Wrapping Up 2010

I cannot believe this year has come and gone. Clay and I have been married two years. Both of my sisters have also been married within two years. I have been a nurse for a year. We bought a townhome. We both switched jobs. We both started grad-school.... What were we thinking?!?!?! Clay and I are both pretty busy, high energy individuals. Sometimes we take on too much at one time; however, we have been able to accomplish so much in our first two years of marriage because of our desire to set goals and persevere. God has taught us so much and we owe all we have to HIM. *SIGH* What a year.

Anyways, my last workout of 2010 started this morning at 7:00am with my dear friend, Wendy. I have known Wendy for 10+ years and I cherish our friendship so much. She did an intense cardio circuit on the treadmill, while I walked at an incline (it BURNS!!!). We then completed an ab workout of crunches, bicycles, and side planks (MORE BURNING!!!).

After the workout, I walked home, made breakfast, and woke Clay up. He had a fishing appointment and I had a running date with my new, dear friend Courtney. I am really enjoying getting to know her! We met a few months ago in the gym at our townhome complex. We are training for a half marathon in March and today was our first long run in a while. We were both pretty tired this morning, so our 7 mile run seemed longer than usual.

I am pretty tight today from yesterday's PLYOMETRIC PANDEMONIUM workout from Jill Coleman (@JillFit on Twitter). My legs are pretty strong, but I am trying to get leaner. Plyometric exercises for legs are very beneficial (for strength and cardiovascular endurance) and my body responds quite well.... after my heart rate gets back to normal!

After the run, I had to run to the grocery store to buy food for tonight's NYE party. I made a recipe from my favorite blog, PBFingers, and cannot wait for C

lay to try it. I just combined goat cheese and honey to make a dip (for pretzels, pita chips, graham crackers...) and I followed Julie's recommendation to use vanilla wafers (yes, these are a simple carb snack and not usually something I purchase, but it is NYE and I wanted to make something for Clay.... to distract him from all the vegetables and healthy foods I bought ;)

I actually did not use as much cheese as PBFingers suggested, but I want to see how Clay likes it first. Right now, it is sweet and creamy. I think I would like it more if it was thicker. The recipe calls for 10 oz. I used a 5 oz. package.... again, trying to make sure Clay likes it.

After I set the dip in the refrigerator, I made myself a spinach salad with goat cheese (see the trend???), red wine vinaigrette, and left over flank steak slices..... YUMMY!

I now have a date with a cup of coffee and a book =) I am enjoying my lazy day. Have a safe, fun evening tonight!!!!

Date night, condensed

Clay and I try to have a date night once a week. We have been really busy with my sister's wedding, family visiting, and Christmas, so we have not been as consistent. We went shopping, grabbed dinner, and rented a movie. I wore my new pumps and regretted it once that last minute decision was made to go shopping at the mall. We were looking for a new jacket for Clay. First at Macy's, then at Dillards.... OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE MALL! I am a "running shoes" girl.... I was not prepared to walk 1.5miles.

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Not quite a pump, not quite a boot..... But super cute and great with my trouser pants.

We got a few gift cards for Christmas so we went to Longhorn. I have not been there in YEARS. They have a grilled rainbow trout that has lemon and olive oil on it. It actually tasted pretty fresh and it was seasoned well.... Not loaded with buttah!!!!

We had ever intention of going "out on the town," (and by that I mean, actually going to a movie that is not an early matinée showing. This did not happen. We ended up visiting our friend Blue Box in our local Publix. I love renting movies. I can stay in my PJ's, under my covers, and I can ask Clay all the questions I want, without disturbing ANYONE =) Well, sometimes he has to hit "pause" so that he can actually pay attention to my question, but he listens, nevertheless. Date night this week was relaxing. Work was very busy this week, so I enjoyed being out of the house with Clay.

This morning, I am training two friends of mine at the gym. We are going to do a cardio circuit, followed by a core circuit. I have a long run today at 9:00am, so I plan on hitting the stationary bike or working upper body. Today's long run is 7-8miles. My friend Courtney and I are going to see how we feel. Both of us had a race in November and have slacked off, or "taken a break," in December.... TIME TO KICK IT INTO GEAR!!! I have a half marathon in March, in which, I am hoping to qualify for NYC Marathon in November. I need to go map out my run for today, so I must go.... But I leave you with this.... To help myself get out of bed in the morning to run, I sleep in my running shorts =) Getting ready is half way finished.... Not the most attractive PJ's, but lingerie is over rated sometimes!!!!

(I purposefully cut off my toes... this "frigged winter" that is hitting Florida right now KILLS my motivation to keep cute feet).

QUESTION: What are you guys doing for New Year's Eve tonight????

*Desk Goodies*

Do you ever feel rushed before a meeting, but you know you are absolutely going to pass out if you do not get a bite to eat??? I do!!! I keep a fork, oats, and peanut butter on hand at all times. Sometimes, I make it more complicated and heat it all up with protein powder, but most of the time it is simple.

Fork into PB.... Scoop into oats.... Instant energy =)

Just thought I would drop in =)

Pumpkin Protein Bread

I have recently discovered oat flour. If you are unfamiliar with the difference between complex and refined carbohydrates, I will briefly explain. Complex carbohydrates take longer for your body to digest. They do not cause your blood sugar to spike as quickly as refined. That is the difference between wheat bread and white; sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. Oat flour has the same consistency of flour, but it is ground oats. Oats are complex and have soluble fiber; there are studies that show this magic grain helps decrease cholesterol. I LOVE OATS. Ok, I digress....

I made pumpkin protein bread today with oat flour. I modified Jamie Eason's recipe, and used pumpkin... honestly, this was because I forgot apple

sauce, but nonetheless, I LOVE PUMPKIN and have some left over from Thanksgiving. The calories in mine might be a little different than hers because of the pumpkin and walnuts, but not by much. This is still a very clean breakfast option. I feel like I am cheating, but I am not. After all, muffins are just an excuse to have cake for breakfast.....

Preheat oven to 350. Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray.

In small bowl combine: (set aside)

1/3 cup Ideal (Truvia) or Splenda

2 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl combine: (whisk together)

1 1/2 cups oat flour + 2 scoops vanilla whey protein

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup Ideal (Truvia) or Splenda

In a medium bowl combine: (whisk together & add to large bowl)

2 egg whites or 1 whole egg

1 cup unsweetened almond milk (Almond Breeze)

1/3 cup of canned pumpkin

1/4 cup of chopped walnuts