January 3rd and 4th, 2010: Mush

Hey all!  It is cold up in these parts.  And by cold, I mean, snot frozen to your face, cold.  Single digits and teens for temps.  Kick ass.

Please be prepared for the sharing of too much information and some yuckies.  If you are eating, you may want to revisit me at another time. ;)

I woke up Sunday morning ready to bust out my long run.  I was going to do 8 miles come hell or ice.  I hadn’t run in two days and wow but cranky A was rearing her head and that is never pretty.  I came downstairs to a message on the fridge that said, “Windchill Advisory in the AM”.  Picture this spelled out in magnetic fridge letters with some improvisations along the way.  My hunnies, always looking out for me!  I would have taken a picture but before I had a chance, the message was erased and replaced with “Cold”.

Word.

Anyway, I checked the temp and it was 4 degrees outside.  Ouch.   I layered up and hit the road.  I got a mile done before my hands felt like they were going to fall off.  I swung back home and slapped on another pair of gloves bringing my total glove count up to three.  I looked like I was on my way to a sports game supporting my team with giant foam hands.  Nothing shows team spirit like giant foam apparatuses.

As I was bent over trying to free my keys from their shoe pouch prison, my nose started running.  My nose always runs so this isn’t a surprise but because of how cold it was, I couldn’t tell it was running.  Until I saw its contents dangling in front of me.

Hawtness!

This is also why I wear soft gloves when running in the cold because I am constantly wiping my nose.  Gross?  For shiz.  But totally necessary.  I am not stopping to blow my nose because then that would require me to remove all 15, 3 layers of gloves.  I do not have that kind of time when it is 4 degrees outside.

End Yuckies.

Did I complete 8 miles?  No because I’m a big wuss and wrapped it up at 4.5 miles.  At this point the wind did start getting to me and my hands were cold.  I wasn’t satisfied with that though and promptly busted out 2 levels of shred.  When I do multiple levels like that, I’ll skip the warm-up part of the next level.  I’m already warmed up so there is no sense in me doing that, it will actually only slow my HR down.

Shred is alright but I think I’m going to look for something else that is longer.  Like a 45 minute DVD or something because the shred just isn’t as intense as I would like.

I was satisfied with my workout at this point and took a glorious hot shower.  Then refuled.

A bit of 2% Fage, granola, and some dark chocolate chips per my Sunday morning treat to myself.  Who says you can’t have chocolate for breakfast?  Not this sister!

Scott got up and I proceeded to stuff my face with protein and carbs galore.  You know it’s PMS time when I start craving the carbs.  Bonus, I finally was able to start using a Christmas present.

Hello sexah new cutting board!  Scott has been prepping and oiling that baby up for days, making sure it was ready for action.  He was a total pro too, like he’s done that kind of work before.  It is a dream to chop on and it smells divine.  I’m still getting used to it, but so far so good.

Sunday Breakfast was awesome and I proceeded to stuff my face with an entire asiago bagel.  Whoa!  I was crying when I realized I was out of Ezek muffins but quickly got over it when I remembered we had bagels.  Normally I eat a half of one, but not this time!

There was also a fritatta made with the leftover veggies I roasted Saturday night.  In the scrambled egg mixture I had:

  • Whole grain mustard
  • Hot sauce
  • Horseradish
  • Salt and Pepper, garlic powder

Poured over the veggies in an oven safe skillet and cooked at 400 for about 10 minutes.  I add a bit of extra onion and some chopped spinach to the mix as well.

Chicken breakfast sausage on the side and some clementines in the middle.  OJ for some kicks.

Scott and I spent the last day of vacation doing work around the house.  Cleaning and organizing.  I also did some laundry because excitement just oozes like cheap cologne over here.  Then we gamed for a bit and around 8pm I realized that maybe we should have some supper.

Breakfast held me over really well and I wasn’t too terribly hungry.  I decided to make some soup since that would be easy, quick, and I could have as much or as little as I wanted.  The kind of soup I was making would also give Scott a chance to bust out and use one of his new presents.

Light sabre chop sticks.  Totally awesome!

I made an Asian inspired ramon soup.  Good ramon bought from WF, not cheapy ramon.  I just had a little bit in my soup because I wasn’t really looking for anymore carbs.  The soup had a chicken stock base with:

  • Soy sauce
  • Toasted sesame oil
  • Green onion
  • Carrot
  • Broccoli
  • Green pepper
  • Baby bok choy

Some curry powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and a dash of chili powder were added as well.

After supper we kicked it on the couch watching a pathetic Pens game.  Lord they have done lost their minds and their ability to play hockey.  To help ease my woes, wine and chocolate became necessary for my survival.

Those are some mint chocolate cookies and they were heaven.  After the game I read for a minute and then hit the hay way too late for my last day of vacation.

Monday, January 4th:

Ugh.  This morning came way too quickly!  All I wanted was a yogurt mess only to be faced with an empty yogurt container.  I was going to make some but my stomach was growling too much.  I turned to oatbran and called it good.

I have turned a corner in the coffee department.  Creamer was one of the last “icky” items I was holding on to.  I loved the way it made my coffee taste.  Creamy (duh) and decadent.  It was awesome.  However it is also full of the yuck.  Eventually my local grocery store started carrying their own organic creamer and I fell in love with it instantly.  The draw back to that was it only came in small bottles and the price was a bit ridiculous.  For one small bottle of creamer, I could easily buy half a gallon of milk or soymilk.  I had tried soymilk before and didn’t like it.  It wasn’t sweet enough and it didn’t make my coffee creamy.  It tasted almost watered down and I hated it.

What to do?

Scott and I made the switch to Stoneyfield organic 2% milk and were using that in our coffee for a while.  It isn’t easy to find but we made due.  We ran out of milk one morning and used vanilla soymilk since we had that on hand.

AMAZING!

I know I just bashed it and here I am using it.  I think this goes to show how tastes and preferences can change over time, especially when you are making healthier choices.  When I tried using soymilk the first time, it was in the early stages of my new healthy eating journey.  My tastes were so accustomed to the fake cream and sweetness that nothing else worked.

But now, it’s like a whole new world.  I can use the soymilk and I also don’t add much sugar at all to my coffee anymore.  That is the one area where I would still use sugar because I wanted it to taste sweet.  Even though I am not a huge sugar/sweets person, coffee had to be that way for some reason.  Now I’ve adjusted and could not be happier.  I hated using milk.  I don’t really have anything against milk as I’m certainly not a dairy hater but I don’t want to drink milk.    Using it in my coffee, I felt like I was drinking milk and it really wasn’t that much of a great experience.  Plus milk makes me feel heavy and weighted down whereas soymilk does not.

So I am proud to say that I have kicked the nasty creamer habit goodbye forever!  Hooray!

I worked all morning and then took a break to deal with Rocky.  For those of you that are super empathetic to animals you might want to skip right to pictures of lunch.  This is the part of the entry where I torture my dog and someone is bound to call the ASPCA on my ass I’m sure.  Brace yourselves.

Remember earlier when I said it was cold?  Well that hasn’t changed at all today.  The wind isn’t as bad and the temps are in the teens, but it’s still dang cold.  Rocky didn’t get a walk yesterday because with the wind it was just too cold for him to be outside.  However he had to go today because he was getting stir-crazy thus driving mom up a flipping wall.

The thing with my dog is this, he loves cold weather.  He loves snow and chilly temps.  When he is outside and it’s cold, he gets all hippity-hoppity with excitement.

The reality is that my dog is not a cold weather dog.  He’s a boxer which means he’s got a super short fur coat and feet that are not evolved to handle snow and ice.  He does not realize this.  In his mind, I am sure he is convinced that he’s a glorious huskey leading his team to an Iditarod victory.  I have no idea where he gets such grandiose notions.  It must be from his dad’s side.

Because I love my dog, I indulge his fantasy and we head out into the cold and snow.  And because I love my dog, I have to keep him safe which means he has to wear a jacket and booties.

Oh the horror!  Look at that face, sheer and utter inhumane treatment. I don’t really understand what his issue is because at least he matches.  My boots don’t match my jacket and I look like Homeless Marge when I’m out walking him while he looks like all smart and put together like he comes from Money (P.S. we are totally not money).

His jacket he loves and has no problems getting that put on.  His booties are another story because he hates them.

When he’s in the house.

He walks around like he has the biggest piece of scotch tape stuck to his paws and had an OHMYGODIAMDYING look on his face.

Then he gets outside and prances and preens and acts as if he’s the shit because I just won the race in this matching set suckahs!

I would seriously buy a Flip just so I could show the difference in how he acts.  It is unreal and also hilarious.

We went out and busted the walk as quickly as possible.  Dang cold!  We got to the last half that headed home and Rocky started pulling trying to run home.  I told him to “MUSH!” in the hopes he would pull me and we could get home that much faster but he only looked at me like he had no idea what I said.

Punk kid should research his fantasies a bit more. I’m just saying.

I’m showing you lunch since it is a bit on the different side.

Morninstar chick’n patty with BBQ sauce and some carrots.  I will tell you right now that carrots dipped in BBQ sauce are the freaking bomb.  Blows carrots + nut butter out of the water (P.S. I always thought that combo was odd. Sorry carrot/nut butter lovers!).  Some veggie lentil soup, clementines, and a smoothie!

I was craving this smoothie like nobody’s business because it had seriously been lacking in our house.  We had a smoothie on Saturday but it was a Bolthouse Farms green goodness and that’s just not the same.  I needed one of my own!

  • 1.5C Carrot juice
  • 1.5C Unsweetened cranberry juice
  • .5C Water
  • Kale
  • Banana
  • Frozen pineapple
  • Frozen peaches

I did some cooking in the kitchen after lunch.  I made some granola and roasted up some beets that seriously needed to be used.  Now I have that ready for salads.

Speaking of salads, check out this garden monster (Hugh Jass is so 2009, get with it.)

  • Spinach
  • Mixed greens
  • Carrot
  • Cucumber
  • Corn
  • Beets
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Pecan and walnuts
  • Feta

Balsamic+Honey+Olive Oil.  I wanted red onion but seeing as how this will be my first night back to stick fighting in weeks, I decided to cut it out to save everyone from dragon breath.

You are welcome.

Alright pretties I’m out like a light!  Catch you tomorrow! :D

17 thoughts on “January 3rd and 4th, 2010: Mush

  1. My nose has been running uncontrollably in the cold runs too! Ugh, I hate running in the cold wind. I don’t blame you one bit for cutting it short.

  2. I seriously hate when it’s so cold that you don’t notice that your nose is running. Or bleeding! It’s awful.

    I love the new cutting board. HOT!

    I need to adjust this bod to something other than half & half in my coffee. I really do. Glad to see it worked for you.

  3. I admire your ability to run in absolutely freezing weather. It’s only 27 degrees here and you would think I was dying in the arctic if you saw me bundled up. I really want to run outside, but I’m afraid! You’ve given me motivation.

    Congrats on kicking your creamer habit! Except I use a bit of splenda in my morning coffee, so I’m not too harsh when it comes to food rules like that ;)

  4. LOL – OMFG, I am CRACKING up at the Rocky descrip with his booties – indoor v. outdoor! YOU MUST – i dont care the quality, get video footage, even if you take it with the very first cell phone to every have a camera, and i can barely tell its a dog! :) DO IT! :)

  5. Krista says:

    OMG Rocky! How pathetic! Kodee (lab) has taken to trying to run away when we put her coat on her. I don’t get it – she looks like a super dog with it on and is fine ONCE it is on.

    And one more time – MITS for running sister. If you must wear gloves, wear one pair UNDER the mits ;)

    THAT cutting board is amazing! I have a huge one I just keep on the counter and use daily. Here it is so dry it does require lots of oil but I’ve had the same board for probably close to 8 years!

  6. Heather says:

    hee hee Rocky looks so funny.

    Just think we get temperatures like that all.the.time! LOL It was 5 F here today. ;)

    And I think you need a treadmill. ;)

  7. I seriously can’t believe you made it 4.5 miles in that weather. You are hardcore! Rocky looks nice and toasty and despite his embarassment I’m sure he appreciates that he is so well taken care of. :)

    I love the new look of the site. It is awesome!

  8. Tell Rocky that Anna totally understands! Anna being a doberman with cropped ears does not realize she cannot stay out in the cold. But MOM!!! I know if only I could find a hat then I would be okay. She loves her red sweater and hates the booties but we don’t have it as cold as you!

  9. I can’t believe Scott got the light saber chopsticks! A friends showed me a Japanese website that had them but I didn’t know you could get them in the states. Where did you buy them?

    I don’t think you are torturing Rocky. You want him to stay warm!

    Hope it warms up soon there!

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