I am a princess
I am having the best day ever!!!
It started like this:
Multi grain waffles with almond butter and apple slices. With coffee, obvi.
I enjoyed breakfast in bed, which was divine but would have been even better if someone else had served it to me 
HA! Imagine that! Next up was a yoga class at the studio where my mom teaches. I’m still sore from Wednesday’s monster killer lower body workout. My stiff muscles made me extra happy to do yoga this morning.
Here’s the studio:
Namaste
Class was lovely. I also did 20 mins on the elliptical. It was low intensity, but it felt good to move.
Want to know what else was lovely? Sitting in the hot tub after my workout! It is such a gorgeous fall day outside.
I made an awesome salada for lunch.
Spinach
Tomato
Green peppa
Brocoli
Carrot
Pickles
Turkey pepperoni
2 tbs of cottage cheese
Scoop o’ hummus
Reduced fat sharp chedda
BAKED BEANS!!!!!!
Here’s a close up for ya:
Let’s hear it for baked beans. They really took this salad to the next level. They added some sweetness that contrasted beautifully with the salty turkey pepperonis. I did add a little bit of French dressing to the salad, too. The salad was followed by:
This afternoon I treated myself to some at home spa treatments. I was in the mood after chillin’ in the steamy hot tub.
The Goods
I feel like a million bucks. Surprisingly, this took up the majority of my afternoon! I kept thinking, “the things women do…” But it was fun. After I finished getting pretty, I ran a few errands and enjoyed an orange:
Please note the freshly painted nails.
And I’ve now been chillin at Caribou and inevitabley enjoying a small soy chai tea.
I recently tried ordering a skim milk chai and I’m telling you– the flavor just isn’t the same. If you’re a chai tea drinker, try ordering with soy! I bet you’ll like it
Time to rundizzle. I’m off to check in at the bed and breakfast! Can’t wait for another relaxing night. There is a very good chance that this is the most relaxing weekend I’ve ever had. Eva!
Hope you’re having a nice Saturday!
Filed under: Breakfast, Lunch, Snack | 1 Comment
Tags: Baked Beans, Waffles, Yogi
Chillin’
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (sigh of relieve, not of stress). TGIF PEOPLE!
I decided to head to Alexandria tonight rather than tomorrow. I’m staying at my parent’s house and I’ve got the entire pad to myself. My dad is hunting and my mom is in NYC (super jeal). At first I was bummed I was going to be all alone, but then I thought “why not just make an entire weekend of it?” since I’ll be on my little solo retreat at the B&B tomorrow night.
Since I’ve got the place to myself, I’ve made myself comfortable in the master suite, baby. Moved right in…
My parents have the most comfortable bed EVER. I’m already looking forward to bedtime, probably also because I am completely spent! So pumped for a low-key weekend.
I’m off to go rent a movie! Maybe some snackies later… I haven’t been hungry for dinner yet. We’ll see what I come up with!
Back tomorrow! Happy Friday.
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Tags: RELAX
In the mood for pumpkin
I was in the mood to BAKE last night and I knew I wanted something pumpkiny. And so, I present you with pumpkin muffins.
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup bran
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup melted cream cheese (I used Weight Watchers brand)
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
This recipe could make 18 muffins or 12 jumbo muffins. I made 12 moderately sized muffins and also a small slab of pumpkin bread.
Tossed in the freezer for another time
It was tough for me to resist eating a muffin last night, although I obviously got a few licks of batter. I was excied this morning and jumped out of bed this morning to give one a try! Ok, to give TWO a try. I’m a breakfast girl, remember?!
With smears of Promise, an apple and coffee on the side.
YUM! These muffins were perfectly filling and had good, hearty flavor. I also shared breakfast with Maggie and her reports were good. Sweet!
BTW, I’ve really noticed that I like muffins, a lot. I love sweets and bread/carbs, and muffins make a great portioned sweet treat. I especially love muffins when they’re made with whole grain goodness like whole wheat flour and bran, AND when they aren’t made with butter (who needs it?!) . Thumbs up to the pumpkin muffins
Time to tackle Wednesday! Have a great hump day.
Filed under: Breakfast, Recipes, Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Tags: Pumpkin Muffins
Salad/Wrap Trap
Good evening! How’s your week going?
Mine is going well! I can officially say that I have recovered from the weekend Visiting the gym the last two nights definitely helped. It felt really good to sweat out some of that booze! Check out my workout page to see last night’s routine. Tonight I modified a chest/bicep routine that I just spotted on Carrots N Cake. I “sandwiched” the strength routine between two 15 minute cardio sessions which kept my heart rate going and made the cardio fly by.
Total time: 50 minutes
15 minutes elliptical
Chest + Biceps
Perform 3 sets of 15
- Push-ups
- Dumbbell hammer bicep curls, 10 lbs
- Chest flies on ball, 5 lbs
- Dumbbell bicep curls, 10 lbs
- Chest press on ball, 15 lbs
15 minutes treadmill run (focused on speed!)
5 minute cool down
Average heart rate: 154
Max heart rate: 193
Time in the zone: 14 mins
Total cals burned: 500
I really liked working out like this! I think I’ll do the same thing tomorrow, but flip flop elliptical/treadmill and swap upper body for lower body.
Despite plans to do so, work hasn’t allowed me to workout in the mornings at all this week. I really think my energy is best in the morning, but working out in the evening has been alright this week. I’ve kinda been a Sally with my workout routine since that half marathon in September. It’s felt good to be a little more hardcore this week!
After my workout, I came home to make dinner, which was a “faux calzone.” I seem to fall into this trap of eating salads or something inside of a tortilla when I cook for just myself. I also think that I’m less motivated to try cooking new things in the winter months. No clue why, just seems to be the case. Anyway, my faux calzone this evening was built in a high fiber/low cal wrap with this inside:
- Sauted onion & spinach
- Turkey pepperoni
- Laughing Cow cheese
- Organic marinara sauce
With all that goodness inside, I cooked it stove top– quesadilla style. It was very good!
With some grapes on the side:
Also included in dinner and not pictured were some carrots and a couple of pretzels. I was really hungry when I got home!
No super special plans this week to share, however I’m really looking forward to Saturday because I’m staying at my uncle’s bed and breakfast in Alexandria! I’m calling it my own little “personal retreat” and I’m going to do whatever the heck I want! I think that morning I’ll hit up yoga here in B-town and then hit the road. I’d like to spend the afternoon checking in on some personal goals and then I’m planning to completely relax that night. No computer and no phone (maybe!). My uncle named each of the rooms after the granddaughters in our family, so I’ll be staying in “Kristen’s Room,” which has a gorgeous four post canopy bed. Gorgeous! I’ll be sure to take some pics, but you’ll hear from me before then.
Hope you’re having a great week!
Filed under: Dinner, Workouts | Leave a Comment
Happy Halloween
(Let me say, I’ve tried over and over to correct the spacing issues on the previous post. No luck! Sorry guys, you’ll just have to deal!)
I was happy that I packed some breakfast items, because it was slim pickins at Eric’s on Saturday morning. I had an Kashi apple cinnamon instant oatmeal packet topped with a real apple and some milk.
Yum yum! After getting ready and packing up, I had a coffee date with a mentor from my former internship. It was great to catch up! We met at Caribou at 9:30 and there were sooo many people that were dressed up! I couldn’t believe people got in the spirit so early. After coffee, I had planned to get a day pass to LA Fitness, but when I arrived I found out it was $15 for a day pass! That’s half of what I pay a month for my gym. My parents and Eric were already almost finished shopping at Ikea (bummer I missed out), so instead of working out, I did some shopping for myself at the mall.
Later on… Back to Eric’s to get ready for the GAME!
Some grapies
Handful of grahams
And then it was time for the game! Besides the fact that it was FREEZING COLD, tailgating was a ridiculously good time.
Me and the boys! John, my dad & Eric
Eric & Friends
Ladies! Gina, Emily, my mama & Barb
My godfather, Jerry with his binoculars
This crew doesn’t mess around when it comes to tailgating. They had a huge spread of food and for dinner I had a sloppy joe, some chips and beans (and a few beers!) I was the only one in our crew not going to the game, so when they all took off I made my way to meet up with a friend at a campus bar. We watched a bit of the game and then it was time to head to the partay.
John Lennon and the hostess Yoko Ono
Talaine and Jeff looked so cute!!
So did Dave and Kels.
Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski
OK, so what was I? I was H1N1. I wore my PJs, a mask and carried around a bottle of Day Quil. I tried to cough and sneeze a lot, but I think I kind of forgot. The costume was kinda week, but it was cheap, easy and super comfortable. It was really fun to see everyone! We stayed at the party until around midnight and then people headed to the bars. The lines were terrible at the Uptown bars, so I ended up taking a cab to a bar that my brothers were at.
I have to say… it was a long day. We started drinking at 3 p.m, and realllly didn’t stop until 3 a.m. with daylight savings. Are you judging me? Because you should be. However, I did take it slow and steady. Promise
I’m so thankful to have some a great family and friends. I really needed this weekend, it’s been getting a little lonely up north!
Hope you had a great and SAFE Halloween!
Filed under: Breakfast, Cocktails, Dinner, Holidays, Lunch | 1 Comment
Tags: BEER, Halloween
A helluva weekend
Good afternoon!
I’m back and sooooo tired. It was one helluva weekend guys. I had so much fun.
Check out the new pad! 
The bachelor himself
Love the kitchen!!
So I was obviously wrong for thinking that new furniture would be moved in by Friday. Besides Eric’s bed and clothes, that place was bare as can be! I did help carry a couple of loads of clothes up, so I am a good sister after all
We didn’t end up eating at Cooper’s Pub because it was soo late (about 8 p.m.!) by the time we got around to dinner. Instead we went to a bar a couple of blocks away called Bunny’s. It was a burger kind of joint, but I had been craving chilli for a few days and knew that was exactly what I wanted when I saw it on the menu.
As you can see, I also ordered a dinner salad, which was huge! I ate about half of each and helped my mom with some fries. I also enjoyed a Blue Moon. Boy, after all the moving we did I was in need of a beer! HA.
I was happy to get to bed early Friday night (slept on an air bed in the spare bedroom). I got almost nine hours of sleep!
Filed under: Dinner | Leave a Comment
Tags: Bunny's, Chilli
Party PEOPLE!
We made it party people! Hooray for Friday! What fun plans are you looking forward to this weekend?
I could not sleep last night– I was in bed a little after 10, but didn’t fall asleep until around midnight. Obvi way too excited for the weekend. Regardless of my inadequate sleep, I was still up early for a trip to the gym. It felt so great to workout this morning. Before the gym, I had half of a Clif Bar (perfect morning fuel).
Total time: 40 minutes
2 mile run
- 3 minute walk warm-up
- 3-18 run @ 6.6 mph
- 18-19:30 @ 7.5 mph
- 30 second cool-down
Total Body Dumbbell Circuit:
3 sets x 12 reps of each exercise
- Chest press on bench
- Front dumbbell raise
- Triceps kickbacks
- Hammer biceps curls
- Bent over dumbbell rows
- Squats
- Stationary dumbbell lunges
Plank (perform once, rest 15 sec. between each set)
- 60 seconds
- 45 seconds
- 30 seconds
Average heart rate: 172
Max heart rate: 201
Time in the zone: 27 mins (heck yah!)
Total cals burned: 420
Dang it was a good workout.
I wasn’t immediately hungry after my workout, so I tried to follow my goal of eating more intuitively and I packed breakfast to eat at work instead of eating at home. I didn’t get hungry until about 9:30, wow! Your body may surprise you when you actually listen to it.
Breakfast was a cup of Kashi Honey Almond Flax, with skim milk and a banana:
And for the rest of the day…
Can’t wait for the salad– lots of fresh veg, hummus & balsamic, may favorites! I’ll probably end up saving the Larabar and apple for my drive to Mpls. I’m anxious to try this flavor, it’s a new one for me.
The family has dinner plans at a new restaurant called Cooper’s Pub. Bummer, sounds like I’ll be missing out on the moving hard work. Instead, I’ll be just in time for fun
I promise to take some fun pics this weekend. I must say, I’ve realllllyyy missed blogging lately. I’m going to try harder to do it when I can. I really love it!
Hope you’re having a GREAT Friday!
Filed under: Breakfast, Lunch, Snack, Workouts | 2 Comments
Trick or TREATS!!!
How has your week been TREATing you??? Are you ready for Halloween?
I couldn’t be more excited for the weekend. After work tomorrow, I’m heading to Mpls to “help” my brother Eric move into his new condo! My parents are also helping and will be staying the entire weekend. Yay for family time! I’m hoping that I’ll get there after all the hard work is done tomorrow (nice sister, eh?) and I can’t wait for Saturday, when my mom and I are planning to shop with Eric. He bought all new everything, he literally had nothing to move in. He needs bedding, artwork, dishes… all the fun stuff! In the afternoon, the entire family will be heading to the Gopher game for tailgating– I’m the only family member not going to the game. Tailgating’s all the matters though, right? Miss Teresa is having a party Saturday night, I can’t wait!!! All my BFs (as in best friends guys, not boy friends) are going to be there.
Due to the above excitement, you’re probably not surprised that I have been counting down the days to the weekend all week! We’re just about there
I don’t know about where you guys are at, but it seems like TREATS have been following me everywhere this week. Someone brought in a plate of pumpkin bars to work, Maggie made an enormous batch of chocolate chip cookies this week, and tonight Brittni and I made Halloween cookies. I have had wayyy too much sugar this week.
Brittni is so sweet. She made a special cookie for each person in her family, writing their first initial in candy corn. This one is for her brother, Ethan. 
Well done, Brittni! (PS- I know some are oddly shaped. She had a hard time cutting through the refrigerated dough!)
Because of the many sweets I’ve already had this week, I ate one cookie and sent ALL of the rest home with Brittni. See ya cookies.
I may have mentioned awhile back that I’m (ever so slowly) reading the book “The End of Overeating” by David A. Kessler, which looks at the trend of overeating in America and how our genes, the brain and the food industry influence this habit. It’s fascinating and I was especially interested to read about the childhood obesity epidemic and the warning signs that precede obese children.
The book reported a study on the calorie compensation theory amongst children. The compensation theory says that infants to preschool children intrinsically adjust their food consumption over a period of a day to take in a consistent number of calories. So if you give a preschooler a more calorie dense food, they will compensate by eating less later on. This is part of the body’s drive for homeostasis. However, new research shows a population-wide shift over the years. In the 80s, children were compensating for 90% of their calories, but by the 90s, children were compensating for only about 45% of their calories.
I thought about this so much this week as I indulged. When I had the pumpkin bar, I wasn’t hungry all afternoon. My self-regulatory system kicked in and I didn’t even think about my afternoon snack. However, the next day after digging into a couple of spoonfuls of chocolate chip cookie dough (!!!), I didn’t change my eating habits for the rest of the day at all. I’m clear evidence that my drive for homeostasis is off– and skewed by cravings and desire for more, more, more. Exactly what was reported on in the book.
I recently saw a comment on Kath’s blog, after she wrote about intuitive eating. I think intuitive eating is a real skill these days. Societal pressures put ideas in our head that we can’t eat certain foods. We become afraid of food and we start to feel guilty for eating. The reader said that intuitive eating, following your body’s lead when it comes to eating, eliminates the cycle of restriction = frustration = deprivation = binging.
Reflecting on this week, I would love to work on eating more intuitively. This week I saw my self-regulatory system at work, I was listening to my body when it said “not hungry for an afternoon snack.” This is when indulging is enjoyable. I didn’t feel guilty about having a pumpkin bar after lunch because I compensated that afternoon and it was no big deal. This week I also saw my head at work, and it was working against me. I had a couple of spoonfuls of cookie dough. I felt guilty because cookie dough will ”make me fat.” The guilt took over and I didn’t listen to my body. I ate a normal size dinner and didn’t compensate. Indulging is not fun when this is the result.
But it still seems like our head needs to be a part of the way we eat, at least a little. I think that’s when it’s important to set an intention on being healthy, not being a certain size or weight, because that’s when the guilt takes over. We know what will benefit our body and what won’t. Clearly, the challenge is in finding the right balance between eating intuitively and using our head to put all we know about health and nutrition to work.
Do you think you eat intuitively?
I’m off to bed. I’ve got a BIG DAY tomorrow. I’m hoping to post sometime tomorrow. Goodnight!
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Tags: Intuitive Eating
Fun with Amazing Grass
How’s Sunday everyone?
Mine has been great with church, lounging, organizing, exercise, Target and now… a glass of wine in front of the TV, my favorite way to end the weekend. I can tell it’s going to be a great week. I am all caught up on sleep after this weekend and I’m excited because I’m returning to my winter work schedule this week, which is just a slight change from my typical schedule. Starting this week I’ll be going in a little later, working from 9ish to 5:30ish. In the winter months, working out in the morning is key for me. All I want to do after a long day of work in the winter is hibernate at home!!! So if it doesn’t happen in the morning, it’s not likely it will happen at all.
Speaking of exercise, Maggie and I went on an awesome walk this afternoon. The weather wasn’t nice, but it still felt great to get some fresh air and be outside. We walked about 2.5 miles fast. I had some fun with my new Amazing Grass powder and made a pre-workout smoothie to get me in the mood to MOVE.
1 cup cold coffee
1/2 cup skim milk
1 scoop Amazing Grass chocolate powder
1 container vanilla Light N’ Fit yogurt
Handful of ice
Even though it was cold outside, this smoothie still made the perfect afternoon snack. Te caffeine from the coffee woke me right up after an afternoon of relaxing, and the Amazing Grass and yogurt satisfied me through the entire afternoon. Remember the benefits of this awesome powder?
With all the crap that’s going around right now, I’m extra happy to be consuming anything that boosts my immune system!
Lastly, check out this post from Kim’s blog that talks about knowing your workout personality. I’ve never thought about how my personality impacts the way I should construct my workout routine. I learned that I am a self motivator and that every once and awhile I lose interest in my routine, so it’s important to do something different (like my walk today!) or try something new. Check it out to learn your workout personality!
…time to get back to my wine and watch Desperate Housewives! I hope that your weekend is ending peacefully.
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Saturday Fun
There have been many things that have made me happy today, hooray for Saturday! First, I slept in until 9:30, which is HUGE for me. It was lovely. Here are some other things I’ve been enjoying today…
1. Yoga
I went to yoga this morning at Central Lakes Healing Arts. Above is a photo of the building where class is held. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s an old school turned art center and home to a mish mash of offices for local businesses (photographers, a design agency, art vendors and even a church!).
Class today was peaceful and for some reason very emotional for me. I feel like it was the first time I had really connected with my body for awhile. I also realized that I can learn some pretty significant life lessons through my yoga practice. Today I focused on a lot on balance, as we worked in many different positions that challenged by balance. I think my emotions were from the lack of balance I’ve been feeling in life lately. During class, I kept thinking that in order to achieve balance, something’s gotta give– whether that meant pushing a different part of my body or making a slight change with my position. I left class feeling truimphant and re-focused.
2. Soy Chai Tea
After class I enjoyed a soy chai tea from Starbucks. I’m getting to be more high maintenance with my orders– now adding “extra hot” to my order. For some reason, almost every time I have a chai tea, it’s lukewarm! Anyone else?!
3. Haircut at the Fine Line
Ughh… this place is sooo awesome! I had been there once, for a massage this summer, but never for a haircut. I love the decor inside, lots of character and very eclectic. My appointment was with Laura and she did a fantastic job. She was such a professional and knew exactly what would look good on me. I wore my glasses to my appointment, which were off while she was cutting. When I put them back on I was a whole new person! I have short hair, but I think I like it. The Fine Line starts all of their hairtcts with a scalp massage, such a treat to be pampered! Especially on a Saturday
4. New Bracelets
After my haircut, I went to a consignment shop to seek inspiration for a Halloween costume (got it figured out, super pumped), and found these awesome bracelets for $3 each! Oh yeah! Gotta love a good deal.
5. Pretty Fall Colors
Fall makes me so happy and I’m loving the fall color action happening in our yard. I’m really impressed with our area, as a relatively new development, they’ve done a great job of preserving trees!
5. VEGGIES
I made a huge haul at the grocery store this afternoon and currently have a fridge packed with freshness. This afternoon (lunch/dinner) salad was sooo delicious. I think I’ve figured out my all star salad line-up, a combo of: spinach, a variety of veggies, hummus, feta and balsamic. I put a chopped CSA carrots in the salad and WOW, it added such great flavor! Much better than baby carrots from the store. Maybe I’ll grow my own carrots someday…
This afternoon I’m catching up on laundry and ironing (which does not make me happy). I’m really excited for tonight, me and Fraki are going to see “Couples Retreat.” I’ve heard it’s awesome, but almost anything with Vince Vaughn is. Right?
Lastly… the happiest news I’ve heard in a long time! My friend Talaine is engaged!!!
I couldn’t be happier for these two! They are such a good couple and I feel lucky to call them both friends! I really admire what they have and can’t wait for their wedding!!! Talaine and Jeff have been friends since elementary school, but started dating just a little more than six months ago (kind of like Kelsey and Dave). I guess when you know… you know!
They’ve already set the date for Aug. 28th. The countdown begins! Can’t wait.
Hope you’re having a happy Saturday, too!
Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments
