arghhhh...


I am so sleepy today and very unmotivated. What in the heck is wrong with me? Could it be the fact that I didn't get to bed until 11:30? Why yes, I'm sure thats it. 


Last night was a very pleasant night however. After the gym (50 minutes treadmill, followed by lower body weights instead of upper body like I had planned on), I went to the grocery store, spent way too much money, and headed home. Almost as soon as I got the groceries loaded in the trunk and got in the driver's seat, the skies opened up. It poured! Which is extremely unusual for southwest Florida this time of year. It was raining so hard and the wind was howling like crazy. I could hardly see the road as I was driving and I was afraid my car was going to fly off the road. After a really slow crawl home I was able to back my car into the garage...wow, was that the most amazing thing or what? I'm used to hauling $150 worth of groceries up 4 floors...this usually takes 2 trips if Scotty isn't home to help. But yesterday it was a walk in the park, even in the rain. I have to say this could be one of the best parts about having a house now. I whipped up a big, leafy green salad for myself and a small burger patty and used the rest of the ground beef to make my babes some beef stroganoff. We ate dinner with the patio doors open listening to the rain pour down. It was very refreshing and relaxing...that was until we were ready to watch a little TV and we discovered that our beloved Direct TV was down due to the weather...boo. This was probably a blessing in disguise though because I knew I had to get some studying done, and Scotty will take any excuse to play a game of football on his Xbox 360. 


After study time and finally a little TV time we made it to bed around 11:30...poor decision. I'm paying for it today. I woke up a little late this morning and only had time to whip up some celery sticks with PB, lots of PB, and some coffee for breakfast. I had my morning snack of almonds but my belly is already growling for lunch. I've definitely learned that I need something substantial for breakfast or else it's hard to get going.


Gym today is 30 minutes elliptical, 30 minutes treadmill and upper body weights/abs. Dinner is looking like either turkey kielbasa with mixed veggies or maybe breakfast food. I'll leave it up in the air for now and decide when I get home depending on how I'm feeling then. More studying is on the plate for this evening as well...thats a big thumbs down. I can't wait for this whole school thing to be over with!


For now, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from Sunday before the football game.

That's me, anxiously waiting for the game to start.

And there's Scotty, totally relaxed waiting for the game to start.


Boring, I know, but thats all I've got today. Ta ta for now!


Whitney

Totally Awesome Tuesday

It's my mission today to make this a totally awesome Tuesday!


Last night was night number 2 spent in the new house...I think I'm already starting to adjust and that makes me so happy. I was in bed by 10:30, kitchen cleaned up, studying complete and I even had time to shower. I slept MUCH MUCH better. Scotty had the fan on so it was a little chilly but completely perfect under the huge comforter. I love sleeping in cold rooms with lots of covers. I think Mercedes likes it too...

Another thing that makes me happy to report is that our pool now looks like this...

This however, was not always the case. I know I never posted a before pic, and be thankful for that because you probably would have thrown up. When we bought this house the pool had been seriously neglected for like 2 years I swear. Just imagine this thing filled to the brim with the most disgusting chunky black water you've ever seen. So, now that it looks like this, which I never thought possible, I have to give the Scottster major props. He really has this pool water chemical thing down pat now. It took a little while but it looks so pretty now!


This morning I woke up in plenty of time to make the two of us breakfast, including some scraps for Little Miss Thing, and make my own coffee (yay me! Add $2 to the car fund). Made it to work early today because I'm leaving an hour early on Friday for...Miami Heat vs. Detroit Pistons! So exciting...I get to see King James live in the flesh. This was one of my Christmas presents to Scotty. He's never been to an NBA game and I've only been to one, so I figured we should take advantage of having the Heat so close. We're planning on making it an overnight trip and staying with some family friends who live in downtown Miami. 


I can already tell that this day is going to fly by...seems like I just got here and it's already time for my mid-morning snack. I'm chowing down on these little babies...

Thank you Mom for introducing them to me...they are olive oil and sea salt skinless almonds...tasty and low-carb too. 


Running is on the agenda at the gym today and I can't wait to sweat it out. I've also got some core work and upper body strengthening planned. 


Time to get back to the daily grind...Ta ta!


Whitney

Short and sweet

This is going to be short and sweet because I am about to head home for a much needed rest day. Didn't get to bed until pretty darn late last night, why you ask? I was super pumped about the football game! THE STEELERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL! It was a blow out at the half, but in true Steelers fashion, the game ended up being pretty darn close. I'm lovin' it though and have pretty much been donning Steelers gear since Friday...and will continue to do so until the fat lady sings on February 6th! Go Steelers! Woot woot!


I had an excellent 45 minutes on the stairs yesterday, then we just did a bunch of lazing around and watching football. 


Today is all about the rest and studying. I have a final on February 3rd that I need to ace, and I plan on it! I'll probably also take the dog for a quickie walk, so I can't be called a complete bum.


Last night was the first night spent in the new house and it felt really weird. The new bed is extremely comfortable, just like sleeping on a cloud, but just being there doesn't feel quite like home yet. I'll be anxious to get everything all moved over and see if that feeling changes, I sure hope it does!


Breakfast was 2 eggs and turkey sausage links, coffee from Dunkin Donuts (Hey! I was running late!).
Lunch was some deli meat rollups, string cheese and a sugar free jello cup.
Dinner is turkey kielbasa with stir fried veggies. 
Snacks for the day have included almonds, a few pieces of beef jerkey, and celery sticks with PB.


Ok, I'm outta here. Hallelujah we made it through Monday! Ta ta!


Whitney

Two posts in one day?

Woah, what is going on? Usually I only post once a day, but I had to post an update on my delish dinner. I started some chicken cooking in the crockpot on low this morning about 10am. At around 5:45 I took them out and let them cool a bit so I could shred them up. It was roughly .75 lbs of chicken total, maybe just a tad less. Once shredded, I added 2 Tbsp of light sour cream and 2 Tbsp of light mayo. I thawed some chopped broccoli and added a tad over a cup (sorry for the wacky measurements but I have a thing for never following a recipe) and a can of chopped up water chestnuts. I seasoned the mixture with a little salt and some garlic powder and spread it into a baking dish. The last step is topping it with shredded cheese. It would probably be tasty with any type but I used the fiesta blend kind. I baked it at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes and voila! It was very very yummy. It didn't make as much as I was expecting. Usually when I whip something like this up most of the left overs end up in the trash because I can't eat them all before they go bad (and Scotty would never help me eat something like this). But in this case I think I'll be able to handle it. There's probably enough left over for 2 more meals. I ate it tonight with a side of green beans...

I should have taken the picture before I scooped it out on to my plate...but I was a little eager I guess. You get the idea...


I did finally manage to muster up enough motivation to get my workout in...even though it wasn't as planned. Stairs were planned but I was in the mood for a quick run. I did 45 minutes on the treadmill and every upper body exercise I could think of afterward. To the stairs: I promise to conquer you tomorrow.


In more exciting news, this afternoon I went to the nail salon to get my nails done in support of the big game tomorrow...

Thats right, glittery gold tips to match my gear for tomorrow's game. Big pimpin'...


It's getting late so I'm headed to bed to watch The Nanny, Scotty is playing football on the XBox...you know you're a loser when that is what your Saturday night consists of...oh well, at least I'm content with it. Ta ta until tomorrow!


Whitney

Lazy Bones Saturday

I'm being a major bum today. But that's okay because its the weekend and you are supposed to relax right? I stayed in bed later than I had planned on. This is probably because my alarm ring tone goes like this "Here we go Steelers, Here we go! (repeat)"...so when I hit the snooze button I fall back asleep feeling like I'm in the middle of all the action at Heinz Field...such a dork. When I finally drug myself out of bed I brewed some coffee. Yes, hell has frozen over and I brewed my own coffee. I'm actually kind of proud of myself for that one. I usually throw a few bucks down the drain every single day by buying my delicious caffeine fix from Dunkin' Donuts, but I'm trying something new...it's called a budget. I'm hoping to get a new car within the next few months so I'm going to be saving every little bit that I can until then. And yes, even those few dollars for daily coffee add up. I usually hate making my own coffee because I've found in the past that I really suck at it and it just isn't the same as having someone else do it for you. But I did a darn good job today. Not sure what I did differently than in the past, maybe it's the new creamer? But I'm going to keep at it! You can see my mah-velous creation pictured here with my breakfast of eggs and turkey sausage links.

I think I might have accidentally consumed a little too much of my favorite vice because I found myself with a belly ache shortly after...not to mention feeling a little jittery. The gym was supposed to come pretty much directly after breakfast, but due to my illness (ha!) I'm procrastinating with laundry, housework and blogging until I feel better.


Lunch today is going to be light and quick because I really am getting a work out in, promise. It's deli meat, provolone and lettuce rollups for me. I'll probably have a quick afternoon snack before hitting the nail salon. My mouth is actually already watering for dinner though. I'm trying out a new baked chicken salad recipe for dinner. It's low-carb and looks mighty appetizing. Stay tuned for the review! 

More good news...I had intended on putting off my half marathon until way far in the future. But it just so happens that I had a friend invite me to train for a triathlon with her earlier in the week. I actually thought about it for 2.5 seconds but then declined. Swimming is really not my thing in any way, shape or form. I'm pretty friggin' terrible at it actually and I just don't have any desire to get better or learn the proper form. Plus, other than spinning class I hate bikes too. I swear, almost every day I hear about someone in this darn city getting ran over on a bike or while walking/running. This is probably why I prefer the treadmill over road running as well. So, I respectfully declined and mentioned to her that I was planning on training for a half...and possibly even a full towards the end of the year. We talked about it for a bit and she decided to join me instead of training for her triathlon. How exciting??? So...I may be re-prioritizing my New Years resolutions yet again. Our race is in April...the Iron Girl Half in Clearwater, FL. I'm so excited! We're going to make a little mini-weekend-vacay out of it! So, thats the exciting news. The not-so-exciting news is that there just isn't enough time in the day, or energy in my body, to train for both distance running and muscle gain. I think that I will be putting off my contest until the fall or winter, which I am okay with just as long as I get both things in before the end of the year. 

Now that I've bored you all to death with that little rant, I'm off to finish up my chores and then sweat it out on the stairs. Ta ta for now...if I don't post tomorrow it's only because I'm so darn nervous/excited about FOOTBALL!!! Call me crazy, I know. However, if it is a Steelers win tomorrow night...I will most definitely have a victory post. And, if it's a Steelers loss, you might not hear from me again for quite some time.


Whitney

Oh Happy Day!

I'm happy dancin' all day long today because it's FRIDAY!!! The very best day of the week as far as I'm concerned.


I'm feeling very happy and extra-specially motivated today, however I do have a confession...
I fell off the wagon a little bit yesterday. My daily "meal plan" was tossed out the window. I completely forgot that yesterday was pizza day for the participants of our office football pool. The deal from the beginning was that the person who came in last in the rankings had to buy pizza for the rest of the pool. The boss man ended up coming in last and treated the rest of us to some yummy delicious pizza for lunch yesterday. I restricted myself to 2 slices, one veggie topped with tomato, onion, mushrooms and broccoli, and one slice of plain cheese. It was downright tasty. I also threw in an orange and a no-sugar-added tapioca pudding for a bedtime snack. That is an issue I need to work on- it seems like if I stumble from the plan just a tad, it opens the door for me to stumble a lot more. Any-who...I didn't let myself feel too guilty because I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and it was fun getting out of the office and having lunch with the co-workers.


Today however, I'm back on track and making sure that I stick to the plan to a T. I'm really going to try to cut back on the carbos for the next few days, this will be extra hard because it's the weekend, but I'm really trying to reach those New Years goals, so ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. 


I had 2 eggs and 3 turkey sausage links with a coffee for breakfast. Lunch is going to be a salad from Subway and dinner is a burger patty (minus the bun) and a side salad. Snacks will most definitely be mixed in, just haven't planned them out yet. 


Today will be another 5-miler in the gym with some strength training incorporated in. My arm is feeling much better and I dare say that I'm cured. There for a bit I was actually concerned that I might have torn something. I'd never felt pain like that in my arm before...ankles, yes, but never in my upper body. It really made me realize how many things your forearm muscles help you accomplish!


I'm trying out some new low-carb recipes this weekend and will be sure to share the results with you all.


Hope everyone is cheering on the Steelers this Sunday as they play for the AFC Championship against the Jets! One game away from the BIG DANCE...and you better believe I will be dancing all over the place if we win this weekend! Now I think is an appropriate time to pay a little tribute to my boys...

LOVE THESE GUYS!

Well, I'm off to finish working, wishing that it was 5:00 already and dreaming about a Steelers Super Bowl victory! Ta ta!

 

Whitney

Mission impossible

My mission: a 10:00 bed time, mission failed.


I started writing a paper for school at about 9:00 and had the intention of only working on it for about 30 minutes and then finishing up today. Well, that definitely did not go as planned. I was on a roll and didn't want to stop the creative juices from flowing, so I kept at it...until 11:30. Then, when I was finished I just couldn't fall asleep. I think it was finally lights out around 12:15. And to top it all off I had to wake up at 5:45am. Thankfully I showered last night and was able to just spray a bunch of crap in my hair and throw it on top of my head. Not the best look for me, but hey, it'll do.

Holy forehead, this picture reminds me why I have bangs and should always leave them down rather than pulled back!

On a more positive note, my 5 miler felt amazing yesterday. I'm going to steadily try to increase my mileage. Who knows? If I keep working at it maybe I will be able to fit that half marathon in at some point. Is it just me, or does anyone else seem to sweat more than you'd think is humanly possible? And it's not only the sweat for me, but my face turns BRIGHT RED after about 1 mile (see exhibit A). I could not even be working that hard and it still happens .I always had this issue playing sports growing up as well. People would ask me, "are you okay?" and I'm like "yeah, totally fine, why?" and their like "because you look like you're about to die." I don't get it, oh well.

After the gym I was starved but the pickin's were slim at home so I just threw together what I could find. Stir fried veggies sprinkled with shredded cheese. Turned out pretty darn tasty and was actually surprisingly filling. 

I also had a granny smith apple for an evening snack.


I think that work is going to fly by today because I have so much to do. After work I've got a couple more errands to run and some more stuff to drop off at the new house. Then it's time to get my sweat on. The agenda includes a 2.5 mile walk before dinner (this is to make sure that I actually do it), 40+ minutes stair climber, squats, Sumo squats, lunges, reverse lunges, leg lifts, bicycle crunches and regular crunches.


Today's breakfast had to be eaten in the car, and I just couldn't think of a better excuse to stop by Dunkin' Donuts (seems like forever since I'd been there...okay, okay only 2 days, but it feels like eternity).

Thats a turkey sausage flatbread sandwich, minus the cheese, for only 250 calories! And coffee of course.

 I did manage to find time to pack some almonds for a mid-morning snack and a bag of microwave pop corn and other goodies for lunch. That might not be enough to hold me over til dinner though, so I'll probably be making a trip to the grocery store. Well I'm off to be productive! Ta ta for now!

Whitney

Woo-hoo for Wednesday

That "woo-hoo" is meant to be said aloud in a very high-piched way...kinda like Vicky on Real Housewives of the O.C.


I'm so excited that this week is seeming to fly by which is very surprising with the lack of sleep that I've been experiencing. Speaking of lack of sleep, I did it again. I had errands to run after work last night so I didn't get home until around 7:00pm. I was famished, so decided to eat dinner pre-work out, which I hate doing because then I have to sit there for at least an hour to let my food digest before working out.

 Instead of breakfast food for dinner like I had intended, I just threw together all the veggies I could find into a salad bowl and topped with Zesty Italian and Parmesan Cheese, pretty tasty and quick.

I decided to be semi-productive in this hour and make a trip to the new house to drop off some new purchases (this new house thing is becoming VERY expensive). My after work errands actually consisted of buying a new set of living room tables, 2 end tables and a coffee table, that I found on craigslist. I LOVE finding awesome deals on craigslist. We've actually bought a few pieces of furniture from there and all has turned out fabulous so far.

The couple that I bought the tables from lived in this amazing condo right on the beach with a view to die for. I didn't want to creep them out by taking a picture in their home, so I snapped this one as I was arriving there. Storm rolling in off the Gulf of Mexico.

So, I dropped the tables off with some other new goodies and did a little work organizing the new place. This "one hour" thing actually turned into about 2, so it was after 9:00 before I ever got to start working out. By then, Scotty had gotten all lazy on me and our planned 2.5 mile walk with the pup was out the window, poor girl :(  So instead I just hopped on the stair climber for 45 minutes. Working out in the privacy of your own home can be amazing, especially when you have some good tunes cranking. I was feelin' the music and shakin' my rump-shaker as I was stepping and I have to say I had a blast, the time just flew by. If you haven't done so in a while, I highly recommend downloading some old-school Michael Jackson, J-Lo, Destiny's Child, Britney & Christina. I was totally rockin' out and it was fun, just what I needed. When my cardio was complete I decided to go ahead and test out the arm with some upper body strengthening. It felt really achy, but I pushed through it and ended up completing 15 minutes of light-weight lifting. It started to feel good towards the end and today I can tell a big difference in the pain, so I'll call it a success. I also did 3 sets on the old faithful ab lounge.


After work today I'm hitting the gym for 5 miles on the treadmill and even though I'm exhausted...I'm excited. I can't even remember the last time that I was excited to hit the treadmill, so it's a nice change of pace. I've also got more ab work to do and hopefully we can actually make that walk with the pup happen tonight. 


Eats for the day include:
Breakfast- A few slices of deli chicken breast with a slice of light provolone on a sandwich thin & a large Dunkin Donuts coffee for the road.
Snack- Handful of almonds
Lunch- Tomato basil soup with a serving of no-sugar added tapioca pudding (yummmmm!)
Snack-Light kettle corn 
Pre-gym- Large orange
Dinner-????


Hope everyone else is feeling as productive and happy as I am today! I think the lack of sleep might be getting to me...goal for tonight: Bed by 10:00. Ta Ta for now!


Whitney

Why am I so sleepy :(

Probably because I can't seem to get in bed before 11:00 every night and I wake up at 5:30 to get ready for work...something's gotta give, I just don't know what. I really admire all of you marathoners out there. I commend you for first of all for even being able to run that far and second of all for finding the time to train and work up to that distance. I wish I had it in me, and hopefully one day I will, but as for now it ain't happening. I got in 4.15 miles on the treadmill last night at the gym and finished up with some leg presses, glute presses, extensions, one-legged extensions, curls and butt blasters. I headed home and had some stir fried veggies and pineapple chunks for a snack. I'm getting so lazy with pictures I swear, I've got to get better about that.


This morning I woke up exhausted but dragged myself out of bed anyway. I even managed to force myself to fix my hair, shocker I know. I wrapped up some deli ham in a La Tortilla Factory shell for breakfast and grabbed a coffee with Splenda and skim milk on my way into the office. Today's mid-morning snack was a boring plain old banana. Lunch is Boars Head Golden Classic Chicken (my all-time favorite deli meat) on another wrap with a slice of 2% Provolone, a sliced tomato and a small no-sugar added tapioca pudding. Today's mid-afternoon snack will be a handful of almonds. I'm think that dinner tonight will probably be breakfast foods: oats, turkey sausage and eggs. I didn't actually get to have "breakfast food" for breakfast and I'm missing it. 

I have to run some errands after work so working out will have to wait until a little later this evening, but it'll probably go something like this:

40 minutes stair climber
2.5 mile walk
And I'm going to try to incorporate some upper body strengthening, with light weight because my arm is still killing me from my graceful boating incident.


I'm off to find some caffeine in some form to try and shake this drowsiness. We've got an office birthday/new baby party this afternoon with a huge cake, so I must resist the urge to eat copious amounts of buttercream frosting.


Ta ta for now!
Whitney

Weekend wrap up: the good, the bad and the ugly...

The good: Beautiful day of boating, lots of work done on the new house, indulging a little, quality time with Scotty's folks, car cleaned out, a Steeler's victory!!!!


The bad: still more work to be done on the new house, my meatloaf wasn't the best its ever been & I was a little lacking on the workout front.


The ugly: I'm injured…from boating of all things!


Overall I give this weekend an A+. Friday night I was talked out of going to the gym because everyone was starving and couldn't wait until 7:30 to eat dinner. So, much to my dismay I gave in. We had a fabulous dinner…bar-b-que grilled chicken, brown rice and grilled green beans for me…delish. We then went TV shopping which was a total surprise…I knew that we needed a new one, but didn't think we'd buy it this soon.

(surprisingly this picture makes it look so small but it's really huge!)

Saturday I made sure to get in 45 minutes on the treadmill, copious amounts of squats, lunges, leg lifts and ab exercises. I lay on the floor on my back and make Scotty stand over me throwing my feet to the ground and the goal is to keep them from hitting the floor and bring them back up for him to slam to the ground again…talk about a sore tummy. I highly recommend this exercise for lower abs though, it is amazing.


We then had a huge fiasco with Direct TV…they were supposed to be there to install our service at 9am and guess what time they arrived????? 3:00pm!!! I was about to start chewing my nails off because the football game started at 4:30! But he finally got there and had everything installed in about 45 minutes so I could breathe easy. I made beef meatloaf and turkey meatloaf, green beans, baked potatoes and corn for dinner. It was good, but definitely not my best. I always add red pepper flakes to it because Scotty and I like our food on the spicy side…apparently this isn't a good idea as far as the in-laws are concerned. His mom was choking it down with water after every bite…my bad. I may have accidentally had my brain a little too much on the football game as I was preparing it and added a little too much. Speaking of the game…WOW! Was that ever a nail-biter?!?!?!? Not that I ever doubted them…yeah right…we were losing 21-7 at half time! But made an amazing come back and ended up winning! Now it's on the the Jets this coming Sunday!!! CAN'T WAIT! I promise to try and not post about football every day this week but you can guarantee that it's pretty much all I'll be thinking about!


After the game, I was so pumped that I decided to treat the family to Dairy Queen (bad, bad girl!). I hadn't had an Oreo blizzard since high school I swear…and it was well worth it. Plus, I figure I probably burned off all of those calories while pacing around my living room and jumping off the couch during the game.


Sunday was B-E-A-utiful so we took the boat out for a cruise. Only Scotty's sister and dad came with…his mom can't handle the noise of our boat. I may be weird, but this "noise" I speak of is like music to my ears, it's like a muscle car on water…you just can't beat the sound of 1000 horse power in my book. We drove to a nice little water front restaurant and had lunch, a ginormous salad for me with a few bites of chili, and then we just headed back home. I caught some pics of a few dolphins, which was what Scotty's dad was hoping for, so all was well. Now, onto the bad…I'm sure your curious about my boating injury right? Well, this is pretty embarrassing to admit. We were getting ready to tie up to the dock so Scotty could go get the boat trailer. My job is to stand on the front of the boat as he pulls up close and tie the rope around the dock post to anchor us there. The wind was starting to pick up and as Scotty was getting close to the dock it started to blow us in the opposite direction. So I leaned a little too far to throw my rope over the post…so far that I fell in the water!!! Not a good idea in January…did I mention that I was fully clothed in jeans and a sweater? And that the water is a mere 60 degrees? It was approximately 10 feet deep, so I was fully submerged, head to toe. I popped up and couldn't breathe because the water was frigid! Thankfully 2 guys were standing on the dock and pulled me to safety fairly quickly. Of course it was not only embarrassing, but also pretty freaking' painful. I tried to grab on to the railing on the front of the boat to prevent myself from falling all the way in and managed to bang my elbow up pretty good and almost pull my arm out of socket I think…my shoulder, bicep and forearm are all SO sore today. Looks like I will be taking a few days off from the weights! But overall, I'd say it could have been much worse…and I've learned a very important lesson…be patient and don't try to force it! Boating can be very dangerous!


I'm glad that we had a really nice visit with the Scottster's family…will post pictures tomorrow! Just too busy to upload them last night. But I'm also glad to be back to the routine of things and cooking versus always eating out! Here's to a great week for everyone…I'm already counting down the hours til it's the weekend again!


Ta ta!
Whitney

I feel like singing!

That is how darn happy I am that it is FRIDAY!


The weekend officially begins in 2 hours and 10 minutes. I'm counting those babies down too. 


I'm a complete slacker and skipped the gym last night. Actually I have a quite acceptable excuse if I do say so myself. The plan was to get the floors clean and tidy up a little at the new house before the in-laws arrive. Well I did that...and then some. I completely lost track of time between vacuuming, sweeping, windexing, dusting, toilet & bath tub cleaning, and hiding junk in places that hopefully no one will see. Before I knew it, it was 8:30 and time to head to the airport. 


Funny story- Scotty's dad has bugged me ever since we moved here about picking him up in the airport with a sign that says his name, like I'm a taxi driver or something. Well, this has yet to happen because usually when we pick them up we just park in the cell phone lot until they let us know that they are off the plane and then we pick them up at the door. Good news to report-yesterday his wish was granted. We actually parked in the short term parking lot and went inside just so I could hold a sign reading his name. It was totally worth it, he was thrilled, which made me thrilled. I guess it really is the little things in life that matter.


After picking them up we took them to a quick dinner. Thankfully I had just eaten before we left for the airport or I would have fallen off the wagon for sure. They all had burgers at Cheeseburger in Paradise, which looked delicious, thankfully I was already full...but not full enough to have a couple of bites of chicken and sausage gumbo, yum!


We then took them all to the new house and they loved it. I got lots of compliments on the kitchen cabinets and counter tops and paint colors. I just can't wait for people to see it how I envision it in my head. Should only be another month or so until it's completely finished and decorated. 


I'm ready to hit the gym today since I had a break yesterday. Maybe I should try this 3 days on, 1 day off routine...thats an idea. It's kind of nice to have a rest day in the middle of the week instead of working your butt off all week and not getting a rest day til Saturday or Sunday. It kind of makes sense actually, hmmmmm...


I've got cardio and legs today but I might have to condense the routine a little in order to get home in time for dinner...I'd hate to have everyone waiting on me to eat! Because I know I'd be ready to hurt someone if they did that to me!

Today was a co-workers birthday and his mom surprised him by bringing a huge triple layer chocolate cake and ginormous chocolate chip cookies to the office to celebrate. I just had to stay out of the breakroom because I was afraid all hell would break loose if I didn't. That was a tough one.


I've already got butterflies in my belly for tomorrow...huge game on the line and all the stories I read are saying it's going to be brutal, which I already knew. They're predicting concussions, broken bones and more major fines for helmet-to-helmet. It's truly going to be the battle of the toughest team....but I think we've got it in the bag. I asked Scotty last night before bed if he thought I was psycho because I am literally so pumped for this game and I find myself constantly thinking about it, even nervous about it. He responded with "No, I think it's just because you've played competitive sports your entire life and now that you don't have a sport to compete at, you have to be competitive about something." So that made me feel better, and a little less crazy. Off to finish up my work for the day and then I am OUTTA HERE! Have a fabulous weekend everyone! GO STEELERS!

Whitney

Health/Fitness website & research

As you know, I am really trying to up the protein in my diet. It's hard to keep track of but I found this really handy site that tracks all of the nutritional values in your diet you can think of and its FREE. Check it out here. I enter all of my meals for the day there and it magically tells me how many calories, grams of fat, protein content, sodium, etc, etc....basically anything you could want to know. I never really tried to be a calorie counter before because I think that its just too difficult, but this is a great way to see just exactly what your caloric intake is. I was pretty pleased with mine and I'm very pleased with how I've been increasing my protein. This site allows you to look up each food item individually and build your meals. It also has food from just about every restaurant you can think of. Hope you all find it as helpful as I have!

I also did some research yesterday because I've heard conflicting reports on how much water per day is an adequate amount. Probably the best advice that I read was for an active person that works out almost every day, you should drink 75% of your weight in ounces of water. Sounds like a good rule of thumb to me. I've also really been working on that area, drinking over 3 liters per day for the past couple of weeks. Love the way it makes me feel, but hate the way I'm in the bathroom constantly!


Whitney

We love visitors...

And it's a good thing because you tend to get several of them in the winter when you live in Florida. 


Scotty's family is coming for a weekend visit tonight.

I know you probably can't tell from this photo, but they are all sooo tall. Standing at 5'6", I never thought of myself as exactly short until I started hanging around with these guys. I mean, I knew that I would never be a starting middle hitter at a D-1 school, but still...I'm no shrimp! Scotty is the tallest at 6'3 and a half, his Mom and Dad are each 6'3" and little sis is 6'1", little sis's boyfriend and probably one-day husband is 6'5"!!!!...just imagine how out of place I look while walking in a group with them. But it works out great because we make up our own volleyball team...and I'm never at a shortage for hitters or blockers!


I still have quite a bit to do before they get here this evening. I cleaned up the kitchen at the new house yesterday and we moved our bed in the master bedroom (actually right now it's just a mattress on the floor, but that will have to do for now). Tonight I have to finish vacuuming the other bedrooms and sweeping the tile floors and other little odds and ends. I'm actually going to have a kind of fun lunch break today...I have to go make some purchases for kitchen & bathroom supplies...and I love almost any kind of shopping. 


I almost let my working on the house derail my workout again last night...instead I just let it modify it. I didn't get to the gym until 9pm...I HATE going that late. I was already tired and definitely didn't feel like being there. I also had the attention span of a toddler. So I jumped on the elliptical and cranked out 15 minutes until I was bored stiff, then jumped on the treadmill for 20, then back to the elliptical for another quick 15 at a high incline. Then I just called it a night. I didn't realize I was sore from the mucho squats and lunges I did the previous night until I started working up a sweat on the elliptical. So I decided to take a rest from the weights for a day, but will be back to hitting them today. 


Today will be 10 minute intervals of elliptical and the stair mill, I'm not really giving myself a set time to complete, I'll just go until I'm tired. Then I have a full upper-body work out to look forward to. Hitting all muscle groups with 2 sets until exhaustion. 


I had a larger breakfast than usual today. I was extra hungry, probably from working out so late last night. 
Breakfast: 1 scrambled egg (I usually like them fried with a hard yellow, no runnies! But Scotty requested scrambled so I gave in), 2 turkey sausage patties, bowl of plain oats with cinnamon and Splenda.

Snack: Few pieces of beef jerkey
Lunch: Double turkey salad from Subway (we didn't have anything to bring at home :( )
Snack: String cheese and a few almonds
Pre-gym: Apple with 2 rice cakes
Dinner: Still a mystery


Hope everyone is having a great Thursday...I love Thursdays because that means tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! And I have a very fun weekend to look forward to, so excited! Ta Ta for now!


Whitney

GREAT News!

We've (okay, actually I've) decided on DirectTV instead of Comcast cable and guess what? THEY ARE INSTALLING ON FRIDAY!!! Woohoo...I can watch the football game and act as crazy and barbaric as I want to because I will be in the privacy of my own home! I haven't been this happy since I discovered the garbanzo bean (tear, tear).


Another plus, the in-laws (pretty much) will be at the house so neither Scott or myself have to take off work for the installation, a double whammy! Wahoo!


Now I just have to find an internet service provider that doesn't want an arm and a leg...thats gonna be a toughie!

Baby it's cold outside

Holy cow, I thought I lived in Florida! It is downright chilly today. Probably not compared to where some of you are, but for us Floridians it's pretty darn miserable...and windy too, which just makes it that much worse. Unfortunately the heat is broken in the office and although the property manager has been promising that it would be fixed soon (like a month ago)...still nothing. So I'm bundled up in a cozy sweater and trying to tough it out. 


My work out plan was derailed last night by other important matters involving the new house. I did manage to get 35 minutes in on my stair climber at home. I'll seriously have to take a picture of this piece of work for you guys. It is totally ancient but still manages to kick my booty. I love that thing and will keep it til it no longer stands upright. I also did TONS and I do mean TONS of squats, lunges and some lower-body pilates exercises, regular crunches and scissor crunches. My not-yet-existent abs were burning after those and it felt so good.


I'm not even going to bore you with my eats for the day because it's pretty much the same as yesterday. 


I'm starting to get a little nervous because the future in-laws are going to be here tomorrow night and there is still so much to do. Scotty is picking up our new mattress tonight, which we will probably be sleeping on in the floor this weekend. His sister will probably also be sleeping on a mattress on the floor, but at least the parentals will have a normal bed! I'm hoping that we have enough time to get the living room furniture moved in because sitting on cold tile doesn't sound too appealing to me...and maybe the kitchen table and chairs...we all love to play cards and that is much easier at a table than on the floor.


We plan to go to a movie while they are here, possibly some bowling... and boating (if we can suck it up and not freeze in the cold air), and DEFINITELY LOTS OF FOOTBALL WILL BE WATCHED. Although I'm not sure where this is going to occur...you see, I called to schedule cable/internet installation yesterday and they can't come until NEXT FRIDAY! Ahhh...I guess we'll see if we can all make it through the weekend without killing each other! It's also going to be a toughie to stick to my diet plan over the weekend. Of course when you are on vacation you like to go out to eat a lot, which is definitely what we do when they are in town. It's going to be a big test for me but I think I can handle it! Hope everyone is staying warm and the good news is that it's Hump Day...I can see the weekend in sight! Yay! Ta ta for now!


Whitney
PS-I promise to post pictures tomorrow, even if it is of something totally unrelated to the post...maybe then you won't die from boredom while reading this.

I've got the Tuesday blues...

I woke up this morning with the feeling of "Ugh, it's only Tuesday?"...not sure why, but I haven't been sleeping very well and I'm just plumb tired. Sleep is usually never a problem for me but I guess I have a lot on my mind with the upcoming move, school, "roomie" issue, etc. 


I had a kick butt workout yesterday evening and I'm feelin' it today. I love that burning pain though. I know that I did a great job in the weight room when I can hardly walk the next day. Sounds stupid to love a feeling like that, but I do. 


After work I'll hit the gym, then home to quickly eat some leftovers for dinner. I've got to return a few things that we bought for the house and then buy what I really want, then its on to the house to continue the nonstop work and cleaning. Yay! Doesn't sound like I'll be much more rested tomorrow, but the goal is a 10:30 bed time tonight.


Eats for the day:
Breakfast- 2 turkey sausage patties, bowl of oats
Snack- Granny smith apple
Lunch- Ground beef, diced tomato, garbanzos (again...this is apparently my go-to meal)
Snack- Couple of pieces of beef jerkey & a string cheese
Pre-workout- Handful of almonds and a rice cake
Dinner- 2 eggs and a salad (this is obviously an odd combination, but I am craving both so why not combine them for one wacky dinner?)

This is an unusually short post for me, but thats about all I have to say today. It's just one of those days I guess. On the upside...I'm extremely excited for SATURDAY and wish it would hurry its butt up and get here! STEELERS vs. RAVENS...oh yeah. I'll be acting like a crazy woman for sure. 

Ta ta for now!


Whitney

Crazy Monday

I'm going out on a limb here and starting something new...Monday's are almost always crazy around these parts, which made me come up with an idea. Every morning I listen to the Kidd Kraddick radio show on my way to work. I just love those guys. They always make me laugh without fail. Plus I'm usually getting in my car just as they are starting the Hizziewood Hizzle, an entertainment/celebrity gossip segment that just always seems to start my morning off right. Gotta love that celeb gossip. Anyways, getting back on track...they also do a segment called "Does that make me crazy?". Each cast member admits a little quirk about themselves and then asks, "Does that make me crazy?" and the other cast members decide, crazy or not? They also take listener calls in which listeners call and ask the cast the same thing about something a little cooky that they do. So, I'm declaring today and all Mondays- CRAZY MONDAY- the one day of the week where you will admit something that is probably a little weird about yourself and then find out who thinks you are crazy or not. Lets face it, it will probably make us feel better to get these crazy antics off our chests! Can't wait to see what kind of responses I get, actually I just hope to get a few! Since this is my brilliant idea, I will go first. Wow, yesterday I showed you all my feet and now this...what has gotten into me?


Each time I use a public restroom I always tear the first few squares of toilet paper off and throw them away. It just really grosses me out to use toilet paper that some random stranger has touched. Does that make me crazy?


Okay, now it's your turn! Go CrAzY! Knock yourself out! Tell me what you think makes you crazy...


Whitney

Just another manic Monday

One of my coworkers said that this morning and I thought it was a very fitting title for today's post.


Don't even get me started on my morning, that would not be a good idea. As you know, we have a temporary roommate. He's a good friend of my Scotty's from back in Illinois. They've been friends forever and we decided that we'd let him stay in our condo over the winter (as he wants to try out snow-birding at the ripe old age of 29, lucky). We were planning on being in our house by now which would make this whole situation much less complicated. But instead, we are all 3 living in a fairly small 2 bedroom condo…one big happy family, right? Wrong! See, I guess most other 24 year olds would probably consider me a granny, but I'm not much of a partier…at all. I do enjoy dancing and shakin' my groove thang, even having a few drinks every now and then, but this is usually reserved for special occasions, e.g. birthdays, New Years (except for this year), 4th of July, Memorial Day (other big boating holidays). I'm not exactly used to someone getting wasted and coming home at 3 am being very disrespectful…and this is not just a one time thing, although it bothered me more than usual today. Today, there was another person involved. The "roomie" has a friend in from out of town and they decided to go live it up last night. Scotty was even nice enough to drop them off at the bar so they would only have to pay for a taxi back. How do they repay us/him? By coming in and slamming doors, watching TV, leaving lights & fans on all night, talking extremely loud and just being downright disrespectful. I also discovered a half eaten pizza, gatorades and open bags of chips on my kitchen counter this morning when I went to make breakfast…I DO NOT COOK IN A DIRTY KITCHEN. 

Thats just gross…so I tried to move all of their crap around or work around it, but it most definitely wasn't a pleasant cooking experience or morning in general. You'd think it'd be over as soon as I walked out the door right? Well, I decided to take the stairs down to my car this morning instead of the elevator, and what did I find strategically placed on the stair case between the 2nd and 3rd floors of our building? Thats right…vomit. Obviously someone had a little too much fun, serves them right if you ask me. But how immature and stupid can you be? We live in a condo community full of retired people. Scott and I would never do something like that and I think that all of our neighbors know that, but it just irks the heck out of me that someone living in my house would. SO…needless to say, I am glad to be at work today and away from those guys.

New subject- I've begun to tweak my work out plan. The latest and greatest goes as follows: 45 minutes of cardio Monday through Saturday. Four sets of 3-4 upper body and 3-4 lower body exercises daily. The first 2 sets will be performed with lower weight and higher reps, the following 2 sets will be higher weight and lower reps. I'm also going to do 2 ab exercises daily.

Eats for today include: A very grumpy 2 eggs and bowl of oats for breakfast, serving of almonds for a morning snack, shredded baked chicken with green peas, mushrooms and brown rice for lunch, 4 slices of chicken with a rice cake for an afternoon snack, medium apple with Tbsp. peanut butter pre-workout, and lean ground beef stir fried with garbanzos, diced tomato and green chillis and mushrooms for dinner.

After dinner we are going to pick up a new bed for one of our guest rooms. I hated to do it, but I made a compromise with the Scottster that he can put this huge cherry wood desk in there (which I hate) but now the bed for that room doesn't match, so we had to get a new one. We're also going to start cleaning up in the new house this evening because we are actually going to be spending a few nights there this weekend while his fam is in town…we can't expose them to the nightmare that is living in our condo. Well, that is all the negativity I will burden you with for now. Off to drink a diet coke to improve my mood (darn it, there I go breaking one my rules!).

Ta ta,

Whitney

It was a fishy Sunday...

Overall today was pretty uneventful, in a good way. We watched football just like yesterday and ate and that is pretty much it. 


Woke up around 9am and had breakfast...

Thats Scotty's eggs and oatmeal on the left (2 eggs with cheese in the middle, maple/brown sugar oats) and mine on the right (2 plain eggs, plain oatmeal with cinnamon & splenda). 


After breakfast we took the pup for a 2.5 mile walk. Today is a rest day from anything even semi-strenuous but I still wanted to get some kind of activity in. We then proceeded to be extremely lazy and pretty much only move to change the channel on the TV. 


Lunch was chicken that I had cooked in the crockpot (my best friend). I shredded mine up and mixed it with some green peas, mushrooms and garbanzos. Pretty tasty little protein-packed lunch. I'm really trying to get lots of protein in my diet but it is sooooo hard for me because I am definitely not a meat lover.

After lunch guess what happened? The laziness continued. I did some minor household chores and some homework, caught up on blog reading and fitness magazines and thats about it.


Dinner got a little more interesting however. I've been reading a lot about tilapia here lately. It is supposed to be a non-fishy, low fat/calorie, high-protein fish. Tad bit of information about me: I HATE FISH. ALL FISH. I'm from southeast Missouri which just might be the fish fry capital of the world. I can't even begin to tell you how many people have made me try fish because "my fish is the best, just wait til you try it, no one makes fish better than me, I turn fish-haters into fish-lovers, etc. etc. etc". And every time I try it, I hate it even more. But I thought, since this tilapia stuff is supposed to be sooooo good for you, I'll give it a whirl. So I did some research and combined a couple of recipes. I sprayed the filet with some olive oil cooking spray, drizzled it in lemon juice, sprinkled with some salt, pepper and garlic powder. I let it like that for a few hours in the refrigerator and then right before broiling added a little more lemon (this was supposed to make it even less fishy). It was broiled just as all the recipes instruct and it actually looked kind of appetizing when I took it out...one problem. It was terrible. Not even okay, or edible...terrible. Scotty assured me that he thought it was actually pretty good, and he ate about half the filet (along with some salmon that I broiled for him as a back-up)...but I think he was definitely sugar coating it. So, long story short...I will NEVER eat fish again in life.


After dinner we took the pup for a quick 2-miler and now I'm getting ready to head to bed. I have an early morning appt. with my stair climber to prepare for. One more thing to share with you...

New fingernails and pedicure! I can't believe that I'm showing you a picture of my feet this early in our relationship, haha. I know, I know right...I have the weirdest looking second toe, but I'm really self-conscious about it so please don't make fun, just kidding. I've been teased about it my entire life, so pretty much anything you can say I've heard! But anyways, I love the sparkly red. Except now I'm thinking that these should have probably been my Christmas nails, but oh well...I still love them just the same!


Hope you all had a great weekend! Happy early Monday! Ta ta...


Whitney

I love Saturday, sweatin' and THE STEELERS!

Woke up pretty early this morning, after staying up too late watching "Letters to Juliet" last night. Cute movie.


I whipped up 2 eggs plus 2 extra egg whites and peeled an orange for breakfast. 


About an hour later I hit the gym and got my hour of cardio in...my gym was seriously packed this morning and for some reason I find this extremely annoying. I should be happy that people are taking the initiative to work out. Ran a few errands after the gym and now I'm eating a bowl of oatmeal and a handful of almonds. About to go do my Saturday ab routine (4 sets of the following: ab lounge, scissor crunches, plank, leg lifts) and take the pupster for a walk. 


Last night was seriously kick-butt in the gym. I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill (run/incline walk combo) and the went on to do all of my lower body strength work (including 4 sets of Smith Machine squats, yay me!) and finished up with 15 minutes of high incline elliptical. I must say...I'm feelin' it today.


Not sure what the rest of the day has in store...need to hit up the nail salon...thinking about choosing another color of glittery tips! So exciting! Decisions, decisions, decisions. Another thing that is most definitely in store is FOOTBALL! Gotta watch today to see who my beloved Steelers will be playing next weekend. I felt sorta guilty because I only wore Steelers gear one time this week and that is just a total sin as far as I'm concerned during the play offs. So, what did I do? I cut the sleeves off one of my older Steelers t-shirts thats way too big and I usually only sleep in and rocked it at the gym...

I cannot even believe that I just posted this pic. Please excuse 4 things about it...the disgusting dirty mirror that desperately needs to be windexed, my repulsively sweaty skanky hair, the disastrous closet behind me (I guess I could have closed the door), and the fact that I am totally covering my face with the phone. Actually, that last one is probably a good thing.


Well, Happy Saturday to everyone! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!


Ta Ta,
Whitney

TGIF

Oh my...I'm exhausted and SOOOO glad that its Friday! It's Friday! It's Friday! (doing favorite happy dance right now)


I know it's only been a week, but I'm happy to report that I've stuck to my workout plan and food plan to a T. However, I am thinking of tweaking it a little (mainly the workout)...but we'll see.


Have you noticed that your taste buds change over time? Mine sure have. I've always loved salad and most veggies, even as a little kid. But one thing that I could NEVER, EVER stand is beans. That is beans of almost any kind, except green beans, and I don't even really think those count. I even make bean-less chili. But recently, I have discovered that there are a couple of types of beans that I love...one that I might even be considered obsessed with. These 2 little gems are called black beans and garbanzo beans. 


Back in the summer we went to Cabbage Key, a little island in the gulf only accessible by boat, for lunch. It was a beautiful boat ride out there but I wasn't expecting much from the food (lots of time "beach food" is less than average). I was excited for the scenery and being in the restaurant in general. It's rumored that this little place is where Jimmy Buffet wrote "Cheeseburger in Paradise". The food turned out to be excellent! I had an order of peel 'n eat shrimp and black beans and rice...and so began my love affair with black beans.

Aerial view of Cabbage Key

The restaurant at Cabbage Key Inn

I don't even know how I discovered my passion for garbanzo beans to be honest. All I know is that I can open a can and eat them straight outta there. I eat them sauteed with other veggies and meats, on salads, you name it. It also helps that they are packed with protein. I used them in dinner last night...

Thats garbanzos, mushrooms and diced tomatoes. I ate it with a couple of eggs, and a bowl of oatmeal (sounds weird, but I am actually starting to get use to this sort of diet plan and I kinda like it).

I'm like jelly, on a roll this week with getting up early and making time to cook and eat breakfast. I had 2 eggs with more oatmeal and made my Scotty-pie an egg and cheese samich. He was still sleeping so I just sat it next to his face on the bed...how lucky? How many people actually get breakfast in bed?

Last night I got one heck of an upper body work out in. I started off the first set of each exercise with light weight and exhausting the muscle until I couldn't do any more reps. The next 2 sets of each exercise I upped the weight and did lower reps. It was tiring! I also made sure to get my cardio in. Today is legs which I almost hate as much as abs. I'd rather eat dirt than do a squat. But I'ma rock it today, along with my cardio. 

Not sure what this weekend has in store--hopefully some boating on this bad boy (seems like forever since we've been out)

And some quality time with 2 of my favorite peeps...

Well, off to get this day goin'! Happy Friday to all! Ta ta for now...

Whitney

Oh happy day

Good Morning Blog World!

I am in an extraordinarily good mood today and I have no idea why. I woke up early  this morning and once again had plenty of time to prepare a protein-packed breakfast of 2 eggs and a tablespoon of peanut butter…what? That doesn't go together you say? I AGREE! The plan was to have eggs and oatmeal, but I had the brilliant idea of adding vanilla protein to my plain oatmeal…yuck! Do not try this at home, I repeat, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! I think I've come to the conclusion that the only way I can tolerate protein powder is if it is thoroughly blended into a shake with water, ice, peanut butter and maybe a little banana. I also tried it as a snack yesterday afternoon shaken with some icy cold water (the Scottster's suggestion) and almost hurled. It just has the worst after taste. So, back on track, I couldn't eat the oatmeal and decided to replace it with a spoon full of peanut butter.

Yesterday's cardio was cut a bit short (5 minutes) because for the first time in my life I experienced knee pain-weird...and popping every time I bent it. I didn't want to push it, so I'll just add those lost 5 minutes on to today's routine. Everything feels fine today, so thats a relief. Surprisingly, I didn't let the knee pain prevent me from doing my ab workout (I mean, knee pain sounds like a good excuse to keep myself from doing crunches)…and it felt great, I can already feel those little ablets starting to pop…right.

The meal plan for today goes as follows:
Breakfast- Eggs & peanut butter (not mixed together)
Snack- Handful almonds (This was my snack yesterday...eaten right off of my desk...this is kind of disgusting. I heard once that there are less germs on a toilet seat than on the average person's desk! Would it really be that hard for me to get off my butt and grab a plate or at least a napkin to put them on, I don't think so.)

Lunch- Leftover lean ground beef stir fry from dinner and cup of brown rice
Snack- Apple and 3 pieces beef jerky
Dinner- Lean ground beef burger, steamed broccoli, brown rice

The work out for today goes like this:
50+ minutes on the treadmill
Alternating curls, hammer curls, concentration curls, lateral pull downs, seated rows, lateral bar press downs, kickbacks, skull crushers, overhead presses, bent over row, lateral/side raises…maybe even a few stability ball crunches if my knee doesn't hurt too bad.

On a positive note, I had a salad from Subway for lunch yesterday and it was pretty delightful. I ordered it with extra turkey on top to up the protein content, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, light vinegar and oil, and veggies.

It tasted great, but didn't leave me satisfied for long. On the other hand, a more negative note, I also drank a diet coke with this salad. But, trying to be more optimistic--I'm not going to beat myself up about it because it was my first one since Sunday. Hopefully I can hold off on having another until this coming Sunday (that'd be a miracle).

Well, I'm off to do some work now. Hope it's a productive day for us all! Ta ta for now!

Whitney