Monday Night Musings...

I had the most delightful yogurt for snack today...they were on sale for ONE DOLLAR each at Walmart, so even though it was a new brand for me, I just couldn't pass it up.

 

Plain yogurt on one side, honey on the other! I love being able to take little spoonfuls of honey and dipping it in the yogurt side! It reminds me of those cottage cheese and fruit cups. I brought a cup of sliced strawberries and mixed them into the yogurt cup. DELIGHTFUL.

I forced myself to go the gym after school today. I was planning to go this morning, but didn't sleep well and opted to get an extra hour this morning and *try* to hit the gym after school. 

Well, I was exhausted after school, had a weird headache, and really just wanted to go home and nap for an hour before tutoring 5:30-7:30. But, as I drove home, I convinced myself that I could lay in bed at NIGHT TIME, and that I should use those two-ish hours to work out between school and tutoring. I ran 2.5 miles (week 3 of my 10k plan, back in action!), then walked .5 miles to get to 3 miles, in 32 minutes. I ran the 2.5 miles like this:

   mile 1: 6.0 mph

   mile 2: 6.2 mph

   mile 2.5 6.4 mph     = 2.5 miles in 24:30 minutes!

!!!!!! So fast for me!!!!! I was really proud. Ready to get back to my 10k training!

After running, I hit the ab and leg machines for about 25 minutes...instead of showering before tutoring. Gross? Maybe. But my tutoring center is VERY laid back, so I just threw on a headband to cover my sweaty hairline, threw on a workout zip-up jacket, and splashed my face with water. Good to go!
I was SO hungry though, and knew I wouldn't make it to 7:30 without some kind of snack (poor planning this morning...oops). I stopped on my way to tutor, and picked up some pick-me-ups!

notice any theme? E-N-E-R-G-Y!

That Energy Mix was really good. I may or may not have eaten several servings. Lots of walnuts and almonds, with some dark chocolate-covered soybeans and crispy sesame sticks. Mmmmmm.

Just got home, and it's POURING rain...perfect for warmed up leftovers from last night:

Tofu and "asian veggie mix" stir fry, with a yummy Trader Joe's Soyaki marinade, topped with some crispy noodles and a homemade piece of garlic toast...aka 1/4 of a sammie thin roasted with a little marg/garlic powder. Yummmmm yum yum.

Tomorrow I'm going to SPIN class! It's called "studio cycle", which I hope means it'll be beginner-friendly. I've been wanting to try a spin class for months, and just haven't had the time/ambition to go...plus it's at 5:30 am. EARLY! I'm excited to try it out. Any suggestions for attire? I don't have any spandex shorts...will running tights work? And a tank top? And running shoes? haha I really only have one workout "outfit".
I'm also meeting my girlfriend, Alyssa, for some walk/running tomorrow evening. Hopefully I'll be able to encourage her to run for at least a mile with me! Baby steps!

Oh. I hear "Bethenny Ever After" is on tonight!? I got all excited and looked online to find that it starts at 10:00 pm. I need a DVR in a really bad way. I cannot stay up until 10:00, not even on the weekends. I think I'll try to convince Ben that I'd be a happier person if we had a DVR, so that I could record my favorite shows...like anything with Bethenny Frankel, I Used to Be Fat, Teen Mom, Intervention, Greek, etc. (I'm embarrassed that 2 of my favorite shows are on MTV.........) These days I don't watch very much t.v., because I go to bed so early! But, I suppose if we did get a DVR I'd turn into a huge (literally) couch potato...and that's not ideal.

So, on that note...time for bed. :)

(Last post of February! See you in March! I've got plans for a "Mega-March Goals" post tomorrow!!)

ABCs of AMY!

I just realized that I didn't do the ABCs post that was going around the blog world these past few weeks...and what better a way for you all to get to know me!

A. Age: 25

B. Bed size: queen! And I'd really like a king! Ben and I are both bed hogs.

C. Chore you hate: emptying the dishwasher, cleaning my bathroom, putting away clean laundry

D. Dogs: none at this time...but I've got my eyes on a miniature schnauzer or a french bulldog!

source of adorable

source of squishy

E. Essential start to your day: a huge glass of water!

F. Favorite color: dark or bright pink...definitely not pastel!

G. Gold or silver: I always wore silver jewelry until Ben proposed with a gold ring...and I LOVED it! I wear gold engagement and wedding rings, but any other jewelry depends on my outfit/mood.

H. Height: 5' 7"

I. Instrument you play: violin! I've played consistently from 5th grade through my sophomore year in college...10 years! Then I sort of retired, due to lack of time in college and now lack of orchestra to play in!

J. Job title: Exceptional children teacher

K. Kids: of my own? none (yet!)...but I have 25 school kids that sometimes call me "mom...I mean Mrs. ____" <3

L. Live: Raleigh, North Carolina

M. Mom's name: Barb

N. Nicknames: Midge, Mames, Aimes

O. Overnight stay at a hospital: none! phew!

P. Pet peeves: people not returning calls/texts/emails in a timely fashion

Q. Quote from a movie: Super Troopers quotes, because I'm still 13 and that movie makes me laugh SO hard every single time we watch it.  "Bear...Bearfucker, do your require assistance?" and "I want a goddamn liter of cola!"

source of awesome

R. Righty or lefty? Righty!

S. Siblings: just my twin sister, Katie!

post-ceremony wedding love <3

T. Time you wake up: typical weekday: 5:45...if I work out in the morning: 4:45! Weekends usually between 7-8am.

U. Underwear: um. yes?

V. Vegetable you dislike: raw onions

W. What makes you run late: trying on too many outfits!

X. X-rays you've had: oh lots...too many to list here

Y. Yummy food you make: veggie tofu stir-fry...mmm that sounds amazing right now.

Z. Zoo animal favorite: pandas! they're so squishy and round! :)

I hope you all have done this blog; it's so fun to learn random facts about bloggers!!

Repeat Run

Greetings from the warm and sunny south!
It's in the upper 70s right now, and all my windows are open! Well, the ones I can see in my living room...plus my bedroom windows, upstairs! After reading Caitlin's post about warm-weather break-ins, I've been more cautious to close windows/doors when I leave rooms. Safety first, ladies!

Yesterday I lost my car key at a local park while running with some girlfriends...and good news!! A park worker called last night and informed me that THANKFULLY someone had found my key and turned it in. I'm so glad I left my contact info at the front desk.
By the time I got home last night, it was too late to go back to the park to get my key...so I called my bestie, and we decided met up again at 9:30 this morning for a key-retrieval and repeat run around the lake. 

Let's start at the beginning of the day, though, shall we?
I was planning to start my day with pancakes...but when I opened the fridge, I was greeted by an EMPTY CARTON OF EGGS. Ummm....I did not do that. BENNNNNNNN!!!! Hmph.
So I had cereal. Boring! But, after my hopes were dashed, I didn't feel too enthused about breakfast, and opted for something fast and easy.

delicious, but not a weekend breakfast!!

I ate breakfast on the couch with a little someone special...

shhhh! don't tell the cat that she's ON MY LAP! she's usually so unsocial!

After breakfast I got dressed for my run with Alyssa! When I got to the park, I got my key (phew!) and sat in my car for a few minutes, drinking water and waiting for Alyssa.

Deeeeetroit

I started with a sweatshirt on, but by the time I arrived at the park, it was warm enough for no sleeves! WEE! Finally spring!
We did a few loops around the pond, each loop being 1 mile each...and then we just stretched and chatted. Neither of us were feeling the run/walk today, but I'm glad we got out there and tried at least a LITTLE running! Alyssa's debating signing up for the 5k run that takes place along with my 10k in April...so I'm hoping to encourage her enough that she will run it!

On my way home, I got a SERIOUS craving for a light and fresh salad that a co-worker has been eating every day for lunch...
3 ingredients:

so simple!

 Just a few easy steps! Slice the tomato, peel and slice the avocado, and slice and seed the jalepenos! This made two servings for us. I also sprinkled the salad with some garlic powder and fresh ground pepper.

yum and YUM.

so springy and fresh!

 My friend at school usually has hers with crackers...but since I have a BIG bag of baby spinach to use up, I decided to put our fresh chopped salad on top of a bed of spinach, and sprinkle with feta cheese. This salad was amazing. I haven't had a light and fresh lunch like this in SO long, and it tasted delicious! The tomatoes were fresh, the avocado was perfect ripeness, and the jalepeno added a nice kick of spice without being overwhelming. We had our salads with a bowl of Snyder's tortilla chips to share, for a little crunch!

I made another tupperware full of the same salad, which is sitting in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch/dinner. I can't wait to taste it after the flavors have all had a chance to soak together...hopefully it's not TOO spicy. :)

Alright, it's Sunday Funday, warm-weather edition! I'm going to sit outside and read in the sun for a bit!

It's official.

I'm running a 10k on April 17, 2011!!

It's the Philadephia 16th Annual Dash for Organ & Tissue Donor Awareness.
I'm going to run the 10k with my sister, and hopefully a few friends will join. 

Two of my girlfriends and I are driving up to Philly for our spring break to see my sister (we won't be looking for any olda boys...we're all married...haha)! We were already planning some serious sight-seeing and such, so I'm really excited to add a race to the itinerary!

...I guess this means I'd better start running again.

Outdoor gal!

HAPPY SATURDAY!

I am in one heck of a wonderful mood!
I started my morning with a tortilla spread with this beautiful baby and some banana:

obsessed.

I don't have any other meal pictures for you, friends. I'm finally at home on my desktop computer, where I can effectively open pictures and save them and load them into blogger! I've tried blogging on my phone, but can't load pictures in...I've tried blogging before/after school, but can't get into gmail to get my pictures, so they end up lopsided and weird from my school email. It's an issue, and the obvious solution is for me to not be so LAZY and just use my home desktop...but it's just not my favorite computer.
...and then I found $5.00

This has been a great weekend so far!
Yesterday I got home from school and snuggled on the couch with Izzy for awhile, waiting for Ben to get home. We watched a few episodes of the creepiest show on t.v. and I decided that for my sanity, I need to stop watching crime shows. I woke up 3 times during the night, thinking about the episodes I'd watched and how scared I was. I'm a baby...and I need to stick with sitcoms and MTV reality shows.
Anyway, when Ben got home we decided to have Qdoba for dinner! I got a HUGE vegetarian burrito, with loads of guacamole and tons of lettuce and corn salsa! SO GOOD! I ate about 2/3 of it, and Ben helped me finish the rest.
After dinner, we went to my favorite place in the world, where I got my favorite dessert in the world, a cheesecake ice and strawberry custard gelati! Rita's officially opened for the season yesterday, and I was SHOCKED that there were no customers in the store when I went in! My gelati was amazing, and I saved half for later...which I'll probably go grab in a few hours for a yummy evening snack!
Friday night ended in more snuggling on the couch and discussing future plans...which include going back to school for Ben! We got really excited talking about our plans. It makes me feel so grown up! :)
...and I brushed the siamese...

...while she chewed on her scratcher! <3

Saturday started (like I mentioned above) with a peanut butter/banana microwaved quesadilla, and 4 hours of tutoring!
After tutoring I headed over to a local park to meet up with two of my friends, Alyssa and (her sister) Sarah!

I'm readyyyyyyyyyyy!

hey pals!

We did some really fun exercising this morning! There was a pond with a trail around it, as well as an out-and-back trail in the woods. We ran around the pond (1 mile), then walked around it part of the way again to take pictures near an old water mill. Sarah is super into photography (she has a serious camera!).

very historic watermill...and can you see Alyssa? :)

After taking some senior-photo-esque photos, we headed back towards the parking lot, where we planned to run out on the other trail....and then I realized that my car key was missing!!! I was wearing Nike running capris, which have a zipper pocket in the back on the waistband. Apparently, I was absentmindedly playing with the zipper, because when we got back to the car, I discovered that the pocket was empty! UGH. We retraced our steps out about 1/4 mile and back, but didn't find the key. Thankfully, we have a spare at home, so Ben came to the rescue with the extra key!
Since we were planning on running some more, I asked Ben to wait a bit before he came to unlock my car...and thankfully he didn't have plans, so he was flexible!
We ran out 1.7 miles and back, though Alyssa tripped and hurt her shin on a stick, so we did a little interval walking.
It was wonderful! I had such a great time running in the woods! It was about 65 degrees out, sunny, no wind...perfect running conditions! I felt like I could have run for miles and miles...though I think I only totaled about 3.5. I realized today how much I enjoy running outdoors on a trail! I've run in my neighborhood plenty of times, and really dislike running around a subdivision. Every time I think about running outside, I almost dread it, since I really don't have many options for places to run after school, besides my subdivision or the gym. Today's run made me realize how important it is to find places to run where I will ENJOY my run! It didn't hurt to have my girlfriends running with me...the conversation was fun and helped me keep going!

Super Saturday with my bestie!

After our runs and walks, we decided to grab a late lunch/early dinner at a local brewery. I had an awesome boca burger on a wheat bun, topped with cheddar cheese, guacamole, and jalepenos...with lettuce and tomato, too! I also had a side salad in place of fries, which was a poor choice because it was ice berg and a half of a tomato...the fries on my friends plates were way better! Ben came along for the girl's lunch, and after I heard him order a draft beer, I really started craving one! So, I had a bud light draft with my lunch...and it wasn't too bad! I'm sure I could have ordered a fancier beer, but bud light went well with my burger...and reminded me of my college days. :-D

Now, it's time do our taxes and relax! Happy weekend, friends!

mmmm CUPCAKES

me, originally uploaded by foxamyl.

This is just a test post...trying to figure out how to use Flickr to save pics and use with my blog! :)
(I made cupcakes on Sunday...german chocolate, with coconut pecan icing, to be exact. And then I ate one after I showered. My hair is wet and clean, FYI.)

OK, I need help.
How do you all post pictures to your blogs?
Do you use a photo-sharing website to upload pics and edit before blogging? Or do you just upload onto your computer and go from there?
I just can't seem to find a solid solution.

8.2 miles and T-T-T

Hi friends! It's Tuesday! WOOHOO! It's so nice to have a teacher workday on Monday, so that even though today is the first day back with students, it's TUESDAY, not Monday! Make sense? Just go with it.

These past few days have been LOVELY in Raleigh! The weather has been warm and sunny, yesterday the high was 78! But hoo boy, it was wiiiiiiindy! We opened our windows to air out our house, and the wind knocked around our curtains all night.

Yesterday, because it was SO nice out, I decided to head out for a really nice run/walk in my old neighborhood. I had to tutor at 5:30, and I knew the route was around 8 miles, so I figured I should give myself a solid 2 hours to do the down-and-back. WHOA it was windy! But so warm, I loved it! I wore my running tights and new champion tank top, plus my running shoes, watch, and ipod with holder. I also stashed my drivers license and car key in my pants zip pocket. I think that if I start running outside more (which I really want to do!), I need to get a road ID bracelet! Safety first!
I ended up running about 2 miles of the 8...my lungs were sore and tired, probably from being so sick last week. I was able to run 5-minute chunks, broken up with minutes of walking. Though I had planned/wanted to run more of it, I am just so glad that I had the time and the route to do 8 miles! When I got home, I google mapped the route, and it's 8.2 miles! No wonder I was EXHAUSTED by the time I got back to my car!
The totals: 8.2 miles, 1 hour, 50 minutes. 
Tonight I'm going to do a part of that big route with my friend, Alyssa. We're not running until 6:00, and I think it will be dusk-dark by then, so we'll probably just do a few miles down and back. We're both trying to up our endurance for outdoor running, so I'm excited to run with her! I haven't had a running buddy since college!! :)

Oh you guys...the pictures are NOT uploading right.
They're all rotated to the side, so you would have to tip your head to the right to see them correctly.
I'm sorry this blog has become picture-less. That was not my intention!
I need to find my real camera and stop taking dumb iphone pictures, so that I can upload them the right way, instead of sending pictures to my email.
I'm sorry. :(

It's Triple Tangent Tuesday!
Here are a few randoms about me and my life...

1. I hate wearing work pants. Not like I don't wear them at all, I just hate professional, career-wear pants. I do love sweat pants, and mostly don't hate jeans. For work though, if given the option, I will ALWAYS choose a skirt or dress. I do like capris, so I think the issue is that I can never find pants that fit me exactly as I want them to, length-wise. I'm 5'7", and am in a weird in-between height...not quite regular, not quite tall.
Today, for example, I'm wearing a bright pink skirt from Old Navy, with a black floral tank top tucked in, topped with my favorite black Banana Republic 3/4-sleeve sweater. And black flats, of course. Because this giant can't wear heels without towering over everyone else.

2. I love watching shows/reading books start to finish. I got the entire set of seasons 1-6  of Sex and the City for Christmas in 2009, and have had a few marathons, in which I hunkered down and watched all BILLION episodes from start to finish. This happened on Christmas break in 2009, and again last summer. Obviously, times when I don't have school! I'm a little creepy about starting and finishing movies/shows/books. If I start a show, I have to watch all the episodes...definitely can't wait until after school or on the weekends! Same with a new book! When the Harry Potter books were coming out every few years, I did some serious reading marathons!

3. Veggies. I love them and I hate them. I love them stir-fried or in a giant made-for-me salad...but I hate to prep them and eat them raw, just as a snack. Carrots with pb? Good. Celery and Laughing Cow? Delish. Salad from Panera? YUM. But at home, making salad, soup, etc....just doesn't get me really excited. I need to develop more enthusiasm about eating veggies. Any suggestions?

I hope you all are having a wonderful week! Pics soon, hopefully! I have a great picture of the eggplant Parmesan that rocked my world on Sunday. :)

Super Sunday Goals

Happy Sunday Funday!
I hope you're all gearing up for a fabulous Sunday!

Here in Raleigh, we've beem mega-spoiled with several days of warm and beautiful weather!! I feel so lucky to live in a temperate climate where spring comes in February.

I have a few goals to post for today...hopefully seeing them in writing will help me accomplish them!

1. Clean my bathroom. Ew.
2. Paint my nails. Fun!
3. Go for a run with Benjamin. Nervous! Its been over a week!
4. Make eggplant parmesan. I made it last week, but didnt pre-cook the eggplant so it was gross...but I got a pep talk from my friens Shani, so I'm going to try it again!
5. Make some healthy muffins! Carrot? Berry? We'll see!
6. Grade papers. Ugh. I love my job and love my kids, but I haaate grading papers!

Ok, here I go! Grocery shopping and brunch with my manfriend before getting to work on that list!

Random, really.

Well. It's been a weird week. I've been all kinds of sick. Seriously, the worst. I've never ever EVER felt this bad...well, not in YEARS, anyway.
I stayed home from school Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I slept a TON. I ate next to nothing. I drank so much water. And I faithfully took my Z-Pack, hoping to kick this sinus infections behind.
I'm feeling way better today! I still feel a little less than 100%, have a cough and sniffly nose...but my energy level is much higher, and I can deal with work!

I'm trying SO HARD to get some of my random pictures uploaded, but my pictures are not transferring right from my phone to my computer email to blogger...I have no idea what's wrong with it, but there won't be many pictures for now. They're all rotated around and won't stay saved...so the few that are posted are the ones that didn't rotate the wrong way. So dumb!

Here's a cute picture of my mom and sister in the hotel room from our trip last weekend..

beautiful Foxy ladies <3

They were loving their Kindles...and of course I left mine in NC, thinking I'd be SO BUSY I wouldn't have time to read...what a joke! I spent the entire weekend surrounded by tissues and water bottles and cough drops.

My best friend and husband, Benjamin, bought me several boxes of chocolates for Valentine's Day, which were a nice surprise when I got back to NC on Monday afternoon.  I also returned to this chunker, looking big and bad as always...

Daaaaaaad!! PUTMEDOWWWWWWN!

Here's something I NEVER thought I would say...
I miss running.
My legs are itching to get moving! I don't miss working out in general, just running. :-D
I wore my new Brooks all weekend, as I had packed them in anticipation of squeezing in a few runs in Michigan at the hotel...well clearly the runs didn't happen, but I wore my new running shoes when I went to urgent care and to Walmart to get my prescription, as well as on the plane home...and those babies are COMFY!
I know I need to give myself time to recover; I think a teeny bit of my illness can be attributed to pushing myself so hard last week, with 4 early-morning workouts and lots of late evenings tutoring and working. So, I know I want to fully recover before I hit the streets...but speaking of hitting the streets, it's supposed to be a GORGEOUS weekend in Raleigh! Today's high is 76! Tomorrow is close to the same! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to head out to Umstead State Park and run/walk with a girlfriend.
We'll see. I don't want to get sick again, after missing 4 days of school! Being out is really hard.

I hope you all have plans for a wonderful weekend!
I'm feeling better, and hoping to get back to my daily-blog posts! I've been following along with my favorite bloggers, and really missing contributing!

I did NOT see this coming.

You guys.
Michigan has it out for me.
Last time I visited (Christmas break), I got sick the SECOND I got back to NC.
This trip, which was for my grandpa's funeral, I got sick the day I arrived.
Fever, coughing up a lung on the plane, sinus headache like you wouldn't believe.
So so bad. :(
Thankfully my sister and I stayed in a hotel with my mom, who took care of me on Friday night and yesterday.
Worst part? I had to miss my grandpas funeral because I'm so sick.
I flew alllllll the way to Michigan from North Carolina to spend the weekend with my family...and have only left the hotel room to go to Urgent Care to be diagnosed with an upper respitory infection (sinuses, mainly). I then took my sick self to Walmart, where the pharmacy had no erthromycin...so then had to go to Kmart, such an ordeal.
I feel better today, aside from the yucky side effects of the meds. I called the doctors office and requested they call in a prescription for a z-pack, which I know doest effect me so harshly. Fingers crossed!
So I'm still in the hotel room, flying back to NC tomorrow...thankfully my sis is here keeping me company. <3

Moral of the story/weekend: take your vitamins, friends. Drink lots of water, and keep yourselves healthy. Being sick stinks. Being sick on a trip stinks more.

A timeline, of sorts.

Here are the makings to a great day:

step one: order new shoes on Monday, receive on Tuesday because zappos.com rocks my socks off.

hellooo, lovers.

step 2: put on shoes on Tuesday afternoon...run .5 miles on treadmill at home, hate it and stop. admire shoes in a seated position, in front of Criminal Minds marathon.

tip your head..my computer's being a pain and wont save the rotated pic. 

step 3: If at first you don't succeed, try try again....at the gym, this time.
Put shoes BACK on (this time at 4:45 am), admire how cushy and squishy and comfy they are...
Then 4 mile run at 10 min mile pace= 4 miles, 40 minutes! Plus a 10 minute cool down.

get it get it GET IT!

step 4: reward yourself with a delightful banana blueberry protein smoothie. $5.75 but well worth it. Food rewards aren't ideal, obv...but I'm just so proud of myself, and also forgot my breakfast...oops.
(Ok, it's another sideways photo, but not worth posting...you all know what a smoothie looks like. )


And there you have it...4 simple (ish) steps to a great Wednesday. You're welcome!

Triple Tangent Tuesday

Hi guys!

I'm typing this on my phone...the internets down again. UGH! so please excuse the lck of pictures and occasional misspelled word. I'm not the best at iphone typing, still.

I've seen a few blogger pals(Janae at Hungry Runner Girl, and Amber at A & B Walunas...both CUTE BLOGS!!) do Triple Tangent Tuesday, and being a language arts teacher, I'm all about alliteration! So I'm going to take part and share 3 random/*hopefully* interesting things about me!

1. My cat is a siamese, her name is Isabelle...Izzy for short. Shes about 3 years old, mostly white, and a bit "husky". Her favorite place to be is under the blanket in a "tent" under my legs at night. Thats where she is right now, and its my favorite time of the day, just me and
my furry little nugget. <3

2. I'm a twin! My identical sister's name is katie, and you may see her post sassy comments on my blog. She's my only sibling, and my best friend! She lives in Philadelphia and is a packaging engineer for a great pharm company. She has a mini schnauzer named Liberty Bell (LB for short), and we viait every chance we get! We went to college together, always shared dorm rooms and apartments, so being almost 500 miles away from each other for the past 3 years has been sad for us! We used to be truly identical, but then that stinker dyed her hair dark brown...which is sassy adorable on her, and now theres never a concern of "who's who?"

3. Like many girls, I am obsesssssed with shoes. My closet is full to the brim with boots and heels and flats and tennis shoes. Come spring, I'll get out a HUGE tupperware tote of a my sandals...can't wait! My newest additions are favs: sparkly Toms, Steve Madden slouchy leather knee-high boots, and super cushy Brooks running shoes (just got today after recs from my Dad, online reviews, Clare at Fitting it all in, and the Reeses Runner over at Running off the Reeses)! My husband does not understand my NEED for so many shoes, but then again, I dont understand(or TRY to understand) his need to collect power tools...its all about balance, folks!

Alright! I'll try to come back in and link up where needed when I have a more reliable browser and internet source.
Gym in the early morning...G'nite!

This is serious business, salad-making.

Source

Watch yourself.

These are the makings of a DELICIOUS salad...
Romaine lettuce, spinach, shredded carrots and sliced radishes, a whole tomato (from Mexico...hmph), SNAP PEAS, and Champagne Pear Vinaigrette with Gorgonzola!
I'm tell you people, this salad was thebomb.com.
The sugar snap peas were the star of the show...they were crunchy and sweet and PERFECT.

pre-dressing.

This was my salad last night. It was a little light-ish, as I had my Biggest Loser weigh-in this morning, and goodness knows I could stand to shed a few several lbs.
For my lunch salad, I duplicated that beauty above, plus added a handful of craisins, a sprinkling of sliced almonds, and my wonderful dressing.
BEST SALAD OF MY LIFE. 
That was dramatic, I know.

Learning About Lunges

Um.

Someone forgot to tell me how much of a biatch my legs were going to hurt after 2 days of lunges.
I can hardly walk. I grunt as I stand up and sit down. Stairs? Oh shiz.

3 of my students today asked if I got hurt over the weekend...and I couldnt lie, what with all the preaching I do to them about being healthy and active.
So...I explained that I'd been exercising my muscles. They asked "how?" I showed them. And we commenced to lunge around the classroom, the braver souls carrying bottles of paint as hand weights.
Some of my kids were decent lungers...othera looked like wet noodles, flopping all over.
I really wish I'd had my camera.
It was mildly rediculous/very funny, and I have no clue what I would have said if my principal had walked in.

What would you have said?

quick...CATCH UP!

As you may or may not have read, I've been offline for daysssss. It's been dreadful. Thankfully, my iphone serves as a twitter/facebook/texting/basic internet tool for when I can't use my laptop. But, I've been away from blogging since Tuesday and it's been sad for me! I've been reading all of your blogs on my teeny phone screen, and want to add my news and updates! Like I said yesterday in my mini-post, I have LOTS of pictures to share with you...so let's do a quick, quick CATCH UP post!

Things I did in the past 6 days: (not in order of importance or days...just hodge-podged together...only the best for Eat, Teach, Run readers. :) )

1. Ate 8 lbs of extra fancy Empire apples, and thought it necessary to buy ANOTHER 8 lb bag.

Apple a day? How's it work if you eat 8 lbs in a week?

2. Made several delicious delicious DELICIOUS green monsters. Spinach, frozen strawberries and bananas, scoop of vanilla/chocolate protein powder, ICE, water.

"why are you blending your salad?" ...

"Because I LIKE IT THAT WAY. gosh."

3. Made some seriously awesome stir frys...which lasted me several dinners and lunches. New fav: adding black beans to the mix, with mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, brussel sprouts, asparagus, etc...and FRANKS. Because we do put that ish on everything.

mcsteamy.

Thursday lunch? The asparagus was wilty.

 3. Made a few GORGEOUS salads. Only one pic, because they're all so similar these days. 

highlight of this salad (besides the goat cheese, obv): TJ's pear champagne dressing!

4. Made a LOVELY pot of stovetop oats on Saturday morning...ahhh...so nice to have time to cook breakfast at home!!!

bubble bubble DON'T STICK!

getting readyyyy...hot cinnamon apples for topping!

ready! finished with a spoonful of almond butter. MMM

5. Had a sushi date night with my manfriend on Friday...and got SO overly excited about the fact that we were having sushi, that I forgot that the Cali roll contains crab meat...and I'm into my 3rd week of no meat! So I felt like a tool, ate my amaaaaazing sweet potato roll, and picked at Ben's veggies in his Seafood Delight platter....and ate about 3 lbs of edamame. :)

So lovely, right?

6. Turned a rainy, dreary, cold Friday afternoon around with a GREAT run! My 10k plan called for a 2 mile run. I wanted to do my run at a 10-minute mile pace, which was a really big goal for me....and I did it! I ran 2 miles in 19:45, walked .25 miles, then ran another 2 miles at an 11-minute mile pace...plus a few minutes of cool down walking. It was such a great workout, I was really proud. :)

gross. 

GREAT.

7. I had a few really awesome grocery shopping trips. One to Trader Joes...

highlight: pear champagne dressing!

I also had a fun trip to Whole Foods...

Highlights: sugar snap peas, bulk pumpkin granola, and BBQ popchips! which I ate the entire bag of...oops

This trip to Whole Foods was so much fun! I haven't been in months, and had a great time picking out some fresh produce, new (and yummy!) soups, and healthy snacks! I had one of the maple and brown sugar oatmeals for breakfast this morning, with some plain chobani stirred in...it was great!

8. (goodness! didn't think I'd have this much to share, did you?) I've done a legit job staying with the 10k plan. Aside from Fridays awesome run, I've done some KILLER strength training, which includes lunges with weights, planks, pushups, weighted arm extensions, and some moves on a medicine ball. The plan calls for ST on Saturday and Monday...and it being Monday afternoon, I can tell you that I am SO SORE! It's rough to walk! And get up from a seated position! But that makes me happy, because I know I'm working some muscles that have been resting for TOO long.
I also checked out a yoga class on Sunday as my "easy cardio". It was ashtanga yoga, which I wasn't really familiar with, but knew it wasn't an advanced class. First off, there was no music. Just the instructor quietly helping us move through each pose. The first 35 minutes was the "typical" ashtanga routine, and the last 25 minutes the instructor did some seated poses, including a bridge! This brought back memories of when I did gymnastics in elementary school! Each pose was tricky and challenged me, but in a good way. I have to say, it was the best yoga class I've ever been to. Some classes I find myself constantly watching the clock, and not really fully engaging...but not this one! It felt so good.
This morning I did my ST routine, plus 35 minutes on a bike, which was 10 miles! Feels productive to ride 10 miles and stretch those muscles before 6am!

9. Lastly, I spent a glorious Sunday afternoon with my little family, not watching the superbowl. Ha! We're not football fans. It was a warm (mid 50s?) and sunny afternoon, so Ben and I decided to check out a walking trail that has recently be constructed right down the street from our sub. The town we live in has been working on putting in boardwalk through a forested area, snaking behind another subdivision.

Nice, right?

Smells like wet swamp. Apparently Ben likes it?

I guess they're not done...haha! We had to do a little trudging through wetness.

It was a really nice hour-long walk, so warm and mild! Makes me ITCH for spring!!!

I also spent some time with this little furbaby mcnugget:

Just so precious to me. <3

Finally, I spent a few hours soaking in some law and order SVU, painting my fingers and toes, drinking peppermint hot tea, and eating my little treat from Whole Foods: dark chocolate!

And now, a pinky promise to you...
I promise to update as often as I can this week. My goal: 3 posts by the weekend. Dream big?

internet issues.

UGH you guys, I SWEAR I'm going to blog ASAP.
I have like 20 pics all set and ready for posting, along with lots of good news about my healthy eats and 10k plan progress...
but my wireless internet has been SHIFTY since Thursday, so I may have to head to S-bucks or DD for a posting sesh if it doesn't SHAPE UP.

oh jeez.
the wireless just went down and came back up.
see what I'm dealing with?

love you and miss you...I'm itching to blog, just need a reliable internet connection.
xoxo

converting a meat-eater

So, continuing with my excitement about the 10k...
My sister shared her training plan (Idk where she got it); it's an 8-week plan that includes some nice strength and cross training. I jumped right in on the first week, and Tuesday's workout was: 1.5 mile run.
My workout---> 4.5 miles, 55 minutes on treadmill: 1.5 miles @  6mph pace, then .5 mile interval run/walk for the rest. I was SWEATY! And let me tell you...hopping on the treadmill at 6mph right off the bat REALLY  helped me! I'm excited to continue this training plan...I think it's really going to work! I need structure to be successful, so the daily exercise plan will help me stay on track. SO PUMPED.

Moving on.
I haven't done a nice post since Saturday, so I'll catch you up from the weekend/early-week happenings...mostly in pictures, because really, those are more interesting than my rambling! :)

Sunday Funday happened afterall, with a surprising realization that I had been PAID! A day early!

BEN! TARGET! NOWWWW!

It was in the mid 60s in central NC, so I broke out the Tempos and strutted my pasty self all over Target, picking out some spinach, Kashi Go Lean, shredded carrots, and THESE:

OMGYUM.

They were delicious with some spinach and artichoke hummus:

...and a cut-up yellow pepper, you know, to be healthy. ;)

Sunday ended with a sweet dinner:

Van's with almond butter and chocolate chips. :-D

Then, much to my disappointment excitement, Monday happened.

yogurt mess- chobani 0% blueberry + kashi go lean...my all-time fav breakfast!

Monday was jam-packed with STUFF TO DO. "Stuff" included: teaching/school 7:00-3:30, hustling home to do a Turbo Jam workout (holy MOLY I'm sore! all over!!), quick-quick shower, tutoring 5:30-7:30, then coming home and finally SITTING and relaxing! While relaxing, I made this:

oh yes I did. 

This salad was the bomb.com.
In the mix:

• spinach
• romaine
• shredded carrots
• sliced radishes
• sliced clementine
• slivered almonds
• GOBS OF BLUEBERRY VANILLA GOAT CHEESE
• and a few blue corn flax chips for CRUNCH. 

(can you tell which part was my fav? just guess.)

And, here we are to TUESDAY.
I'm about to go get in bed and read, but first let me share a personal victory...
My husband is a MEAT-EATER. He likes burgers. He likes chicken. He LOVES steak. He does not love veggies.
But, I feel like he's isn't going to last very long if he keeps up with his eating full pizzas, hot pockets, HUGE pots of mac-n-cheese lifestyle with no veggies or fruits in sight! And trust me, I need that man to stick around...<3
So, tonight, I fed him tofu stir-fry. And he liked it! (well, aside from the comment, "this would be better if the tofu was steak"...which I ignored.)
We made a big stir fry of red and orange peppers, tofu, zucchini, mushrooms, and franks hot sauce! Ben had his in a tortilla shell with cheese, I had mine on a plate...with a side of roasted asparagus and brussel sprouts. SO YUMMY!

cook, cook, cook!

roast, roast, roast!

eat, eat, eat!

Delightful dinner, followed by a juicy grapefruit and some hot tea.

Time to go hop in bed and read for a bit...early to bed tonight, I have a date with the gym for some early morning cross training before a busy day at school!

Oh, p.s....
I'm ordering this in black and a dark berry color, after seeing/hearing about Skinny Runner love on them...and after having my Under Armour tank top ride up on my bum about 12,000 times during my run today. Can't wait for a nice, loose, LONG running top! They're on sale! $17.99! HUSTLE! :-D