Back to my ROOTs

 

When I started to blog, my intention was to blog about my attempt at a lifestyle change. From eating junk and sitting on a couch to actually getting my butt in gear, eating healthy and exercising more. Well… it worked for a while, and they I got caught up with other things and stopped going to the gym. Granted, I stilled paid my little large fat tax.

Now I’m back into the swing of things. Yesterday, I went to the gym for the first time in months and it felt great! I didn’t spend too much time there… well under an hour… but I did get a good sweat out of it, and felt pretty proud of myself.

However,  I did come home and stuff my face, which completely cancelled out everything good I did in the morning. Today, I’m going to be addressing my eating issue as well. I’m going to start using myfitnesspal again and get back into being healthy and fit.

I won’t be dieting… I hate that word, and I’ll post more about my hatred for the word soon. I am simply changing my habits so that I can live healthier.

This was breakfast this morning. A turkey breakfast burrito with black beans, and homemade pico de gallo.

I don’t really know how healthy this is, but all the ingredients are fresh, and instead of pork sausage I used lean ground turkey. So I’m going to go ahead and say it was a healthy breakfast in all. Pretty dang delish!

Today, I’m going to try and workout at home and save myself the drive to the gym. Should be much nicer.

Hope you all are having a great Wednesday!

  

I have someone I’d like y’all to meet

 

I’d like to introduce you all to the knee that hates me.

  Knee meet everyone, everyone meet my jerk of a knee.

Yesterday, I forgot to take my knee brace with me to the gym. And when I left the gym it was feeling fantastic. However, after the short drive home getting out of my car was a bit of a problem. Now, walking and getting up the stairs is a problem. I hate my knee… and have officially given in to going to see my doctor about it. I’m trying to get an appointment after my final, and hopefully get this stupid thing fixed. I feel so useless hobbling around everywhere. I pretty much look pathetic and to prove my point, I got a good chuckle out of my brother. 

Aside from the knee, I had an awesome breakfast.

Greek yogurt, with half a banana, three strawberries and some granola. It really hit the spot, and since I hadn’t really had a real breakfast in a while it was fantastic… my tummy agreed.

I also pulled out my DSLR for this shots and wonder why I don’t use it more often. I know it’s easier to carry around the point and shoot, but the picture quality is no where near what it should be. Once my graduation is affirmed and I have a C in my class I will be getting the 50mm 1.4f lens which will make things even better.

I’m also thinking of investing in a new camera bag, I want one that wraps around the shoulder or some other more convenient way to carry around my Rebel and lenses.

I was thinking something like this… does anyone have one of these or any other choices of camera bags that will work better then a standard shoulder bag?

Pumpin’ tires

 

This morning reluctantly left my warm bed, and went out into the snow, freezing outdoors that is Colorado. Yes, after several days in the 70s we got dumped on Sunday afternoon and night. This morning there was a good 3 inches of snow on the cars outside, but lo and behold the roads were completely dry and the weather man predicted a high of 68… BOOO Colorado BOO… this is not Winning.

I just don’t understand why the weather has to be so darn complicated, it’s like a whiney girl who can’t make up her mind!

Anyways… I got up, got dressed, drove all the way to school, paid $6.00 to park and then took a test that tried real hard to kick my ass, but I fought back. I think we both left the classroom with some cuts and bruises, but no broken bones.

I wish I was confident in my chemistry answers to pull one of these ^^^    

By the time I got home I was famished, so I made myself some French toast. It was delicious!

They might not have been healthy but they are quick, delicious and totally worth it! I added a little bit of syrup which made it even better! Yum!!

At 4:30 I left for the gym.

I worked on my legs a little before the Body Pump class started at 5:30. It sort of kicked my ass. Skipping a whole week, and not eating anything before the class was a bad idea. I got a little lightheaded halfway through and had to step out for about 5 minutes. After I got myself under control, I went back in and finish the hour. Wednesday should be better!

I worked a total of an hours and a half and I know my legs are going to kill me tomorrow morning, but it feels so great!

Then I came out of the gym and found a complete flat tire on the Camaro. I was very, very, very sad. I had to call the Husband to bring me an air pump to so that I could pump enough air into it to get me home, since at 7 PM there are no shops that are open and willing to fix the 6 inch nail that is stuck in my tire.  

 

Hope ya’ll had a fantastic Monday!

Mucho Love!

Introducing 25 Days of Fitness

For the past week, I have put all extra activities on hold to study up on Chemistry and the exam coming up on Monday. From Monday to today I’ve really felt a lacking in energy, inability to gain a good nights sleep and constantly feeling tired. Not only that, but my skin has gone bezzerk on me, and started breaking out like mad. Granted I break out when I am stressed, but not to the level of breakouts that I am having right now, so I am contributing all the negatives to my lack of working out.

In order to keep myself motivated I’d like to introduce you to my 25 Days of Fitness Challenge! But first let me tell ya about this new deliciousness that I have discovered! 

Say hello to my little friend FAGE!! It is the king of all Greek Yogurts, and I love it plain, with home made cottage cheese, with fruits, on crackers and any other way that you can think of eating yogurt. It reminds me of my grandmothers homemade strained yogurt, and it is AH-mazing!



This was my breakfast. Two tablespoons of Fage plain 2% yogurt, with 3 fresh strawberries, and a 1/4 cup of Udi’s Hawaiian flavored granola. It was so good! I use to make this with just regular yogurt, and it was good, but no where near as good!

       

I couldn’t help myself, and for lunch I had some more of Fage! This time I made a plate with some Honey Oat granola bites, grapes, and a mix of home made cottage cheese and Greek yogurt. It was unbelievably good!

Bottom line, if you have been on the hunt for a new Greek Yogurt, tries this one. I’ve tried several other brands, and none of them have compared to this! YUM!

 25 Day Fitness Challenge!

I am challenging myself and anyone else who’d like to play along, to go 25 straight days with at least 30 minutes of some kind of an exercise! Studies conducted by the American Heart Association show the following:

Even moderately intense physical activity such as brisk walking is beneficial when done regularly for a total of 30 minutes or longer on most or all days.   

The benefits of regular exercise are crucial to good health. My grandfather was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent a surgery that removed the lower lobe of his left lung. He survived the surgery, and is back at home after only 6 days in the hospital due to his excellent health, which shows when he rides his bike for 80 miles at the age of 78. The American Heart Association states the following regarding regular exercise:

Regular aerobic physical activity increases your fitness level and capacity for exercise. It also plays a role in both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke and is linked to cardiovascular mortality.
Regular physical activity can help control blood lipid abnormalities, diabetes and obesity. Aerobic physical activity can also help reduce blood pressure.
The results of pooled studies show that people who modify their behavior and start regular physical activity after heart attack have better rates of survival and better quality of life. Healthy people — as well as many patients with cardiovascular disease — can improve their fitness and exercise performance with training.

So whether its getting up and going out for a walk, running, jogging, lifting weights, or taking a class such as Body Pump or an at home program like P90X, I encourage you to do at least 30 minutes of it, for 25 days and let me know how you feel afterwards.

I’ll be starting my challenge on Monday, right after I am done with my Chemistry Test! I’ll have a badge to grab up sometime before Monday!

Good News Monday

I am really starting to hate the weather in Colorado. It’s unpredictable, and changes every 15 minutes… literally!

This morning, I had to put on a winter coat because it was snowing, and it was snowing good! There was a layer on the cars parked outside, on rooftops and on the laws. My drive to school was an average of 15 miles an hour due to the snow, poor visibility and people who freak out when there is “wet” on the road.

By the time I got to the school parking lot, it had stopped snowing, a there was a light sprinkle of rain. When I got out of class, it was overcast with no rain. Then when I was walking back to school from my visit to my old office it was raining AGAIN. By the time I talked to my professor and started walking towards my car it was sunny and HOT. … Come on Colorado make up your mind!

Now that my rent is over, I can say that I had a fantastic morning visiting with my friend, who I use to work with downtown. We had coffee and breakfast!



The above mixture of yogurt, fruit and granola is one of our favorites of all time. To recreate this just follow these easy steps:

[1] Get your favorite flavor of yogurt (plain works as well)
[2] Cut up some fruit, my favorite is banana with berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and so on)
[3] Get your favorite granola

Mix the above ingredients together for a delicious, light and super easy breakfast!  

After my breakfast, I headed back to school for a meeting with my chemistry professor and give her my sob story. Well it turns out that as long as I pass my next two exams I should be good to go for graduation.

Hence, I will be cramming for chemistry in the hopes that I will actually graduate as planned in May!
The next set of good news is that my grandfather’s cancer is all out, and he is recovering fast and breathing at a 100% without extra oxygen and with only 3/4 of his lung power.

WOOHOOO!!!

When I got home I made myself a plate of leftovers, since I was starving!!!



Some BBQ chicken and mac ’n’ cheese. It was okay. The chicken didn’t taste right, so I didn’t eat all of it, but the mac ‘n’ cheese was awesome. I think it should be a food group of its own.

   

I accompanied my lunch with some Pomegranate and Honey Green Tea, and finished up my lunch with some chocolate mousse!!

Now, I’m going to attempt to make lasagna from scratch for dinner!

 

And I am back…

After a very interesting weekend spend with my mom and mother-in-law in the middle of the no where “scrapbooking.”

While I love photography, putting pictures together and making memories, this weekend was full of uncomfortable beds, bitchy women and no internet. 

I had so much to do between Thursday and Friday afternoon when we left that I wanted to shoot myself in the foot or just hide in my bed!!!

But now I am back. Somewhat sane, and ready to get cracking on work! I started out this morning with much productivity and have been moving along at a pretty impressive pace (at least for my slow-poke and procrastinating self).



This sight I saw as I drove to work this morning! It was beautiful, and this picture taken on my phone (while driving … oops) does it no justice. Sights like these are the reason I love CO so much. The mountains peaks covered in a sheet of white snow with amazing sunrise colors!



While Irina and I worked away, I had a toasted bagel with a cup of vanilla latte. It was satisfying and kept me going until I got home for lunch! While at Barnes & Nobel, I picked up a book for Donald’s Grandma’s birthday and will be sending it to her tomorrow with my mother-in-law.



My nails were chipped and yucky, so I repainted once I got home. This is my construction orange, the color is an old OPI I have called It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s OPI. I don’t know how I feel about this color.


What y’all think?

                  

Lunch consisted of some hot green tea, much needed on a cloudy and some what chilly day, and a sandwich made with prosciutto and smoked gouda on French bread!

It was fantastic!

Now I must run to work, but expect another post with my run update and some packing tips later tonight!

<3 Z

Winter is nature's way of saying, "Up yours." ~Robert Byrne

I love waking up to the frozen fog outside my window, the grey of winter all across town, and a white snow blanket on all the lawns. Unfortunately, I only love this weather then I can stay home, curl up on the couch with a good book and a steaming cup of tea... today, I had to drive to school and it was miserable!!!

I hate 8 am classes, but this Chemistry class was the only one that fit into my schedule and the last one I need for graduation, hence I have to force myself out of bed at 6 am to be able to make it downtown for it. 

Breakfast was a hurried affair, and not a fantastic one. I had some instant oatmeal with apples but it wasn't the best. I'm not the biggest fan of oatmeal, but it is fast to make, healthy and keeps away the hunger for a while. My tea, on the other hand, was delicious!! TAZO Awake with two slices of lemon!    

My drive to school was as slow as can be. Leaving the house around 6:30 am usually guarantees that I am at school by 7:30 am and beat all the traffic, but because of the snow everyone was slow-poking it down the highway. The radio kept telling me that the temperature was dropping and sure enough my windshield was freezing over from the fog, even though I had the heater on and the wipers were working! Yikes! 

By the time I got to school it was about 12 degrees out, and starting to smell like snow. Class was delayed by 15 minutes, which turned into a half hour since my professor decided that it was perfect weather for biking to work! 

Between getting to school at about 7:50 am and leaving the building to head home at 9:30 am there was a good inch of snow on the ground, and the temperature had dropped another few degrees! BRRRRR!

The Camaro did great for the most part. I was dancing around on the roads a bit, and it thanking God that there were not too many cars around. I got almost all the way home, and that was about it. I was stuck in our neighborhood for about two hours before my in-laws came and rescued me with their truck! 

I can't complain too much, the heated seats and the phone charger in the car got some great use. I kept my bum warm while reading the news and playing on the internet! I wouldn't know what to do with myself if it weren't for smartphones! 

I also got a little creative and tried taking some artsy pictures with my point and shoot! The result of my handy work is on the left. :-)

At around 12:30 pm I made it home. Got the fireplace going, and am now sitting next to it and enjoying a large cup of steaming tea!!

The car made it all the way to the house, but no matter what we tried she refused to go into the garage,
so as a punishment she is stuck on the side of the house, in the cold and snow. Breaks my heart!

Food for thought: What is the best thing to do on a dreary day like this?