Monday, March 31, 2014

Weekend Round Up

I am looking forward to the weekend where I have nothing to do.  This past weekend was another fun filled and hectic weekend.  However compared to the previous and this upcoming weekend it seems like a walk in the park.
 
 Saturday I woke up early got my workout in and had to fit in a much needed trip to the grocery store.  Exciting know! Saturday afternoon my good friend NinaMichelle came to do my makeup for a ball I had to attend for work.  She did an amazing job as usual and my daughter had an even better time watching it all happen.  Nina was kind enough even though she was running behind to put some makeup on Madeline.  Then off to the ball I went.  It is always fun to play dress up and to go out in a beautiful gown. 

I may never go out without lashes again. 

Sunday I was supposed to go to a pampered chief party but ended up skipping it because I am beyond behind writing my final paper for my master's.  Oh the glamorous life of a grad student.  Since I felt bad that the kids would be stuck in the house all day I took a break and took Madeline to her friends birthday party.  When we got home the weather was beautiful so I took both kids out and let them play outside and play with chalk.  Next thing I knew it was already 6:30 and bath time. 
 
We went to have sushi for dinner because I have been craving it and Jonathan didn't even make it into the restaurant before passing out.  He spent dinner in the stroller passed out.  Made for a quite dinner.
 
It is now Monday and we get to do it all over again.  I am in a mad dash to finish my paper that is due tomorrow.  Wish me luck. 

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Workout Wednesday

Goal: To tone up and do more weight lifting
 
Update: While getting toned up takes a while and I probably wont have a good visual for some time I have definitely increased my weight training. (By weight training I mean my 15 pound dumb bells and kettle bell.)
 
Workouts: I got my six work outs in again last week.  With as busy I was this past week I am very happy I workout as much as I did.  Since I knew I was going to be away from the family most of the weekend I skipped going to kickboxing.  However, once we got back from dinner and put the kids to bed I did my PumpUp app routine.  Friday too I felt bad leaving the kids knowing I wouldn't be gone all day Saturday and most of Sunday so I staid home.  Madeline "helped" me do my PumpUP app routine again.  I love having her help me because then she gets the idea that working out is fun and hop fully she will want to be active too.  Saturday I did my first 5K and like I said in a previous post was amazing. Not only did I run most of the 3.1 miles but if you see the large hill in the background we had to run up hill. (Those were the parts the bestie and I walked.  We didn't want to bust our ass right before going dress shopping!) Sunday I took full advantage and rested.  Monday I was back at it and yesterday I did a boot camp that kicked my butt!


 
Eating: My eating habits this weekend weren't their best.  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I had at least one drink.  (Usually more) Friday my friends got in late and I met them at Rocco's Taco an amazing local Mexican Resturant.  While I didn't eat with them because I had eaten earlier I picked at the amazing chips and guacamole and had a Margarita.  Saturday wasn't horrible except for a drink at lunch, a venti coffee to keep me going, and then a few more drinks at night.  Thankfully I was able to reframe from the late night pizza run.  Sunday we went to brunch where I had peanut butter and jelly pancakes-enough said! We all know my obession with peanut butter.  They were worth every single calorie.  Not to mention the unlimted mimosas and then a pina colada when we got to the beach.  What saves me from all of this is I usually do not eat like this and I sure as heck don't drink like this very often.  Every know and then its ok to have these types of weekends as long as we don't make it a lifestyle. 
 
Homework for this week is to get a new scale and finally get to taking my measurments.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Weekend Round Up

This past weekend was a blast but has left me completely exhausted!  All well worth it though.
 
Friday afternoon I went to get my hair done to have something different for the summer time.  I ended up getting an ombre style and love it!  


That night my best friend arrived and we went to Rocco's Taco for a quick dinner.  I don't know about the Rocco's Taco near you but ours is always pack.  We didn't leave there till midnight.  Having a 5K the next morning going out was probably not the best idea.
 
Saturday morning came extra fast.  I gave my little ones a kiss good-bye because I wouldn't see them until Sunday and I was out the door.  My bestie and I looked like we hated life when we got to the race.  Thankfully the Run or Dye race if full of energy and we quickly got into the spirit.  It is definitely something I recommend doing.  It was so much fun even with the pouring rain mid race.  (The group of girls I did the race with and I decided to make it a yearly event.)
Before

After
 
We rushed back to the hotel to get the remaining dye off of us-the rain help to clean us off a bit since my friend who does make-up was coming to do the besties' makeup.  I thought it would be a fun treat to have her get her makeup done for when we went dress shopping.


Dress shopping was a blast and emotional! It was amazing see my childhood friend look all grown up. We laughed, we cried, and she said YES to a dress! Later that night we went to dinner with her nieces so that she could ask them to be her flower girls.  They were beyond excited at the opportunity. 

Obviously a trip to Fort Lauderdale would not be complete with out a visit to Downtown Ft. Lauderdale.  Just like old times we danced the night away. To say Saturday was a long day was an understatement. 
 
Sunday we ended up canceling the other bridal appointment since she bought her dress on Saturday.  We went to brunch as planned and then went to visit my hubby at his hotel until they needed to head back home. (He is a bartender at a hotel on the beach)
 
I was then able to surprise Madeline and pick her up from Disney on Ice which she went to with her Girl Scout troop.  Her and her little friend ambushed me and ask to go to lunch because they NEVER see each other! So mommy who was beyond drained at this point and looking a like a hot mess since I had been lounging at a pool had to suck it up and went to lunch. 
 
Overall the weekend was a complete success.  I was happy to be home with my two babies who I missed tremendously even if I was only gone for twenty-four hours.  In two weeks I get to do it all over again.  This time I am heading to Tampa to go bridesmaid dress shopping.  I can't wait. 
 
Hope everyone had a good weekend and a good week to come.

Friday, March 21, 2014

TGIF!

It's Friday!! I feel like this week flew by.  Maybe because it was a four day week for me.  Usually when I have something to look forward to the week drags on and on.  Not the case this time and I couldn't be happier.  I am definitely going to have a lot to write about Sunday night maybe Monday depending on how exhausted I am after all the weekend's activities.
 
I'm off to get my hair done this afternoon.  I want to lighten it up for the Spring/Summer time.  While most people are praying for Spring to hurry up and come I'm praying it holds off.  For us Floridians it means summer is quickly approaching and the scorching heat will be here before we know it. 
 
My best friend arrives tonight and let the wedding planning/dress shopping begin!  But first is our 5K.  Can't wait to post pictures of the end result.  As a treat I am having one of my good friends who does make-up come and treat my bestie to a trial make-up session before we have our first appointment.  Then its off to look at dresses. 
 
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  I will definitely be posting pictures of my fun filled and busy weekend.
 


Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Workout Wednesday

My goal is to get toned, build some muscle, and to eat clean. Moving my household towards a more clean way of eating is also on my priority list.  I would like to think that we ate clean about 75% of the time.  I have to be realistic; I work full time, have two children, a husband, I go to school, and I need to fit in work outs at least five times a week.  Eating clean 100% of the time just doesn't work for me.  So there are times that my kids will have chick-fil-a or have the Tyson chicken tenders (Hey at least they are made with whole wheat bread crumbs)
 
Last week I achieved my workout goal.  I worked out six days last week and did my PumpUp App routine.  I was also able to go to boot camp on Friday night and last night.  I was very proud that I made it to boot camp last night because I really just wanted to stay home with the kids and watch Frozen-not to mention my sunburn that was being rubbed by my sports bra.  Thursday night was my rest day since we had the carnival and I was still ridiculously sore from boot camp the Tuesday before.  Sunday I did a three mile run to practice for my 5K this weekend. 
 
Food wise I can't complain.  Although I must admit I think I have a small addiction to peanut butter! I'm pretty sure I over do it on a daily bases.  I easily have three to four tablespoons.  Since I can't have sweets my go to thing lately is vanilla Greek yogurt with a scoop of peanut butter. 
 
At the carnival I was good and had grilled chicken on a stick one night and a corn on the cob the other.  Staid strong and didn't touch any sweets, although the funnel cake and the ice cream cone Madeline had looked amazing.  Due to time crunches a couple of time through out the weekend I substituted a meal for a smoothie that consisted of kale, almond milk or low sugar orange juice, berries, and Greek yogurt.  We also had a lot of left overs from all the different meals I made the week before which made eating dinner much easier. 
 
My next project is to get a measuring tape to take my measurements to see my progress.  
 
Happy Wednesday Everyone! 

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Weekend Roundup

This past weekend turned into a three day weekend for me.  I needed an extra day to rest after spending the entire weekend at the carnival.  We ended up skipping the carnival on Friday, but made up for it on Saturday and Sunday.
 
Saturday I had planned on eating lunch prior to getting to the carnival since lets be honest none of the delicious food that is served at a carnival is ever healthy.  I was half way to there when I realized I had left Jonathan's ticket at home.  That is what I get for switching purses!  So instead of going to have a nice lunch at Panera and made a u-turn grabbed chick-fil-a (I feel like they are the healthier of the fast food chains) and went to grab Jonathan's ticket.  By the time I got everything it was about 2:30.  Jonathan hadn't napped which meant I was now committed to staying at the carnival till at least seven o'clock.  If I left any earlier he would definitely pass out in the car and then not get to bed till super late. Poor guy was a trooper and eventually passed out while playing on my phone. 
(In his sisters old stroller since his was in the other car. At this point he wouldn't have cares if it was covered in flowers.)

 
Sunday I tried to sleep in which didn't turn out to good. Madeline had Girl Scouts in the afternoon so we just hung around the house until I had to go pick up her friend who was riding with us.  I ended up having an extra ticket for the carnival so I invited her little friend to come with us after Girl Scouts.  The hubby ended up having to work so I volunteered my cousin to come with me so that she could help with Jonathan and take him on rides while Madeline made her rounds with her friends.  It is so funny to see the girls interact with one another.  They think they are so mature.  My mom came and took Jonathan home for me and I ended up staying till nine with the girls since they didn't have school the next day and then took her friend home.  I had to head back to the carnival to take down all the decorations as part of my required shift.  Thank goodness I didn't have to work on Monday because by the time I was done I didn't get home till almost 11:30-way past my bed time.

 
Madeline's school is always closed the day after the carnival for cleaning and take down.  I took advantage that my boss was away at a conference and took the day off too.  It was a beautiful Florida "winter" day.  We packed up and headed for the beach.  We had a wonderful time and I got a bit lot sun burned.  Thankfully it will soon turn tan and hopefully I do not peel. 

 
Overall it was a very fun weekend.  This weekend coming up my best friend is coming into town to go wedding dress shopping!  I cannot wait. The children will be staying with my in-laws Saturday night and I will be spending the night with my bestie at the hotel she is renting with two of the other bridesmaids.  Which means the husband has a night off to himself. 
 
 I also have my first 5K Saturday morning.  I ran a  little this weekend but I definitely haven't been practicing.  I'm hoping because I am active the three miles wont be a big deal.  Wish me luck!

Friday, March 14, 2014

Carnival Time

Yesterday was the official start to my daughter's school carnival.  Four fun filled days of rides, face painting, food, and treats.  I broke down this time and bought Madeline the four day pass since she has been doing good in school.  Even if we only go three days of the four it comes out more cost effective to buy the four day pass. 
The carnival opened at five yesterday and we got there right away to be able to enjoy the day since Madeline had a full day of school today. (Usually they have a half day but that was taken away.) The weather couldn't have been better! I am praying it says this way all weekend long.  There is nothing worse then walking around for hours in that heat. 
We had never been to the carnival on its opening night and I must say it is the best night to go! We hardly had any lines and it was mostly St. David Families.  It is so cute see Madeline run around with all her little friends.  Jonathan was not far behind having a blast himself.

Madeline with some of her friends 


Madeline and Jonathan on his favorite ride 

So this weekend you can find me at the Carnival.  Luckily Sunday I have an excuse to cut our time there short since Madeline has Girl Scouts.  Unfortunately for me I have to head back to the school around ten to take down all the decorations.  At least the hubby can come and help.
Happy Friday and Early St. Patrick's Day

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Workout Wednesday

I thought it would be a nice incentive for me to start writing down what I do throughout the week in regards to working out and how I do with my eating habits.  This way maybe I will use my PumpUp app, the kettle bell I just made my husband buy me, and some of those workouts that I pin on Pinterest more often.
 
Work out wise I think I did a very good job this past week.  I worked out six days leaving Sunday to rest.  I used my PumpUp app once last week since I had a birthday party to go to Friday night and I didn't have time to go to the gym. The other nights I went to kickboxing. Last night I did a bootcamp class that kicked my butt.  Going up a single step feels like a struggle.  Since I really am trying to tone up rather then loose weight I want to try and switch out my Tuesday kickboxing class to the bootcamp.  The only problem with that is it is in the middle of bedtime so it is up to my husband to put our daughter to bed.  
 
As for the food.  For the most part I do good.  Breakfast for the most part is either my over-night oats or a whole wheat English muffin and my coffee. Lunch varies from a salad, green smoothie, or on the rare occasion a sandwich.  My go to snacks are hummus, plain rice cake with peanut butter, banana with peanut butter, or a fruit.  Dinner is when a vary the most and this past week we cooked a lot at home and tried several different recipes I had found on Pinterest.  Last Wednesday was the start of Lent so we made a shrimp stir-fry with brown rice.  Thursday for dinner I made a turkey and quinoa meatloaf, steamed carrots, and a salad.  Friday was another story.  I went to a South cooking restaurant and tried a little of everything.  Crab hush puppies, shrimp and grits, corn bread, collared greens. Not to mention a sweet alcoholic drink.  Saturday and Sunday nothing was out of the ordinary.  Monday we had spaghetti squash with a red sauce which had chicken sausage and zucchini in it. (Delicious!!) Last night I made a quinoa chili-also very good.  (I promise not to go through every single meal all the time.  Only when I try a new recipe.)
 
Right now I have been off of sweets for a week and I swear they pop up every where.  I tend to sneak a piece or two of some kind of sweet through out my day so I am interested in seeing if this sacrifice ends up being beneficial. 
 
We have the carnival this week and a wedding so lets see how I do next week.  Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Challenge update

Back in January I started a challenge with my kickboxing group.  I was supposed to either give up two to three things or add something that would benefit my health.  I decided to give up bread, drink more water, and add weights to my workout routine.  We were also supposed to work out at least three days a week at our gym.  For the most part I did pretty good. 
I recently started eating bread again.  I usually just eat it in the morning in the form of a whole grain english muffin.  Sometimes I will have a sandwich for lunch but that isn't very often.  I was very good about drinking more water, but I definitely think I could have done more.  (For someone who works out at least five days a week, walking to the water fountain is just to far sometimes.  Lame I know!)
The weight training was a completely different story.  I give myself a big fat F for that aspect of the challenge.  For the month if I did weights outside of my class three times is saying a lot.  I got a great app called PumpUp that will create workouts for you.  I liked it for a couple of reasons; 1) It's free! The paid version allows for the work outs to talk to you rather then you having to look at the screen to see when you should move onto the next workout.  This didn't really bother me since I'm doing reps I can just count and know when to move on.  When the timer goes off your phone will vibrate so that also lets you know to move onto the next workout. 2) You can design a workout to fit exactly what body part you want to focus on. 3) It walks you step by step through an entire workout. 4) If you want to you can post your results and it can be a little community if you want the extra motivation. 5) You can do the workouts from the comfort of your home. 
While I love the app I am horrible about following through.  If I could I would go to kickboxing every day of the week.  I know I am going to get a great workout, it is quick, and I am held responsible once I get there, and heck I'm paying for it!  The problem with working out at home it is easy to put it off or other things come up that make me put it on the back burner.  The other day I wasn't able to go workout so I did my workout on PumpUp.  I really am going to try and increase my weight training.  Wish me luck.
As for the end results of my challenge...I really don't know.  This was my first one and I didn't go about it correctly.  I need to measure myself so I can see what changes occur.  I don't need to lose weight just gain muscle definition so the measurements will help me see my progress.  With the help of lent I have started another 40 day challenge.  This time I have given up sweets.  I am starting out slow and adding weights once a week.  Last week I accomplished that goal.  This week I have it scheduled for Thursday.  Once again wish me luck!

(shirt from old navy out but similar one here)

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Calm before the storm

How is it possible that it is already Sunday night. Where does the weekend go?! In my case it goes in errands, laundry, practice, working out, laundry, eating, and usually at least one birthday party. 


 Nine out of ten birthday parties are usually for my daughter and not me. That girl has a busier life then I do. However this weekend the festivities was for one of my friends and I got to enjoy a girls night out. Now as I lay in bed-exhausted from spending two hours at the park- I think of the million things I need to do this up coming week I feel myself already stressed.  



(Those two hours are totally worth it)


On the bright side I do have a ton of fun things coming up. For the next year I probably have something major event going on every month.  Being in my late twenties this is when most of my friends are getting married.  I have at least four weddings coming up in the next year, two of which I am in.

The carnival for my daughter's school is coming this weekend and we are required as parents to volunteer a five hour shift per carnival (we have two a year).  I being the craft loving person that I am, am on the decoration committee.  I love it for two reasons; one is I love decorating anything and everything. Two, I get my shift over and done with before the carnival even starts.  Our group shows up on Wednesday and decorates and then we are done.  Which is nice because then I can spend the entire carnival with the kids and not have to worry about working throughout the day/weekend.
In addition to decorating on Wednesday my little princess is speaking in her class mass.  We have been practicing all week long.  So luckily I will already be at the school and can kill two birds with one stone.

Thursday night is family night at the carnival.  Its the first night that the carnival opens up and most of the families from the school go.  I think I am going to bite the bullet and buy the four day pass for Madeline so she can enjoy it with her friends.  Saturday my first wedding of the year.  Then Sunday we have clean up at night for the carnival.  Thankfully its the last one of the year and I wont have to do it again until October.  This is our third set of carnivals and I have a ton more to go being that Jonathan isn't even in school yet.

The weekend after that my best friend is coming down to go wedding dress shopping.  (I am the MOH as we refer me as since we both don't like how Matron of Honor sounds.)  More on that later but I can not wait to go shopping with her.  Last weekend of March I have my office's large ball that we have every year and at some point in time I need to find a gown to wear.  I swear by next year I am going to start a evening gown store with the amount of dresses I have started to accumulate because of all these weddings.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and stress less week.

P.S. it has been less then a week into lent and I realize that I do eat a lot of sweets.  That or because I cannot have them I am dying to eat every sweet possible and they are always around.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Who would have thought

When I started this blog I never in a million years thought I would be posting food recipes.  I am by far a chief and still have a very long way to go.  As a family we still tend to eat out more then we stay home and eat, but I am trying to work on that. 
 
Two nights ago I made kale chips.  I bought a huge bag a week ago and I didn't want it to go bad.  I use it in my smoothies but have been seeing so many recipes for chips that I decided to give it a go.  I was very pleased with the results.  Not only was it super easy and fast but they were really good. 


 
I grabbed a bunch of kale leaves and cut out the thick stem out.  Threw them in a glass bowl added about 1/2 a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil to the leaves and mixed them so that all leaves were coated.  I used my small convection oven to bake them which added to the convenience.   I laid them out and sprinkled kosher salt to them.  Ten minutes later they were done! Be careful with the time because they can burn.
 
Last night since it was Ash Wednesday and us Catholics aren't able to eat meat I picked up some shrimp from our local grocery store.  Public Supermarket will steam the shrimp for you and will add seasoning if you desire.  I left ours plain because my daughter is so picky.  I had some veggies in the refrigerator so I decided to make a stir-fry.  I grabbed some red and yellow peppers, mushrooms, onions, and zucchini and grilled them with chicken broth over the stove.  Tossed in the already steamed shrimp and ta-da.  Made some brown rice and called it a night. 
 
 
The kids ate the shrimp with teriyaki sauce and brown rice.  It wasn't any trouble to take a few shrimps aside and toss them in teriyaki sauce. 

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Disney Hangover

I am finally feeling like myself again.  Am I the only one that feels like they need a vacation from their trip to Disney? We left for Disney Thursday afternoon after we picked up Madeline from school.  Her reaction to the news was priceless.  She immediately wanted to call her Grandmother to tell her the good news.  "Grandma I'm for real going to Disney!" Jonathan knew where we were going the minute he saw us packing up the car.  Nonetheless he was still excited.
We made amazing time and went to check into the hotel first so we could get our Magicbands.  (I was soo excited to get them) After checking in we went straight to Epcot, we didn't even stop at our room.  It was pretty cold that night and I of course busted out a pair of boots-any chance I get I do. 


I love the new Magicbands because you can set up your fastpasses before hand.  On the downside you are only able to have three fastpasses per day from one park.  For us over achievers who go to multiple parks a day was a negative.  Either way we made it work and it was nice to be able to get passes in advance for rides where fastpasses tend to run out.  Has anyone ever been able to get a fastpass for the Toy Story ride at Hollywood Studio? Usually we get to the parks at ten and they are all gone for the entire day.  I was thrilled to be able to get one this time around, because no ride is worth waiting an hour.  With a two year old boy that just is not an option for us.
The weather was amazing! Unfortunately I didn't fully pack for the weather.  Friday was still a little cold for us Floridians.  Doing the rapids ride at Animal Kingdom was a little chilly to say the least.

(Madeline's mickey leggings from forever 21 kids, top from old navy, sunglasses Ray Bans
Jonathan's top from old navy, shoes TOMS)

Saturday was gorgeous.  We went to breakfast and gasp actually took advantage of the hotel.  We went to the pool since our fastpasses didn't start till the afternoon. 

Our usual itinerary for our trip consists of getting up early, breakfast, hitting the parks (yes, plural parks) by ten-eleven, and eating through out the day, and returning to our hotel room around eleven o'clock at night.  For the most park we stuck to our usual routine but added some pool time since we were staying on property and Disney pools are amazing. 


In true Florida manner, after three days of low temperatures, the temps raised and was hot.  We did the rides and fast passes we had, grabbed lunch, and got on the road.  We got home at seven-thirty just in time for bed time. 
Since I already had taken Thursday and Friday off I had to go into work on Monday. To say I wasn't my usual pleasant self is putting it mildly.  I was exhausted!  Jonathan would wake up around eight-ish every morning even when he would go to bed around eleven every night.  Must have been the different environment.  Long days of walking (we do not take the tram because it is easier to walk because of our double stroller) and not eating my usual diet just left me drained.  I was able to leave work early Monday and went home to take an hour long nap.  Worked out even though it was the last thing I wanted to do, but after four days of not and eating junk I forced myself to. 
It is now  Wednesday and I officially feel like myself.  Next time we go to Disney will be next month for Madeline's spring break and Jonathan's 3rd birthday.  Thankfully I take the whole week off of work and can rest when we get back.