Oats Fail, the Rolling Stones, and Ripped Hands

Despite the fact that I was super team spirited for work Monday, the Tigers faced a brutal loss Monday night. :(

Horizontal stripes = very unflattering!

That yellow necklace is my favorite piece of jewelry!  It's vintage.  My cousin bought it for me at a garage sale.  I wear it with my purple to support the Tigers and with blue to support the Cowboys.  (I wish I would have taken a close up pic to show y'all how cute it is!  It's yellow and pearl.)

It was a great season, though, and there is always next year!

Adventures in Breakfast

I've tried a few new breakfasts this week.  Mostly because I'm out of bananas and spinach for my normal smoothie, and have been unwilling to go grocery shopping.  Some were successful, some were not.

Monday was overnight oats in a jar...Fail!  I don't know if I put too much almond milk or what, but they were soupy and gross.  Of course I ate them anyway, because I don't waste food.

Tuesday was a new smoothie recipe.  1 scoop vanilla protein powder, frozen raspberry juice (I had processed and frozen some raspberries this summer), juice of 2 satsumas, ice, and almond milk.  It was delicious, but I was hungry again by 10:00, so ended up fixing some oats at work.

Wednesday (today) was another smoothie.  I'm going to call it oatmeal cookie smoothie.  1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1/4 cup of oats,  1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract, a splash of sugar free caramel coffee flavoring, ice, 1/2 cup almond milk, and a pinch of xantham gum.  It tastes just like an oatmeal cookie!  I put a little too much xantham gum and it was a too thick for my liking.  Hopefully it holds me over for a while.

Moves Like Jagger

I love the Rolling Stones.  My favorite Stones' song is Beast of Burden.  My least favorite: Angie.  Actually, every time it comes on the radio, I change the station.  But I had it stuck in my head all day yesterday because I knew I'd be doing this WOD at CrossFit.

I was excited because I hadn't attempted "Angie" since November of 2010.  At that time, I was still a newbie, so the coaches recommended I only do 75 of each exercise. I used blue and green bands for pull ups, did push ups on my knees, and finished my 75 reps in 17:45. 

Last night, I did all 100 reps (They let us break it up however we chose, so I chose 10 reps of 10.  That means I did 10 rounds of 10 pull ups, 10 push ups, 10 sit ups, and 10 squats.)  I used the green band for pull ups and did "real" push ups.  My time was 24:40. 

It was the pull ups that killed me!  By the last round, I could only complete 2 reps before having to break. 

It didn't help that my hands completely ripped!  Ouch! 



Post workout/pre shower bouday.





Washing my hair was PAINFUL!

 It's funny what adrenaline will do, because my hands never hurt until I looked down at them during about round 8.  You would think I would have felt my skin separating from my body, but nope! 

Have you ever eaten overnight oats in a jar?  Like or dislike?  Any tips for me?  If not, what is your favorite breakfast?

Spinach & Sweet Potato Hash

I'm a thief! 

I bought sweet potatoes a week or so ago with the intentions of making a venison & sweet potato shephards pie, but ending up making this instead.

So I had these sweet potatoes that needed to be used, when I remembered this recipe I saw somewhere.  For the life of me, I cannot remember if it was on a blog, in a magazine, on the Food Network.  Therefore, I cannot give due credit. If this is your recipe, I'm sorry for stealing it! (but obviously not so sorry that I refrained from posting it...)

I guess this is more of a breakfast or brunch dish, but I ate it for supper, so you can too!  Breakfast food is my favorite, so much so that I requested it as my birthday dinner.  Then, cooked up this hash the next night.

 

Spinach & Sweet Potato Hash topped with Poached Eggs
approximately 3 servings

ingredients:
non stick cooking spray
1 tbsp garlic
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp worcestshire sauce
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp fresh sage, chopped
salt, black pepper, & red pepper, to taste
3 handfuls fresh spinach
2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
eggs (as many as you would like)

directions:
Bring a small pot of water to a boil.  Add potatoes and cook until slightly soft.  Heat a cast iron skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add onions.  Cook down onions and add salt, pepper, and worchestshire.  Add potatoes to skillet.  Salt, pepper, and add sage to the potatoes.  Add spinach to the skillet and cook until wilted.  Add blue cheese.  Reduce heat on left over potato water so it is simmering, and use it as poaching liquid for eggs.  Serve poached eggs over potato mixture. 

Tastes better than it looks, I swear!

-I didn't have any crumbled blue cheese, so I added a Laughing Cow blue cheese wedge to my individual serving and mixed it in.  It made the potatoes creamy and delicious.

This was a winner. The flavor combo of the sweet potato, sage, blue cheese, and spinach was spot on.   Take it up a notch by adding walnuts or pecan, and even some dried cranberries.


Do you ever eat breakfast for dinner?

I Am Cookie Monster

Yesterday after work, I went on a hunt for a cheap chest of drawers to house all my beloved clothes that are now in neatly organized piles on my floor.  This adventure took my to the likes of Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and Bargain World.  I did not find a chest of drawers, but I did find the treasures seen below. 

Being that I had been on Pintrest the better part of the day looking at a smorgasbord of DIY projects, I was feeling very crafty.  My Pintrest overload led to the following purchases:

Polyester pleated skirt - Goodwill, $0.99; I am OBSESSED with pleats and I already have a bijllion outfits planned with the skirt for fall. 

Clear plates - Salvation Army, 8 for $3; I like to make Christmas gifts rather than buy.  One year I made aprons, which was a hit.  This year, I have a great idea but I can't share it just yet in case any of my giftees are reading this!  The only hint is these plates will be used.

Silver plate - Goodwill, $0.99; Same as clear plates. It will be used for my Christmas craft.

White hobnail vase - Bargain World, $0.89; Again, Christmas craft.

Cookie Sheets - Bargain World, $0.89 each; Repurposed into magnet boards! Use spray glue to adhere fabric and you have adorable magnetic boards.   

                                    

I am using one for the endless invitations I recieve, along with various other random things.

Yes, that is me in 8th grade at a 98 degrees concert with my 2 best friends. I am proud to say they are still 2 of my best friends.  I guess if they stuck with my through that haircut, they will stick with me until the end.

And I am using the other as an inspiration/idea board.

                                                        

 

1 yard Seaform Green fabric & 1 yard seersucker fabric - Bargain World, $1.79 each; my favorite purchase of the day.  I will show you what I did with this after tonight!

Turquoise necklace - JC Penny, $2.18.  I had a $10 off a $10 purchase coupon I needed to use, and this $24 necklace was on sale for half off.  And I needed necklace 5,453 to add to my "collection".

You would expect a single 26 year to be out having cocktails and mingling on a Friday night.  Nope.  Not this girl.  I spent my Friday night crafting, baking, and reading. 

                                                  

I baked cookies for a friend who helped me out with some things during my move and also, just moved himself into his beautiful, brand spanking new, custom built home.  It was a "thank you"/"congrats".  Unfortunately, I ate 5 cookies when I finished baking.  Five. FIVE! and 2 glasses of milk!  Holy binge, batman.  What was I thinking?

                                                          

I had already planned on a run this morning, so as soon as I got up, I laced up my Asics and headed out the door. Every time my foot hit the pavement I thought, "cookies. cookies. cookies." 

I had my running route planned.  Well, as I was about half way through my run, I looked ahead to see the "bridge"on Ryan St. over the bayou was out.  This mentally threw me off.  I looked for a way around.  Through the parking lot? No.  Through the grass? No.  The only way past was through the massive ditch they call a bayou.  Staying on route was not worth spraining an ankle.

So, I turned around.  Ugh.  Time for a new game plan.  I back tracked a block, went up through a neighborhood and got back on route. 

The last mile was tough.  I told myself, "You will make it through this song, plus 2 more, then you can quit."  I made it through the songs and was less than a half a mile to my house.  Then I bargained, "Make it to the speed limit sign, then you can quit."  I made it to the speed limit sign and was still living, so one last bargain with myself, "Make it to your road and over the railroad tracks and you can quit."  I made it!  4.3 miles! 

My reward, a delicious breakfast of plain greek yogurt, strawberries, a touch of honey, and a sprinkle of Kashi Go Lean cereal. 

                                     

I plan to spend the rest of the day poolside with my Lola girl!  Tonight - Arts & Crabs Festival with Pamela and Alicia.  Can't wait!

Do you ever bargain with yourself while running?  Is it, "Make it to the next bench/lightpole/stop sign" or more like, "If you finish, you get a piece of cake/5 cookies/a beer/any other reward."?