6/30/2011

Catalina Mist

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  Joe & I love going out to breakfast together so we made sure to schedule that in for our big day off.  The bad thing is that we ended up eating dinner out too, we hadn't eaten much since breakfast and I was actually getting light headed so we grabbed Wendy's quickly. 18 meals total.
2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:
     Breakfast: egg whites, tomato & cheese on a bagel = 547 calories
     Lunch: 0 calories
     Dinner: chicken blt cobb salad & jr frosty = 740 calories
     Snacks: cheddar pretzels & popcorn = 215 calories
     Totals: ? burned - 1502 eaten = ? total burned, 15 days total 
3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  We really had planned on exercising at some point but it just never panned out.  The whole day was kind of a mess, we wanted to go to the beach but it was cloudy then we stopped to see John's new house and Joe offered to help install some electrical so I went home to clean.  When we finally both got on the same page we decided to do some work in the yard.  I really wanted to paint something a bright color like I've seen on so many blogs so we picked up some sea foam green spray paint at the hardware store. 
I got to work sanding the varnish off the chair.  Let me tell you, I am not a fan of the hard work that goes into these projects.  I wanted to quit about 12 times because it just wasn't getting done fast enough for my liking. 
While I sanded & eventually painted, Joe was working on wiring up lighting for the yard.  It's super dark back there because we live on the marsh.  With all the entertaining we do we kept talking about how nice it would be to be able to use the whole yard instead of just the deck or area around the fire pit.
Eventually, I ran out of paint, who knew 1 can wouldn't be enough?  I ended up using 4 total!  I'm really happy with the final product but am not in any rush to work on the other matching chair anytime soon!  882 minutes total. 
4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  Stupid broken fitbit.  ? steps.  21 days total.

5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I actually did get some cleaning done while Joe was helping John.  I emptied & reloaded the dishwasher, wiped down the counters and picked up around the living room.  Go me!  16 days total.

another fitbit bites the dust

Joe & I managed to get Sunday and Monday off from work together!  We had plans to see Def Leppard & Heart on Sunday night so he needed Sunday off and the concert wasn't until 7:30pm so we wouldn't be home until after midnight so obviously we needed Monday off as well. 

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  We spent Sunday day at Brigantine beach with friends.  We didn't technically eat any meals out because everyone prepped the food at home & we cooked it all on Sean's grill.  16 meals total.
2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:
     Breakfast: oatmeal w/milk, brown sugar & banana = 325 calories
     Lunch: chips, chicken skewer, bratwurst w/peppers on a roll, 2.5 Mike's Peach Margarita = 1140 calories
     Dinner: 0 calories
     Snacks: soft pretzel & blueberry cobbler = 334 calories
     Totals: ? burned - 1799 eaten = ? total burned, 15 days total 
3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  I did not work out because I spent the majority of my day hanging on the beach with these crazy people.  882 minutes total.  
We even made plans to meet up & do it all over again on the 4th of July this coming Monday.  Joe's off again!  Can you believe it?
4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  Bad news, I wore my fitbit in the ocean.  I'm not sure what possessed me to wear it to the beach in the first place, but I did.  Then I moved it from my top to my bottom so that it wouldn't be as obvious, then I went in the ocean up to my waist and fried it.  I immediately jumped on my tab and ordered a new one but it still takes 3-5 business days to ship.  As soon as we got home Joe put it in a bag of rice in hopes of saving it, it's been there every since but it's not showing any signs of improvement.  ? steps.  21 days total.
5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  Yet another day I didn't spend any time at home.  I think we were literally in the house & awake for 4 hours on Sunday.  The concert was very good though.  15 days total.
It took us a little more then an hour to get to Camden because of the traffic.  We totally forgot that on a Sunday in the summer all the tourists from PA would be driving home.  I drove because Joe still had a buzz from our time at the beach and I was getting very frustrated with all the stopping & starting. 
Luckily we walked in just as Heart was taking the stage.  Joe was reminded how much he likes them so we're going to try to find some cheaper shows in Atlantic City where they are the headliner.
Sorry for the crappy pictures.  Our seats weren't really that bad but it's hard to get a good shot with all the lights changing constantly.
Def Leppard was awesome.  I didn't realize they had accents!  It was pretty funny when the lead singer started speaking, I was like, "Joe, wait they're not American?"  Hey, I will be the first to admit that I know very little about music.  I love a concert where I know all the words to the songs and I knew most of them at this one.  Plus they ended with Pour Some Sugar on Me which I love because as a friend put it once "it's the white girl anthem."

back in the saddle again

On Saturday I was feeling good!  My back wasn't bothering me too much, the weather was nice, we had a BBQ with friends planned, it was going to be a good day.

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  Yeah so, that BBQ we had planned got cancelled.  One of our friends that was hosting got sick and they had to call the whole thing off.  Unfortunately, they only texted Joe about it and he was busy at work so he never told me and I didn't find out until almost 5pm when I asked if they needed me to pick anything up on the way over.  Needless to say I didn't have anything planned for dinner so Joe picked up subs on the way home from work.  16 meals total. 
2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:
     Breakfast: oatmeal w/milk, brown sugar & banana = 325 calories
     Lunch: 0 calories
     Dinner: chicken cheese steak = 710 calories
     Snacks: reese's pieces, cheddar pretzels & tall skinny cinnamon dolce latte = 310 calories
     Totals: 2331 burned - 1345 eaten = 986 total burned, 15 days total
3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  I hadn't seen Angela in weeks so we made plans to run on Saturday morning.  I had a 3.5 mile run on my 5 mile training plan so we decided to give it a shot.  If any of you follow Angela's blog you have probably read that she's been having some issues with motivation for the last few weeks.  I was determined to keep morale up and power through our run though.  Unfortunately it didn't go quite as I had planned.  About a 1/2 mile in she mentioned that she was already getting hot which is a big deal for her because she normally doesn't sweat too much, unlike me who is literally a puddle at the end of a workout!  Then around the mile mark she complained that her calf was bothering her from the run she did with her bare feet running sneakers.  Finally at the half way mark she lost her breath and needed a walk break.  I was happy for the break but it's so hard to get going again once I stop.  We jogged about another quarter mile before my butt & leg started it twitch (probably residual from my pulled back muscle) so we gave in and walked the next 1/2 mile or so.  We pushed out 2 more quarter mile spurts but we were both just wiped and ready to be finished.  I'm a little bummed because I hate not running what I plan to but the summer is just too hard some times.  882 minutes total.
4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  I easily got my steps between the run, our walk to Starbucks and all the cleaning I did around the house.  16394 steps.  21 days total.
5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  I cleaned for WAY more the 1/2 hour!  As I mentioned before the house was a total mess after 3 days of my not being able to bend over (although I'm not sure what Joe's excuse was :-P).  I did at least 4 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen counters & refrigerator then picked up all the crap around living room and vacuumed.  It looked great!  15 days total.

Dave Matthews Band

Let me start with a little background.  Dave Matthews Band is on tour and hosting 3 day concerts around the country called the Caravan.  Well one of the shows was being held in Atlantic City.  This is huge for our area because nothing like this has been tried here before.  They set up on an old sports field turned small airplane landing strip, it was pretty incredible to see the change, who knew you could fit 3 stages & a million vendors on Bader Field?  All the locals were worried that traffic was going to be terrible and the whole thing would be a disaster.  Anyway, my company had a booth at the event to raise awareness for our Garden Initiative; basically we give grants to community groups & schools to build gardens and  educate about healthy eating.  Well, I was asked/volunteered to work the booth on Friday, we were expected to work 10am-8pm and were free to stay later to hear DMB actually play.  I prepared myself and left my house about an hour before I was supposed to get there  and hit ZERO traffic on the way in, lol.  The whole event was really put together extremely well and there were no real issues to speak of the entire weekend!  It's great news for our area, maybe we'll be able to host more events like this in the future.
1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  While I did pack a lot of fruit for snacking on during my marathon day it was hard to pass up all the junk food offered by the vendors.  I had a burrito for lunch & a slice of pizza for dinner.  15 meals total. 
2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:
     Breakfast: oatmeal w/milk, brown sugar & banana = 325 calories
     Lunch: chicken burrito = 587 calories
     Dinner: veggie pizza = 362 calories
     Snacks: reese's pieces, strawberries & a nectarine = 237 calories
     Totals: 2106 burned - 1511 eaten = 595 total burned, 14 days total
 
3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  I spent 12 hours in Atlantic City so there really wasn't time for a workout.  In fact I'm luckly I got my steps in with all the sitting I did at our booth.  837 minutes total.
4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  11666 steps.  20 days total.
5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  While my back was feeling much better on Friday I still wasn't home to clean anything up.  Joe & I both noticed that things were really getting messy and I made a mental note to spend Saturday afternoon giving the house some TLC.  14 days total.

I heart hawaiian mini blizzards

Wow!  So it's been almost a week since I put a real post together.  Sorry everyone!  I swear I'll try to get them all up today...

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  We still had a lot of veggies left from the farm basket and I really wanted to use them up before they started to go bad so we didn't go out for dinner.  Instead we had the neighbors over to help us eat them all; but we did take a walk to Dairy Queen for dessert.  13 meals total. 
I found my new favorite flavor of blizzard, hawaiian!  It's vanilla ice cream with banana, coconut & pineapple mixed in, delicious!  All that fruit makes me feel like I'm not really cheating.
2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:
     Breakfast: granola bar & banana = 295 calories
     Lunch: nectarine, greek yogurt, strawberries & 2 oreo cookies = 369 calories
     Dinner: pesto pasta primavera = 290 calories
     Snacks: hawaiian mini blizzard = 300 calories
     Totals: 2232 burned - 1254 eaten = 978 total burned, 14 days total
I got to use my new salad spinner for the first time on the basil for the pesto sauce!  I decided to invest in one since I'll be cooking and eating a lot of greens over this summer.
I also sauteed zucchini and squash for the first time.  I usually bake it but this is SO much easier!  Doesn't the final product look so pretty?!  I am really excited about all the new & different meals we've been having lately (and I haven't cut or burned myself preparing them!)!
3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  I'm counting our walk to Dairy Queen as exercise because I changed into workout gear & sneakers.  837 minutes total.

4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  Thankfully the walk to Dairy Queen also knocked out my steps for the day.  10719 steps.  19 days total.
5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  My back was still bothering me when I moved from one position to another which made bending over to pick things up close to impossible.  I even had to ask Joe to move a load of laundry from the washer to the dryer.  14 days total.

6/28/2011

Outfits of the Week ~ June 20-24

Yeah so this is obviously 4 days late but I've had a lot going on (which I'm planning on updating you all on soon).

Monday ~ I can barely remember back to Monday, I think I just grabbed whatever worked from the closet.  I will say those shoes drove me crazy all day because my pant hem kept getting stuck under my heel.  satin tank with bow detail - The Limited, charcoal pants - The Limited, black patent peep toe sling backs - Ross.
Tuesday ~ I try to which it up so I don't wear too much brown or black too many days in a row, obviously I was trying to counteract the black from the day before.  necklace - Premier party, brown cardigan - Old Navy, brown cami - New York & Company, mustard & brown plaid pants - Ann Taylor Loft, brown patent peep toe sling backs - Zappos.
Wednesday ~ I went super simple because my back was killing me, no heels & nothing to tight in case I had to contort in some odd way to feel better.  purple sweater - Express, black cropped pants - The Limited, black peep toe flats - Piperlime. 
Thursday ~ This came together very quickly and I was super happy with how it turned out, I rarely wear the cardigan but got a lot of compliments so it'll definitely come out more often.  brown cardigan - The Gap, green tank - The Limited, sateen khaki pants - The Limited, brown wedge sandals - Naturalizer. 
Friday ~ I took with when I got home from working the AtlantiCare booth at the DMB concert for almost 12 hours (note how dirty my feet are).  white t-shirt - AtlantiCare provided (I purchased), khaki shorts - Old Navy, green polka dot sandals - LL Bean.

6/24/2011

Five for Friday 6/24/11

1.  You knew I could finish the 32 mile ride even though I wasn't sure I could.

2.  You "wished you were off with me."

3. You walked me to the bike path to meet Stephanie & then back again so I wouldn't get "raped & murdered."

4. You cleaned the litter box because I can't bend over.

5. You were impressed by my cooking skills.
Father's Day 2011

6/23/2011

sitting on the dock of the bay

1. Eat out less then 20 meals:  We took Joe's parents out for dinner on Wednesday night to celebrate his mom's birthday.  After our fantastic meal on Sunday night Joe really wanted to go back to Lamberti's in Margate.  We got a table right on the edge of the deck this time.
We ordered buffalo chicken spring rolls & fried calamari appetizers.
I was extremely tempted to order the gnocchi zianna again but decided to give something else a try.  I went with the portofino (chicken & shrimp sauteed with sliced apples in a lemon vodka cream sauce, finished with shredded parmigiano reggiano).  It was just as good but a little lighter.  I was concerned the apples would taste funny with the lemon cream sauce but it worked very nicely together!
2. At least 25 days with a 750+ calorie burn:
     Breakfast: granola bar & banana = 295 calories
     Lunch: nectarine, greek yogurt & 100 calorie chips ahoy = 320 calories
     Dinner: 1/2 spring roll, handful calamari, roll & 1/2 portofino = 769 calories
     Snacks: graham slam ice cream = 190 calories
     Totals: 2179 burned - 1574 eaten = 605 total burned, 13 days total
 
Seriously, if you haven't tried the Phillies ice cream, go get it now!
3. Complete 1500 fitness minutes:  My back really wasn't any better then on Tuesday.  I was feeling better in the afternoon at work but when I went to grab something off the floor I re-aggravated it.  Not only did I not have time for a workout but Joe wouldn't have let me exercise if I tried.  777 minutes total.

4. Walk at least 10,000 steps for 25 days:  Luckily my back didn't hurt when I walk, mostly just when I change position.  Joe knew I was still going to want to get my steps in so he suggested a trip to The Home Depot after dinner.  My fitbit was only reading about 3400 steps so I knew I had to really keep moving to get to 10,000.  Joe stopped in the electrical aisle and I wandered around the gardening and seasonal areas.  I came back to find him like this:
So then I wandered the lighting, kitchen, bathroom & paint areas only to return and find him like this:
After about an hour and close to 4,000 steps we headed home.  Because I still had a little over a mile to go Joe suggested we walk to ShopRite (big shocker) to get some lunch meat & cereal.  While he was waiting at the deli counter I was being magnetically drawn to the bakery, seriously I couldn't fight it!  I stumbled across these cupcakes with sharks on them, lol.  I immediately sent a picture to Nicole, I knew she'd be excited (she has a strange obsession with the movie Jaws).
I've also been drooling over these brownie desserts.  Thankfully they keep them behind the counter so I'd have to ask someone to get me one.  I'm not willing to cheat that badly.
11160 steps.  18 days total.
5. At least 25 days with 30 minutes of house work:  It was getting late when we got home from all of our adventures; and my back had really started to bother me again after all the walking, so we just settled in for a couple episodes of Game of Thrones.  I'm definitely going to have to start cleaning once I can bend over though, they house is getting more then a little messy.  14 days total.