Showing posts with label tailgating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tailgating. Show all posts

Monday, October 24, 2011

48 Hours Later...

A weekend full of procrastination and gluttony leads to a very exhausting Monday morning.
Where do I begin?  Well, Saturday morning, I skipped my run.  I always do long runs on Saturday mornings.  This week, my half marathon training schedule had me running 6 miles.  Easy peasy compared to last week’s 10. 
So why didn’t I run Saturday morning?  Because I slept until 8:30 (This is very, very late for me! Even on a weekend), and by this point, it was way too hot to run.  So I lazed around all morning, then finally got dressed and drove to Sulphur to vote. 
I love voting!  I feel like it is such a privilege and we as Americans are so lucky to be able to choose our leaders.  After completing my patriotic duty, I went to my mom’s for lunch. 


She pulled out all the leftovers from the week.  Funny enough, I told her I was craving mashed potatoes, to which she replied “I have some in the fridge!”  I acted as a garbage disposal and managed to help mom clean out the fridge by consuming the last of the meatloaf, purple hull peas, and okra.  I put a pretty big dent in the mashed potatoes and sugar free pumpkin spice cake, too. 
I was so stuffed that I swore I wasn’t going to eat the rest of the day, but I couldn’t resist a bowl of gumbo at the tailgate. 
Then, I was peer pressured into staying out too late and drinking too much (I had to drown my sorrows of losing so bad at our own homecoming!), which led to me not running Sunday morning.
Instead, I went to breakfast at Fat Cat CafĂ© with my mom.  I have been once for lunch & once for dinner, but never breakfast.  I had a hard time choosing a dish because I love all breakfast food and they all looked good, but decided on the Grilled Chicken Hash.

Fat Cat Cafe logo

It was delicious!  I expected the potatoes to be chunks, like a home fry kind of thing, but they were more of a mash.  They tasted like my dad’s smothered potatoes and sausage, which is one of my favorite things in the world!  They used some type of pork in the potatoes to give it a smoky flavor.
2 scoops of the potatoes were covered with strips of grilled chicken breasts, gravy, a blob of sour cream, and green onions. 
Once again, I ate way too much. 
My mom ordered an omelet.  She ate almost all of it, which says a lot, because she doesn’t normally eat big meals.  She had a side of whole wheat toast.  I’m not sure where they get their bread, but it was really good.  So good, that she insisted I have a taste.  It was cut really thick, and was really whole grainy.  (Sorry, but I can’t think of another way to describe it!)
They serve mimosa’s and blood mary’s, but since we were going back to my house to work in the flower beds, I didn’t think boozing was a good idea.  I hope to go back soon, though, and have a proper brunch with lots of champagne.


Fat Cat Cafe on Urbanspoon

So I slated my long run for 5:30 PM.  I figured my food baby would be gone by then, it would be cooling off, and I could finish before dark. 
At about 4:30 PM, I decided I was hungry.  I fixed a turkey sandwich and thought, “I’ll just push my run back to 6:00, so this can digest.”
Which turned into 7:00 PM. 
Which turned into watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion until 10:30 PM.


Which turned into waking up at 5:00 AM this morning and running, a full 48 hours after my originally schedule run.  My planned route took me down to the port, and I was too scared to run that way in the dark, so I improvised a little.
When I returned home, I mapped my run and was about ¾ a mile short of 6. Oops! 
It was humid.  I would have guessed the temp was somewhere in the upper 80’s, but I ran past the bank where the sign said it was 71 degrees.
By the time I foam rolled, ate breakfast (oats with pumpkin, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla protein powder, and topped with pecans. Yum!), and showered, I was running late for work. 
I had to pull together an outfit that required no ironing, and I’m not in love with it. I feel frumpy.
My hair is currently in a soggy bun on top of my head, with a headband to distract from the crazy frizzies that multiply exponentially as it air dries. 
I did not have time to pack a lunch.
Not an ideal way to start my work week.
While I love working out early in the morning (It makes me feel like the world is completely mine, since everyone else is sleeping.  So peaceful.), I hate being rushed.  

Do you prefer working out in the morning or the evening?
I like weekend morning workouts, and weekday afternoon workouts.  And maybe an occasional weekday morning workout to free up the afternoon.

PS. Remember how I should win the worst blog award in photography?  Well, I’m taking it to a new level, because I forgot my camera at the tailgate this weekend!  Not that I took any pictures.  Luckily, I have great friends who picked it up for me!



Sunday, September 25, 2011

Do the Clearance Cauliflower Mash

I am sad to report that the DOMS has worsened.   Every move I make is painful. :(

No long walk yesterday and no run today. 

I did walk all the way to our tailgate from my car, even after a friend with a parking pass offered to pick me up. :)  Then I proceeded to sit on my butt for the next 4 hours, eating jambalaya.

It has been a very lazy weekend.

However, I finally used those clearance cauliflower I bought!



I decided to roast them, then I used the yellow ones to make

Roasted Garlic & Cauliflower Mash

ingredients:
-1 head of cauliflower (I roasted 2 heads because that is how much I bought on sale -2 is better than 1- but I only used one for the mash.)
-1 garlic pod
-non stick cooking spray
-salt & pepper to taste
-1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)
-1/4 cup chicken stock

directions:

- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.




- Chop cauliflower into florets and wash.

- Coat cauliflower florets in non stick cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper.



Coincidence that it was game day and my cauliflower were purple & gold?!  I think not.

- Coat a baking pan in non stick cooking spray and spread the cauliflower florets evenly in the pan.




- Cut the top off of the garlic pod, spray with non stick cooking spray, and place in the middle of the cauliflower.




- Place in preheated oven for 40 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes.

- Remove from oven and place cauliflower in a big bowl.  Add milk, chicken stock, and 2 of the cloves of roasted garlic.






- Blend with immersion blender until smooth or the consistency of mashed potatoes. (If you don't have an immersion blender, you could use a food processor)






- Serve as you would mashed potatoes. 

I had leftover turkey, peppers, and mushrooms from a taco salad I made the night before, so I ate it over the cauliflower.  I added fat free sour cream, salsa, and jalepeno peppers.  Yum!





BTW, triple victory in the football department.  McNeese, LSU, and the Saints won!  It's a great weekend to be from southwest Louisiana!


Funny Sports Ecard: For the sake of your emotional well-being and that of your loved ones, I pray your football team excels this year.
I know some football obsessed folks whose wives would get a laugh out of this someecard.  All teams excelled this weekend, so prayers answered! 


Did you have a lazy weekend or were you productive?
Did your team win?

Saturday, September 24, 2011

DOM-DOM-DOM-DOM----DOMS!

(The title for this post is meant to be sung in the TUMS theme song melody.)

This is a new term to me.  I have experinced sore muscles throughout my life but until recently, I had never known it had a scientific term - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

DOMS has paid me a visit this morning.  He is an unwelcome guest. 

Yesterday afternoon, I did this WOD at CrossFit.  It was one of those that doesn't look that bad on paper, but by my last round, I could barely pick up my legs to run. 

Last night, when I was walking like a cowboy who had been on a horse for 4 days, I knew DOMS would be dropping by this morning. 






I literally had to pick up my leg with my hands to get out of bed.  And it has only been 12 hours since my workout, so I know it will only get worse.

Being the science nerd that I am, I googled DOMS to learn about the physiology. (Physiology was my favorite college class EVER.) 

I found this article very intereseting, regarding the theories of the cause of DOMS.  I was taught in high school biology that muscle soreness was due to lactic acid build up, but now it is more widely accepted that muscle soreness is due to microscopic muscle tears.

All the articles I read agreed that DOMS' effects are minimized by stretching and more exercise with the affected muscle groups.

For me, that means foam rolling and a long walk with Lola.  Hopefully, my unwanted guest will leave sooner rather than later.

Are you ready for some football?

It's Saturday, which means college football!!!

It is beautiful outside and I can't wait to head out to Cowboy Stadium to do some tailgating.  As y'all know, I missed tailgating for the first homegame, but I will make up for it this week!


Go Pokes!!!





6-25-ZX9803

Go Tigers!








How are you spending your Saturday?