It’s in the Air

My windows are open and the air conditioning is off!

Fall is certainly in the air today. It feels amazing outside!

What I am NOT thankful for is the cold that I have been carrying around since last Thursday which would explain my absence from blog world.

This weekend was wonderful although I felt terrible. Michael was in town, I spent lots of time with my wonderful friend, Lucy. We stayed in to watch the sadness occur at the Dome and enjoyed some good music and food…

Sorry for the lack of enthusiasm here….its tough blogging after being run down by a cold.

In other news, I’ve just had a pretty successful workout and I’m now enjoying a protein shake with a sample I received from Bodybuilding.com

The cookies and cream flavor was good, but lacking in the cookie department. The whey protein blended nicely into a smooth, creamy treat thanks to a frozen banana.

I have a busy week ahead with two papers! Dawgs play at home this weekend. Can’t wait to be back in Sanford Stadium!!

Koby goes to UGA

I cannot believe it’s already a new month. Being back in school has really got the time flying!

Yesterday afternoon, Koby and I took a walk on campus.

It was Koby’s first time on campus so he was really taking in the sights.

Koby loved learning how to yell, GO DAWGS!

He had the woof,woof,woof down pat!

Then we headed up to North campus for a bit…Koby said he wanted to go to the library, but I told him no dogs allowed.

We walked for about an hour and covered 2 miles…Koby was all tuckered out when we got back to the car. Sometimes its just nice to get out of the house and enjoy a lovely evening.

Tonight, I’m not feeling too well, but I’m trying to stay active by packing, finishing up homework and getting ready for the weekend ahead.

Michael is coming in town!!! This will be his first trip back to ATL since moving to Morgantown. I can’t wait to pick him up at the airport tomorrow night.

Have a good night Gotta get some work done.

Gone, but not for long.

I am back from a busy weekend away from my computer….

I come bearing breakfast in the form of egg white scramble, toast and coffee. Boring, but purposeful.

It’s Monday…..another week.

I don’t have much news but I did end up conquering 5 MILES on Saturday!!! This was by far the best run that I’ve had…legs felt great, pace was faster. I was having fun! I ran with Hannah, my aunt and our friend, Andrea at Stone Mountain. It was a fun time.

I’m off to school, but I have a few new recipes for tonight, so I’m really excited!

Enjoy your Monday

Something to think about:

Grilled Vegetable, Herb and Cream Cheese Sandwich

Summer is not over yet! After watching an episode on Giada at Home, I quickly had to re-create a delicious sandwich she made for a “hiking trip” in LA. I don’t know about you, but any hike that involves wine and dessert  is my kinda hike!

Giada grilled zucchini, eggplant and sun-dried tomatoes after marinating them in a herbed olive oil mixture. She then spread goat cheese on a baguette and topped it with the warm, grilled vegetables. It looked to die for.

I am not a fan of goat cheese, so I substituted light cream cheese. I also did not use eggplant…just zucchini and tomatoes for me! This would be great for a luncheon with a summer soup!

This sandwich was delicious and so quick and easy. I can tell that it would be a perfect lunchtime sandwich for when I am on campus because it can be a room-temperature.

Grilled Vegetable, Herb and Cream Cheese Sandwich

(Adapted from Giada at Home recipe)

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic chopped (I used a few shakes of garlic gold)
• 1 Tablespoon of Italian Herbs
• 1 dash of lemon juice
• dash of salt and pepper
• 1 zucchini, sliced thinly
• a large handful of sundried tomatoes, julienne cut (the kind in the bag)
• 1/2 cup of light or fat free cream cheese, or any other cheese you’d like
• hearty wheat bread

In a bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, herbs, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat a pan or grill over medium high heat. While the pan heats, toss the vegetables in the marinade. Sautee the vegetables until the zucchini begins to brown. Set aside to cool slightly ( about 3 minutes on each side).

Toast sliced bread and spread a generous amount of cream cheese on each slice. Top with the vegetables. Refrigerate up to 2 hours before you need to serve the sandwiches.

Easy Bolognese Sauce

After lounging in the house, Michael and I ventured out and went back to the river for a little walk. We walked for over an hour looking at ducks, talking and just enjoying a little bit of sunshine!

We also goofed around on a playground channeling our inner Tony Little Gazelle! Remember those ridiculous commercials?

 

Tonight’s dinner was fantastic thanks to a new recipe…

We were craving pasta, so I searched around on the internet for a Bolognese sauce. I think we found a winner! The recipe was simple as it called for a jar of store bought marinara, but the addition of carrots, onions, red wine and beef stock doctored the flavor up!

We ate our sauce over roasted broccoli and whole wheat linguini!

Spaghetti Bolognese- Adapted from My Bella Vita Online

Ingredients:
(serves four)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 bouillon cube per 1/2 cup of water
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 large jar of tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup milk

Heat 1/2 cup of water on the stove until it boils, add the bouillon cube and simmer on the side. Heat the butter and olive oil together. Add the diced onion and carrot and allow the vegetables to sweat until soft. Add in the ground beef and brown. Next, add in the wine. Cook this mixture until some of the alcohol evaporates. Add in a jar of your favorite tomato sauce or marinara. Simmer and add in the milk. (Optional: at the end, I added in a bit of Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.)

While we ate, we watched The Fighter on Netflix. It was really great acting alongside an interesting story line. I enjoyed it!

I’m off the read my new book, Little Bee by Chris Cleave! I have heard good things.

Lazy Sunday

It’s still rainy and muggy here in Morgantown so it’s been extra hard for Michael and I to get up and do anything. We did accomplish our trip to the grocery store where we picked up dinner for tonight and tomorrow night. I also picked up a few ingredients to bake this afternoon!

As of right now, we Michael is watching the game while I am busy in the kitchen mixing up the ingredients to make Oreo cookies! I think this is a current craze because all over Pinterest, Oreo-stuffed cookies and cakes are everywhere!

Back in July, Michael and I visited our friend in Washington D.C. We were driving around Georgetown and we stopped at a little convenience store called Wisemiller’s Grocery and Deli. The little store looked so discrete, nothing special but oh, it turned out to be a wonderful place that sells the most amazing cookies. The Oreo cookies at Wisemiller’s were phenomenal. Buttery, doughy and filled with chocolate chips and oreo crumbles.

I actually had made oreo cookies before, but I wanted to make some today too. I kind of cheated by using Krusteaz sugar cookie mix, but they were still so yummy!

Oreo Cookies

1 box of sugar cookie mix, I used Krusteaz and followed the directions

1 bag of mini Oreo cookies

Follow the directions on the cookie mix and crush up cookies into the mix!

Bake according to the box directions. Do NOT over bake, you want them to be gooey!

Off to continue being lazy! See ya back here for dinner!

Stick to the Plan

When traveling, or not, it is important to plan for things. Things like how many pairs of jeans you are going to need, or what kind of snacks you want for the airport, or where you want to go out to eat while you’re out of town.

All of these components are important and I always remember to do them. I also think it’s important to plan out how I’m going to stay active. Now, before I dive into this post, I want to say that I NEVER used to plan workouts into trips away from home. Leaving home meant vacation and vacation meant a bi-week for me and the gym. But, listen, the tides have changed. This whole “lifestyle thing” means that I plan workout while away. It’s not always easy and I certainly don’t always stick to the workouts I set, but mostly I try to go with the flow. It’s all according to the plan.

In my suitcase, I packed my Garmin running watch, my Ipod, a resistance band, p90x plyometrics dvd. See? All the tools I need to stay on track.

Jot it down!

Today, I decided to give my upper body some attention, so I followed a resistance band superset that I created before my trip! See, jot it down and just do it!

I always thought resistance bands were for wimpy rehab people who weren’t allowed to lift weights. Well, these little guys may look wimpy, but they pack some power!

Looks aren't everything...

 My arms were screaming!!! I guess my red band was either medium or hard level because after one set of tricep pull-downs (using my boyfriend’s chin-up bar thing) I was amazed. They really worked! I loved the ease of packing the little band in my suitcase. I felt like I got a pretty good little workout in even if I am “on vacation.”

Resistance Band SuperSet

Set 1: Tricep Pulldown/Lateral Raise

Set 2: Bicep Curl/ Bent Over Row with a wide grip

Set 3: Standing upright row/ 3 minutes of planks and crunches (without band)

Do each move in each set back to back performing 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions. When you have completed one set, move on to the next.

I have spent a day at Michael’s apartment by myself so now I’m going to plan for our trip to the store when he gets home from work!

At least I can tell him I wasn’t completely lazy today 🙂

Hometown Day

Hello!

It's a Lovely Day!

I am currently in Lilburn visiting family before I head off to Morgantown, WV to visit my boyfriend, Michael for the next week!

I started off my day running with my aunt and our friend. We ran/walked rolling hills in the neighbor hood for a little over 4 miles. By the end, we were all super sweaty! It’s so fun to run with the girls… I enjoyed talking the whole time! This run flew by!

Lunch was in the form of a Southern classic. I had a BLT at my great=grandmother’s house alongside a peach.

BLT

 

M&M cookies...YUM!

 

I made the cookies last night using this recipe from Jessica over at How Sweet Eats. These cookies were seriously the most fluffy and tender ones I have ever made. The sugar cookie base would also be great with Snickerdoodles or regular chocolate chip cookies!

I am off to the airport now…see ya in Morgantown!

Pub Fare

Fresh dough rising...

 

Pups on the kitchen floor.

 

The smell of baked bread...

 

Traditional british meat pie, complete with flaky crust.

 

Sweet treats...to end (or begin the evening) 🙂

 

Lovely evening with my mom and stepdad Alex. DELISH.

See ya in the morning…hopefully I can get in my 4 mile run!

Boredom Buster: Card Plyometrics

Switch up your boring workout routine with a deck of cards! This is a really fun way to get an awesome workout in when your pinched for time or just need a different routine to get your heart rate pumping. I enjoy this because I can do this pretty much anywhere and it does not require any equipment…just your body weight!

First, start with a list of plyometric exercises. These exercises use explosive movements to develop muscular power. Here is an article explaining this type of training.

My list included:

Jump Squats

Crunches

Burpees

Mountain Climbers

One Leg Hops

High Knees

Butt Kicks

Jumping Jacks

Push Ups

Now, use a deck of cards. Turn over three cards. Add up the numbers. For the face cards, customize these numbers to your level of intensity. For example, a queen can be a ten, while an ace can be a one. Scenario:

1. Flip 3 cards and add them. 9, 8, jack (10). Total is 27.

2.Start at the top of your list, or have a partner choose the exercise.

3. Perform 27 Jumping Jacks…or 27 Jump Squats.

4. Go through the deck once, flipping cards and performing each plyo.

This is NOT EASY and will kick your butt. After a short time, my heart rate was up and I was sweating it out! Tough, but really fun. I enjoy doing this with a partner. One person chooses exercise and one performs it. Here is another helpful video on this routine.

Enjoy!