Sunday Funday

This morning I woke up to a house without electricity.  As it turns out, I need electricity for literally EVERYTHING.   I kept flipping on light switches while the power was out--nothing will make you feel stupider.

I happened to wake up before Miss E and realized breakfast was going to be a problem (smoothie?  no. toaster waffle? no. arrgh stupid modern-day dependence).  I decided we'd pop down the hill to Russell's bakery to get breakfast....forgetting that I'd put my car in the garage the night before and couldn't get the garage door up without power.  #firstworldproblems.

So we grabbed the handy-dandy Bob stroller (seriously, one of the top 10 inventions ever) and walked.  Which, let's be honest, we should have been doing anyway because it's really not that far.  After a chocolate croissant for Miss E and a bran muffin for me (what was that about not eating so many carbs?  Hm), we headed over to the Perry Park playground to burn off the sugar rush.

Due to the power outage, I hadn't been able to get up in the morning to do my planned Brazil Butt Lift workout.  Full disclosure:  I hadn't been able to get up to the my planned Brazil Butt Lift workout well before I discovered we were power-less.  But I made up for it during Miss E's nap, in which I completed the classic "Bum Bum" as well as nearly two-thirds of the "Tummy Tuck" workout before I completely collapsed.

As a person who has worked out for most of her life, I feel I have encountered most exercises out there that are accessible to the masses.  I've done your step aerobics, core classes, stairmaster, elliptical, spinning, yoga, pilates, capoeira...my point here is that if it's out there, I've probably done it.  But these ab exercises that ol' Leandro throws at you in the Tummy Tuck...well, I've just never encountered anything like it.  It's unbelievable.  There are reverse crunch twists (yeah, give that a try). There are bicycle crunches. There are plank pushups and side planks.  It's killer, is the point.  One of these days, I'll get through the whole thing.

The Hubs got home from his trip to the coast in the late afternoon, all sunburned and exhausted and we were so happy to see him.  Miss E was a little mad at first but she warmed right up, and by the time I got back from Randall's with the evening's libations they were sitting in the rocker reading Maisy At Home--signs that all is right with the world.

For dinner, I made Fish Algiers from the Moosewood Cookbook.  I used HEB frozen cod (which was a little meh but a fraction of the cost of the fresh stuff).  You put the fish in a baking dish and cover it with thinly sliced tomatoes.  Then you pour over a marinade of cumin, cayenne, olive oil and lemon juice and bake it.  It was real good.  I forgot to take a picture.

To go along with it, I made the Marinated Zucchini from the same cookbook:  zucchini rounds sauteed in olive oil with garlic, then scattered with fresh basil from the garden and red wine vinegar.  It's just about my favorite way to prepare zukes.  I also had these Sister Schubert's rolls--the frozen kind where you just bake as many as you want--and they were really good.  Not quite as good as homemade but closer than you'd expect for something from the freezer aisle.  We had a nice chilled bottle of sauvignon blanc and strawberries for dessert.

 I love my deck, ya'll

Miss E, of course, was having none of it.  She had leftover Mandola's pizza and a roll with her milk.  I'm just hoping to lead by example, at this point.  And how, you ask, were we able to enjoy a lovely Sunday evening dining al fresco with a 2 1/2 year old?

I live with a monkey.

You jump, I sit and drink wine.  Aw yeah.

Workout for the Weekend

Well, due to illness and asthma, my Brazil Butt Lift challenge was a total bust.  I wasn't able to work out all week, until today, and I was too worn out to deal with following the diet.  So!  On to round two.

This week, my goals are pretty simple:  to work out everyday (that means setting an alarm, Jones!) and to eat as clean as I can, which for me means no sugar or flour and eating mostly vegetables, lean protein, fruit and a little dairy (cottage cheese and fat-free plain yogurt).  The good news is that since I didn't make a bunch of the meals last week, I have a fridge stocked with healthy stuff.

While being sick sort of busted up my week, the weekend so far has been great.   By Thursday I was basically feeling like myself again, just in time for the Hubs to go out of town on a birding trip to the coast. I thought about going with Miss E, since I think she'd love to see the birds and the beach, but a 5 hour car trip alone with a toddler to spend 24 hours there = not gonna happen in my book.

But lots of mama-kiddo fun has been going on!  Last night (Friday) we had an impromptu pizza night out at Mandola's with S and her little one that ended with chocolate fro-yo dripped all over Miss E and her panda bear lovey.  We had such a nice time and ate so dang much, we decided to all meet at Town Lake this morning for a run.  The mamas pushed the strollers while the little ones rode.  Miss E likes to run, too, so we had some fun with her running along side.

It was a beautiful spring morning and, feeling ambitious, we took the four-mile loop.  At Auditorium Shores, they were setting up for the Reggae Festival.  We had to do a little stroller off-roading to maneuver around some fences to get to the ramp over the bridge, and there all kinds of college-age hippies camped out on the ramp gettin' high.  We practically got hotboxed in the out of doors:  these people were not messing around.  Did I mention it was about 10:00am?  Yes, they took their reggae festival quite seriously.  I had hoped Miss E would at least make it to high school before being in such close proximity to weed, but what are you going to do.

Next up on the bridge was one of those Play Me, I'm Yours pianos.  The player was accompanied by a gorgeous opera singer, who turned out to be a mom from the same daycare S's little one attends.  So to recap:  we encountered 20 people smoking dope on a public trail and a professional opera singer performing before we made it halfway across the First Street Bridge.  Only in Austin, right?  I'm so glad we live in this quirky, charming beautiful little place in the world.  But nobody else come!  Unless I already know you. :)

This afternoon we were invited to a 3-year-old's birthday party at Gymboree, where I'd never been before.  It was great:  essentially a padded cell, but for preschoolers. Miss E was so excited and ran around like a banshee.  She played all the games and was not overwhelmed or intimidated at all.  A lot of the kids there were from her school, so I think she was really comfortable.  Given our busy morning, I was surprised she has so much energy!

This evening, I asked her what she wanted for dinner:  leftover pizza or shells and cheese.  She said shells and cheese (I asked twice), I made them (FROM SCRATCH mind you) and they were of course rejected outright.  ARGH.  I am going to have to find a way to keep this picky eating thing from driving me insane!  Of course, I think it's also a toddler thing ("that one that one that one....NOOOO NOT THAT ONE).  Serenity now.

But these are minor, compared to getting to spend quality time with the little bug. I generally feel a bit guilty all week for working full time and having to rush around everywhere all week:  to daycare, back home, get dinner done, bath bedtime hurry hurry hurry.  I try to cram in as much fun time with her on the weekends so that I don't feel quite so bad during the week.  I don't know if that makes up for it, but it's what we've got for now.

Off to set and alarm to wake up and get my butt kicked, Brazil style!

BBL Challenge: Asthma Edition

I woke up this morning feeling AWFUL.  Achy, exhausted, congested, coughing...just plain ol' sick.  I've been at my new job for two weeks and I had to call in sick.  Well done, Jones.

The good news is that I was able to get a doctor's appointment in the morning and she said that I have a cold, but that combined with my nasty allergies have made my asthma flare up again.  I haven't had issues with asthma in about 3 years!  So I'm back on the inhaler.  Which, honestly, seems like a bigger deal than it really is.  At first it's like OMG ASTHMA!!! But really it's two puffs twice a day.  And I am lucky in that mine is very mild--it only really shows up on a breathing test and I cough a lot.  But still, freakin' asthma.  Geez.

So, my Brazil Butt Lift Challenge is off for today.  It will hopefully continue tomorrow, minus the workout component until I feel better.

Arrgh.

And Lo, A Miracle Occurred.

My sweet darling child, aka Miss Picky Pants, ate pasta tonight for dinner.

<cue chorus of angels here>

This trend, assuming it continues and is more than a one-time fluke, opens up a whole world of kid dinner opportunities that have previously been closed to us.  Think about it:  no lasagna, no ravioli, no mac & cheese.  See, I told you it was serious!

So given that tonight she ate whole wheat linguine with marinara bodes extremely well.

Otherwise, it has been another busy, fun weekend.  After my 7 mile run (thanks, Phillis!  I would have quit at 3 without you), I attended a super-fun birthday playdate with a bunch of mama friends and kiddos.  I love that most of our little ones have gotten to an age where they can run around the yard while we sit and drink our coffee.  I remember about a year ago as I chased Miss E around a playground that I couldn't wait to keep just one eye on her instead of full body contact.  Also, I am so pleased and lucky to have such a great group of moms to count as friends.  They are all amazing ladies and I am always inspired.

Last night, I had the opportunity to see how the other half lives.  Well, it's actually probably the other .00001%.  Fayrene and I attended a beautiful fundraising event at a home in Tarrytown.  Sorry, not a home, an ESTATE.  We we walked through the entrance onto the grounds and we both commented that we felt like we were on a movie set in LA.  There were three buildings:  the main house with pool, natch;  a four-car garage (that's right, count 'em, four) with a guest house over it and a yoga studio.  Yes, a full-on, separate building dedicated to a yoga studio.  The grounds were a perfect green carpet of lawn dotted with oaks and strung with white lights and paper lanterns.  The event organizers had a wine-tasting table set up, a delicious buffet (beef on a stick, OMG) and table scattered around the lawn.  So it was NIIIIIICE, ya'll, and I think we even managed to not embarrass ourselves.

Today, Miss E and I took care of the grocery shopping before heading to the Paramount Theater downtown for the Knuffle Bunny show.  Unfortunately, it did not go real well.

The backstory here is that we've been talking this up for literally months.  We've got both the Knuffle Bunny books at home and we've been reading and re-reading them for days, getting so excited.

So we went in and found our seats, which were pretty close to the stage.  Miss E seemed a bit overwhelmed but I wasn't surprised--we went to see Sesame Street Live a few months ago and she did fine there.   But as soon as the main character, Trixie, started to cry about 30 minutes in, poor Miss E's little face just crumbled.  She was so sad for Trixie and just started crying and crying.  I took her out in the lobby to take a little break and we went back to try again.  But she was so upset there was no going back and she just kept saying she wanted to go home.  So we left.

I felt so bad for her.  Such a sweet, empathetic little soul!  So we cheered her up with a visit to Amy's Ice Cream.  There's nothing a little Just Vanilla can't cure.

While we were at Amy's, I couldn't resist a Tiny cup of the Gingersnap ice cream.   While it was not exactly on my diet plan,  it was delicious and totally worth it.  Segue to...

So Day#1 of my Brazil Butt Lift Challenge went pretty well.  Instead of doing the BBL workout, I wound up taking Tucker Dog for a jog in our neighborhood but I figure the calorie burn is approximately  the same.   I didn't get to the store yesterday, so I subbed spinach for the asparagus with the morning's poached egg.  Then I forgot to pick up almonds for the afternoon snack, but that's OK because I had that ice cream instead.  For dinner I marinated chicken breasts in lemon juice, lemon zest and olive oil and sauteed them in my cast iron pan (it's well seasoned so I can get away with almost no oil).  I also made a green salad with the last little radishes from our garden and tomatoes, along with some sugar snap peas sauteed in a tiny bit of SmartBalance "butter" and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Then of course I served up some leftover pasta so Miss E and The Hubs would have something to eat.

Tomorrow, I'm scheduled to get up and do the Bum Bum BBL workout and then I'll take Tucker Dog for a walk/jog.   Breakfast will be oatmeal, lunch is a salad with turkey and EEEK we are going out for dinner.  The dinner on the diet plan is supposed to be tilapia with broccoli and brown rice, and I believe there is a tilapia option on the menu where we are going.

Send me good vibes for a successful day 2!!

Big Plans. Big.

Whew!  Another week down.

I got through the second week at my new job and am feeling really great about it.  I think I'll be able to contribute something valuable while working towards an important cause with nice people.  What more do you want?  So, check!

But it has been such a busy week.  On Wednesday, I was able to meet up with my old friend Dr. Henrotta for a meet & greet with her new baby--a 6-week-old little one. So. Stinkin. Cute.  It is always a bit of an emotional smack-down to see someone that you grew up with become a parent.   Dr. Henrotta was such an important part of me growing up and doing that whole coming-of-age thing:  she came with me through the depth of teen angst and out the other side, never losing her sharp wit and laser-like insight.  I'm so glad I got to be a college roomie, give an embarrassing speech at her wedding, attend her baby shower and now see her being such a wonderful, caring, funny mom with her wee one.  I would say I'm speechless, but clearly that doesn't happen to me.

Thursday was my monthly book club.  The book was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which is about the history and the personal stories behind the (apparently famous, just not to me) HeLa cells.  The cells were the first to be grown in culture and helped launch the whole bio-industrial complex in addition to being the base for a huge number of medical discoveries--including the discovery that HPV causes cervical cancer.  The story gets really interesting because Henrietta Lacks was a low-income African-American woman who died of terminal cervical cancer in the 1940s.  The story of her life and the struggle of her family and her children is utterly heartbreaking, and calls into question all kinds of issues around race, class, biomedical research and progress.

Now, I haven't quiiiiiiite finished it yet but I do plan to.  Really.

Next month is Water for Elephants so I'm hoping I can get through that one in time.

My little "5 lbs in 3 weeks" plan is going spectacularly badly.  I've gained weight this week!  Since The Hub and I finished our workout program, I've gained 3 pounds.  Not acceptable--not when we spent so much money to get fit!  But without the structure, I'm having a hard time sticking to a workout regimen and diet plan. So here's what Ima do.

(Backstory:  I am completely obsessed with Leandro Carvalho and the Brazil Butt Lift workout.  OMG it is soooo good.  They are complete ass-kickers but they are so fun the time passes really fast.  Plus he's got this fabulous, thick Brazilian accent and constantly says, "this is for your boom-boom!" and "don't settle for less!"  It is Awesome.  LOVE.)

I am going to follow the Brazil Butt Lift Six Day Slimdown plan--it comes with the DVD packet--starting on Sunday.  It will be very hard, but I can do it!  And I will use this blog for accountability, to post my plan vs. my actuality every day.

So my goal for this weekend is just to get the shopping done so that I'll be prepared.  My shopping list is almost completely filled with veggies and lean protein (Oh, The Hubs is going to love this...).

Here's the plan for Day 1 (Sunday)

Breakfast:
One poached egg with 5 steamed asparagus spears, 1/2 grapefruit and 1/2 whole wheat English muffin

Snack
3/4 cup cubed pineapple and 1 string cheese

Lunch
Tuna salad (4 oz tuna--and oh yes, I have a kitchen scale and will be measuring that bad boy) with 1 tsp mayonnaise on mixed greens with cucumber and tomato

Snack
10 unsalted almonds (this just kills me.  I mean, really?  10?)

Dinner
Lemon chicken (4 oz skinless chicken breast marinated in lemon juice and olive oil) with 1 c. sugar snap peas, steamed

It actually all sounds pretty darn good to me, and I am looking forward to getting my boom boom in shape for summer.


Tomorrow I am running 7 miles in the morning with Running Buddy Phillis just to get into the swing of things.  Wish me luck, and I'll report back on Sunday!

Slacking slackerness of slackitude

So if by "get up and workout" I meant, drink a bunch of red wine and stay in bed until the last possible second, then big win!  Otherwise, not so much.  But I did have a smoothie, so that's something, right?

This morning, I managed to get up and go for a 5-miler with my running buddy Phillis around the lake (and I had a smoothie after--with spinach!).  She is a Gilbert's Gazelle too, and we have been through many a grueling training regimen together, including last year's San Diego marathon and the winter/spring half marathon training.  Because she had been training hard and I have been training hardly at all, we haven't run together since before the Austin Half Marathon back in February, I think.  It was great to catch up and get a bit of a run in.  Though the 5 miles was harder than it should have been,  reminding me that it is high time I get back on the running tip.

It is not hard for me to get up early on a Saturday to go for a long run with the Gazelles. I love the group, I love the coach and I actually like doing the longer distances, believe it or not.  Plus, since it's a weekend, I can have a low-key day and even take a nap mid-day if I am worn out from it.

The hard part is the weekday running.  The training sessions are super-tough--usually an hour and a half and 5-7 miles of hard drills.  Super-effective, obviously, but also exhausting.  And did I mention they start at 5:45am?  Yeah.  Now that I am out of the habit, I don't know how I did it for so long!

But now that I'm not getting up to train with the Gazelles, and we don't have the personal trainer coming 3x a week (again, incredibly effective but not your cheapest option), I'm finding it a little too easy to sleep in and skip workouts.  Not what you should be going for as we head into summer and lots of pool time!

So I'm trying to set some goals, get back on top of it and drop a few more pounds.  Since last summer at this time I've lost nearly 25lbs and I don't want any backsliding!

Looking forward to a good workout tomorrow with at-home DVD fitness queen Dr. H, followed by mango margaritas at Santa Rita for lunch.  At least maybe they'll cancel each other out!