Rain, Rain, Go Away!

I can't believe how much rain we have gotten lately.  We needed it badly, but I'm ready for it to end...NOW!  I think my motivation matches the weather...dreary.  It seems like most Mondays are like that for me so I'll just roll with it and look forward.  Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, sunny, and warm!

This morning started with coffee and a bowl of oatmeal with bananas, pecans, and maple syrup.  It was gone before I remembered to take the photo! :)

It appears I will be making a lot of Green Monsters for the foreseeable future.  My son decided he loves them and wants one every day for breakfast.  I made him one before school this morning and then I made one for myself to take to work.  I had it as a snack later in the afternoon.  We liked this new flavor.

Mango Zico, splash of coconut milk, chia seeds, 1/2 banana, Bartlett pear, spinach, and kale.

This made a really good snack, it wasn't too filling but I felt totally satisfied after drinking it.  I must have been really hungry today because I can't manage to get any pictures before I dig in!  Sorry! 

Dinner was ho-hum tonight, and then we spent the evening helping our neighbors drink the leftover beer from the party on Saturday. 

Almost...But Not Quite

I'm sooooo close to being done with the painting.  I just need to do the trimming, but I already have everything taped off, so hopefully it will go quick!  Stay tuned for pictures later this week.

I would consider today to be productive since I did get a lot of painting done, although I didn't even get dressed or get out of the house.  I was hoping to run, but the weather was rainy off and on and I was really focused on my painting project so I'll try to make some time for that tomorrow. 

I took a break from painting to have lunch with the kids.  We had sandwiches with sprouts again (well, mine had sprouts) and some grape tomatoes.

 

 Mesquite smoked turkey, white cheddar, sprouts, mayo, and cilantro pesto on whole grain pita.

Later I made a Green Monster as a snack and my son split it with me.  He LOVED it and begged me to make more!

Vita Coco with pineapple, chia seeds, banana, frozen cherries, spinach, and kale.

We have really been on a hummus kick lately.  Tonight we had my Chicken Shawarma with hummus, a cucumber, tomato, red pepper, and red onion relish, and whole grain pita bread. 

 

**For those of you who use chia seeds, or are interested in trying them, I found a great deal!  This seems to work most of the time...go to Google and type in "chia oil" (without the quotes).  The first sponsored link is usually for Puritan's Pride and it offers 40% off Chia Seed Oils plus free shipping.  If you click on that link, it's not just the oil that's on sale, but the seeds too.  I got FIVE 16oz. jars for $25 with free shipping!  That's a great price - I paid $16.99 for the same amount at a local store.

Amelia Earhart, Exotic Fruit, and a Chocolate Cake

This morning started out great!  I got up when I planned to and had some coffee and then I got my running clothes on.  I ran 4+ miles as I promised myself yesterday.

 

After the run, I showered and then prepared our Exotic Fruit plate for breakfast.

I think we all agreed the Mandarin oranges were really yummy (very sweet!) and the golden raspberries were good.  My personal favorite was the Strawberry Papaya.  In fact, just thinking about it now is making my mouth water!  

What I was REALLY looking forward to was this:

 

At about 2.5 miles this morning, I used this as incentive to get through the rest of the run.  I just kept thinking that I had a bowl of oatmeal waiting at home for me along with a hot cup of coffee!

I figured I needed to hydrate after the run, plus I needed to down some chia seeds this morning so I added them to a cup of Vita Coco.  I know it looks weird, but it was really good!  

Do you remember the "Bubble Tea" or "Boba Tea" that was popular a few years ago?  It had tapioca pearls in the bottom of a sweet tea or fruit beverage.  That's kind of what this reminded me of, with the chia seeds being a teeny tiny version of the tapioca pearls.

A trip to the grocery store was next up on the agenda and when we got home from the store, I was still right on schedule.  I had a To Do list for the day and had even planned the times when I needed to do things so I could be sure to get everything done, see...

 

It was about 2:00 and Matt's birthday cake was in the oven when my 8 year old broke the news to me that he had a research project due TOMORROW!  Luckily they did all of the research in class, but they were supposed to put the creative presentation together at home. 

As soon as the cake came out of the oven we headed to Office Max to get the supplies for his presentation.  His project was on Amelia Earhart.  It was actually kind of a fun presentation to do and we found the perfect poster board that was sky blue with clouds already printed on it!  We...um, I mean he...made kind of a 3 dimensional red airplane coming out of the page with propellers that spin!

  

The whole time this was going on, I was simultaneously trying to ice a cake and get dinner going.  I was stressed out to say the least!  

On the birthday dinner menu for tonight were Grilled Lamb Chops (for Matt only, the kids and I had steak), Grilled Lobster Tails, Roasted Asparagus, and Brown Rice. 

The cake was a Dark Chocolate Mocha Cake that was fabulous!  

 

The cake contained coffee liqueur and there was mocha cream in between the layers.  I served it with coffee ice cream...sinful!

...and painting the game room carries forward to the next to do list...

 

Food Network Junkie

I do like to have one day a week to sleep in.  Today, I didn't get out of bed until just before 10:00am, although I enjoyed some coffee in bed before that.  I am happy that I didn't let the fact that we slept in ruin the rest of the day!  We hopped out of bed and started in on a big breakfast.

 

Let me explain the bacon...first of all you will find that although I like to eat healthy things, I rarely shy away from bacon.  Second of all don't you just hate cooking bacon on the stove?  It gets grease all over EVERYTHING!  I learned this trick from watching Tyler Florence on the Food Network - you cook the bacon in the oven on 375 for about 15 minutes.  I also made eggs and pancakes (chocolate chip pancakes for the kids and raspberry pancakes with powdered sugar for us!  YUM!).  

While I enjoyed my breakfast, I started in on my To Do list - I'm beginning to like this motivation strategy.  It helps me remember all of the things I would like to do, gives me a mission for the day, and I don't have to stop and rack my brain to remember what it was I needed to do next. 

It turned out to be a beautiful day!  It really felt like spring and I was glad that a few of the things on my list got me out of the house.  

After running a few errands, I was ready for a quick snack/lunch and then I put my running clothes on.

 

One of my errands was to go to the grocery store.  I bought these mini bagels in the bakery that are whole grain and topped with sesame and flax seeds.  One of those ended up being my lunch along with some fresh ground almond butter and honey.

 

The run felt great but I still don't feel up to running any long distances yet since my half marathon a week ago.  That said, I was certainly glad I didn't listen to the little voice inside telling me I should skip it - and thanks to Matt for giving me that extra encouragement to "just do it"!

I was a little thirsty when I started running, so by the time I was done I was dying for something to drink.  A bottle of water and a Vita Coco did the trick!  I discovered this drink a couple of months ago and it started my coconut obsession (coconut water led to coconut oil which led to coconut milk - you'll hear more about that later!).  Vita Coco is a great natural sports drink with tons of potassium and other electrolytes.  It also tastes great and comes in several flavors.  Pineapple and passion fruit are my favorites.

For dinner tonight, we had marinated flank steak, veggies, roasted potatoes and leftover brown rice.  I have to say, this dinner was AWESOME!  Matt was laughing at me because I kept patting myself on the back.

 

Sure, the recipe (one of our favorites) belonged to Rachel Ray, but do you see that green stuff poking out from under the meat?  Yeah, that was ALL me!  I loaded up the plate with some fresh spinach leaves, headed to the grill, took the meat off the burner and plopped it right down on top of that spinach.  I let the meat rest for about 10 minutes and meanwhile, the juices dripped down into the spinach and the heat from the meat "cooked" it just the perfect amount!  Oh my goodness was this good!  Even my 8 year old loved it!

 

It's pretty obvious by now that I spend a lot of time watching the Food Network.  I remember when the channel first started and I will likely be a loyal follower as long as they're around!