Incomplete Weekend To Do List

My weekend to do list of 5 million things did not have many scratch throughs.  Although, I did get more accomplished than last weekend aka the weekend of "yes". 

Friday night I picked up an extra shift at work, then went home and crashed.

Saturday morning my bestie and I met at the park for a really hot, quick 2 mile run.  Then, I hit up the 9:30 CrossFit class which was a skill day.  We worked on a lot of core movements (arch rocks, hollow rocks, tucks) and ring stuff (inverted hangs, false grip, and holds).  After all that, we did 100 wall squats and 200 double unders for form, not time.  My calves are so sore from those double unders!

While at CrossFit, my mom had left me a message saying she was at Dillards and they had an extra 30% off all the sale stuff.  I was a sweaty mess, but cannot miss a deal, so my stinky butt went to Dillards.  I bought a couple of dresses and a few shirts.  (I have to take one of the dresses back.  I was so stinky and sweaty that I refused to try it on in the store.  When I put it on at home, it was hideous!)

Eventually, after a trip to Sam's and scarfing down a huge salad, I took a much needed shower. Another trip to the grocery store later, I made guacamole deviled eggs and watermelon margaritas to bring to a barbeque.  The margaritas were a little bit too strong this time around and we didn't even finish one of the 3 pitchers I brought. Needless to say, we ended up at a bar and the night got a little crazy.

Sunday was the usual: lunch at mom and dad's.  The evening was spent doing laundry, poisoning the weeds in my flower beds, cooking for the week (2 new recipes to come!), and watching Contraband.  Oh how I love Mark Walberg.  He is my ultimate celebrity crush!

Things still on my to-do list: clean my bathroom, create a recipage for this blog, return books to the library and get new ones (I'm now overdue 2 days!), make popsicles, replace the flowers in the pots on my front porch.

But this week's schedule is not nearly as crazy as last week, so maybe I'll find the time to get these things done.  Also, since Wednesday is a work holiday, I'm considering using vacation days Thursday and Friday to make for an extra long holiday weekend.

Workout plan for the week:
Monday- 3 mile run   slept through my opportunity :(
Tuesday- 5:30 AM CrossFit
Wednesday- 4 miler on the 4th! 
Thursday- SeeFit: Road2theCure mini competition at CrossFit
Friday- 5:30 PM CrossFit (and maybe stand up paddle boarding if I take off work?!)
Saturday- 3 mile run + CrossFit or 5 mile run
Sunday- 3 mile run


Who is your ultimate celebrity crush?  Did you do anything fun and crazy this weekend?

3 Little Things

1. Yesterday, at the grocery store, I picked up some cherries on sale for $1.50 a pound.  Usually, I steer clear of cherries because they are pretty pricey.  After checking out and putting my grocery haul in my car, I, like I always do, pulled out my receipt and went over it.  They charged me $4.99 per pound for the cherries!  The bag of little red gems should have cost me a little under $3, but cost me a little over $9. 

Last shopping trip, I went to customer service because they overcharged me $0.49 per pound for zucchini, and they refunded me $3.  Yesterday, they overcharged me $7 and I let it go.  I don't know my rationale behind this.  Maybe I was just too tired to fight about it.  Grocery store: 1  Rebecca: 0.

2.  This WOD kicked.my.butt!  During round 3, I got really dizzy and light headed.  I felt like my blood pressure was bottoming out and had to go squat in front of the fan for a few minutes.  Needless to say my time sucked.  My head/sinuses/ears are always a little congested in the morning.  They were worse yesterday, and since it was only 5:30 AM, they hadn't had time to drain and clear out before my workout.  It must have been that coupled with the heat and humidity, oh, and the fact that I hadn't been to CrossFit in a week and a half.  I felt funny for the rest of the day (and therefore skipped Party by the Pool).  

3.  I miss running.  Specifically, I miss long Saturday morning runs.  My plan is to run a half in October with my best friend/mother of my godchild, Kristi, so official training will start in July.  The heat is already brutal.  I must acclimate.  And I must get a training plan together.


Do you watch prices at the grocery store to make sure they ring up correctly?  Usually, I watch as they are scanned and correct the checker right away.  Yesterday, she scanned all my items, then my Kroger card, so I couldn't tell if prices were accurate.  Lesson learned.  Each shopping trip, there is at least one item mispriced.
Have you ever passed out or vomited during a workout?  I felt close to doing both yesterday.  I actually have puked during a workout before.  I'm not ashamed....it's a little hardcore!
How hot is too hot to run outdoors?  I know summer is "running season" for a lot of Northerners, but November to March is running season for us. Here, it will be high 90's with 75% humidity by late July.

Time Flies When It's the Weekend

The weekend flew by.  It was a good one.  Not too busy, but I had some fun and accomplished a lot. After lifting heavy stuff at CrossFit on Friday (I deadlifted 175# for 5 reps!), I was the epitome of a single girl and ate dinner out of Tupperware and drank wine.

Then, went to meet a friend out for drinks.  This turned into a very late night.  The next morning I had a voicemail from a friend stating I had "stayed out late like a college kid".  It made me laugh, because it's true.  In college, 3 AM was a normal bedtime.

Even though I stayed out late like a college kid, I rolled out of bed at 7:30 on Saturday morning.  I took my car to be washed and have the oil changed, then went grocery shopping.

My Sam's haul.  Of course, a little something for Lola.

My fruit basket was looking empty, but it is now full and colorful once more.  It is actually even more full now, since I went to another grocery store Sunday morning.

I packed julep supplies to headed to the pool for a little Derby Day action, but I didn't end up having a single mint julep the entire day. :(

Sorry for the weird lighting and lack of make up, but I had to show you my Derby hat.

After sunning by the pool, I came home to get ready for a wedding and watch the Derby.  My plan was to be dressed by 5:24 (race time), so I could watch the horses run and sip on a julep.  Well, in the middle of curling my hair, my sister walked in, which meant it was already 5:30.  Crap! I don't know where the afternoon went or how it was 5:30 and I still wasn't dressed!

The wedding was amazing.  It was beautiful, the food was phenomenal, the band was entertaining.  I ate, drank, danced, and took a champagne jello shot with a blackberry in the middle.  Usually, jello makes me gag (it's a texture thing), but this was delicious.  A friend already found the recipe on Pintrest.

Sunday morning I headed to Target bright and early because their new "Shops" collection debuted and I wanted to pick up one of these collars for Lola. They didn't have them, but I didn't have trouble finding other things to buy, like this dress in the pink/brown (it was on sale for $12 in store) and a pair of parrot earrings I can't find on their website.

After Target, I went to Albertsons to pick up a few more groceries.  Then, I went home to cut grass.  My dad grilled ribs, chicken, and sausage for lunch, so I headed over the bridge to visit and eat.  I skipped all the sides (rice dressing, baked beans, potato salad, garlic bread) and ate just meat and salad.  The ribs were so good, I didn't want to waste room in my belly on anything else!  I felt like a carnivore/man with all that meat on my plate.

I drove back to Lake Charles so I could finish my chores.  Weedeating was next. I was wearing sneakers, but debris kept hitting my legs, so I slipped on my roommates boots.  Shorts + boots= sexy!

After changing shirts (mine was full of grass and sweat), Lola and I went to the park to meet my godchild and his parents (also known as my best friend and her husband).  Patrick wasn't that into the park and slept almost the whole time, but I enjoyed strolling and chatting. 

It was such a gorgeous evening that I couldn't be contained indoors. So upon returning from the park, I fired up the grill.



Someone was glad I was outside.



But how could I not be outside on an evening like this?

Those late nights Friday and Saturday caught up with me and I was asleep by 9:30 last night.  And I slept through my 5:00 AM alarm, but the extra sleep was much needed. 

Here is how my workouts last week ended up looking:

Monday: morning 3 mile run + tabata workout

Tuesday: 5:30 AM CrossFit

Wednesday: morning 3 mile run + tabata workout

Thursday: 5:30 AM CrossFit AM tabata workout + afternoon CrossFit

Friday: 5:30 PM CrossFit

Saturday: 9:30 AM CrossFit or bleacher workout on my own

Sunday: run or bleacher workout on my own   Weed eating and walk at the park

 

Not so pretty.

 

This week's plan:

 

Monday: Nothing, because I already missed my opportunity this morning.

Tuesday: 5:30 AM CrossFit

Wednesday: AM run + tabata (push ups, chair dips, sit ups, and lunges)

Thursday: CrossFit (5:30 AM hopefully, but if I miss, I'll go at 5:30 PM)

Friday: 5:30 PM CrossFit

Saturday: 9:30 AM CrossFit, run, or bleachers

Sunday: run or bleachers

 

Also, I food prepped and have a ton of grilled meat and veggies as well as taco meat for salads in my fridge.  No excuses this week!

 

How was your weekend?  What did you do?

Adventures in Grocery Shopping

A Paleo diet can be pretty pricey with all the lean meat, fresh produce, and nuts.  I'm a girl on a budget, and would rather spend money on shoes than food, so I have a method to save money on groceries while still eating as healthy as possible.

There are certain things that I keep on hand no matter what.  Some are bought weekly and others are purchased less often.  Most come from Sam's, because the prices per unit are cheapest. 

Must have items, purchased on a regular basis:
organic spring mix (weekly; Sam's at $4 for 1 lb)
organic fresh baby spinach (weekly; Sam's at $4 for 1 lb)
avocados (weekly; Sam's at $4 for a bag of 5)
eggs (weekly; Sam's at $1.77 for 18 count or wherever they are on sale cheaper.)
almond milk and coconut-almond milk (weekly; I try to stock up when it's on sale or when I have coupons, but if I run out, I pay full price. Unfortunately, they don't sell the unsweetened at Sam's.)
bananas (about a bunch every 2 weeks; I freeze them for smoothies. They are cheap everywhere so I buy them whereever.)
mushrooms (every 2 weeks or so; this is not a super necessity, but I usually have some in the fridge and generally buy them at Sam's.)
almonds (every 2-4 weeks; Sam's at $10 for 48 oz.)
salsa (every 3-4 weeks; On the Border is my favorite brand and it comes in jumbo at Sam's for $5)
Community Coffee (about once per month; Sam's at $11 for 32 oz.)
whey protein powder (every 3-4 months; I buy it online wherever is cheapest.)
Lola's dog food (about once per month; Sam's at $26 for 52 lbs of Pedigree.)


Some other items, I hoard stock up when they are on sale or I have coupons. Of course, they can't be fresh or perishable; since I try to eat as fresh as possible, the list is limited.  Some of the products on the above "must have" list could be included in the "stock up" list (almonds, salsa, coffee, dog food), but I have almost never found them on sale for cheaper than the prices above.

Stock up items:
canned tomatoes
tomato sauce
tomato paste
Paleo friendly marinara
unsweetened, flaked coconut
frozen vegetables
coconut oil (I bought a huge jar for $7 at the beginning of February and haven't even used a third of it.  Instead of looking in the health food section where it costs $9 for 8 oz, check out the olive oil section for LouAnna brand.)
olive oil


The rest of my menu is based around the sale papers.  I shop at 3 grocery stores (besides Sam's).  On Wednesday, when the sales paper comes out, I make a list for each store with a list of produce and meat that I think is cheap enough to buy.

This week's list:

Kroger	Albertson's	Market Basket
white grapes ($0.99/lb)	no sale paper this week?!?!	strawberries ($1.99 /lb)
cabbage ($0.39/lb)		cabbage ($0.27/lb)
18 ct eggs ($1.77 -Same as Sam's)		red, orange, yellow bell pepper (2 for $1)
Boneless skinless chicken breast ($6.99 for 3 lb bag + $1 off coupon)		broccoli ($0.99/lb)
strawberries & blackberries (2 cartons for $5)		tangelos (4 for $1)
store coupon - free bag of baby carrots
store coupon - $1.00 of Maple Groves Farm item (FF balsamic dressing)
store coupon - $0.40 off store brand cooking spray (they have olive oil)
***coupon -free  Mrs. Paul's Frozen Seafood item

I don't buy everything on the weekly list, and rarely ever visit all 3 stores. (Although, almost always go to Kroger.) The list is more of a guide to decide where I will get the best deals.  It's sometimes worth driving across town for one or two items that are mega on sale (Hello, Braeburns AND asparagus for $0.99 a pound. Get in my buggy!).  Sometimes, it's not.

For example, last week I snagged a pork roast for $1/lb and what goes better with pork than cabbage, which is on sale everywhere this week. The $4 roast and less than a $1 head of cabbage will likely feed me at least 6 meals. I also have shrimp in my freezer, so another meal idea is a shrimp, cabbage, and red/orange/yellow bell pepper stir fry.


Of course I buy other things that are full price when necessary, I just use my "must have/stock up/sale" formula as a rough plan for my shopping strategy.


Other ways I save money on groceries:
making my own almond butter
shopping clearance produce and meat (I either use it immediately or freeze it.)
raid my parents' freezer (My dad is an avid hunter and fishermen and gives me free rein over his deep freezer.)
raid my dad's and my grandma's gardens (They both plant fall and summer gardens.  Not only is it free, the veggies are much more flavorful!)
grow my own herbs


How do you save on groceries? Do you buy bulk? Shop sales? Are you a coupon queen?

Giddy Grocery Trip and Other Good Things

Great things that have happened lately:

1.  Both Tuesday and Wednesday I arrived home to find packages at my door.

I love mail packages.  Especially when they are prizes I won from giveaways!

Not only did I recieve these oats and this adorable paisley bowl from Tina @ Trading Up Downtown (she also writes over at Carrots 'N' Cake) on Tuesday....

But also this smorgasbord of chips from Kelly @ Foodie Fiasco on Wednesday.

Thanks y'all!

2.  I finally did some Christmas shopping!  I'm a long way from done, but at least I started.  And the gifts are already wrapped and under my tree!

3.  Kroger had an insane sale on produce.  When I returned home and unpacked all my purchases, I was giddy with excitement!

The motherload.  Excuse the bad lighting...almost every bulb in my kitchen is burnt out.  And obviously the martini set was not a purchase on my grocery trip.

Highlights:
-all varieties of pear for $1 per pound. I bought one of each. 

- 6 kiwi for $1

-organic braeburn apples for $1.25 per pound

- roma tomatoes $1 per pound (I haven't bought a tomato since God was a boy because I prefer not to purchase them out of season, but for this price I couldn't pass them up!)

-yellow onions for $0.77 per pound (that is half their normal price!)
-sweet potatoes for $0.49 per pound
-$1 for a bag of 8 poblano peppers and a cucumber from the clearance produce section (I didn't know the cucumber was hiding in there until I got home...bonus prize!)
-$2.99 for 5 pre-made veggie shish-kabobs full off zucchini, squash, red onion, and mushrooms

I already grilled these up with some shrimp.  Yum!

- free bag of salad (I had a coupon)
- $0.79 for a quart of mint chocolate soy milk (it was marked down to $1.34 and I had a $0.55 coupon.  I've been wanting to try this but there was no way I was going to shell out $3 for a quart!)
-Kroger brand now carries frozen brussel sprouts! There frozen veggies are alwasy $1, and I keep broccoli, green beans, pepper mix, and spinach in my freezer at all times.  I'm so happy I can now add brussel sprouts to the stockpile! 

Also on sale: eggplant 10 for $10 and blackberries 10 for $10.  They were out of both, but the sale lasts through Wednesday, so I'm sure I'll be back.

4. My half marathon medal was added to my medal display. :)

5. I reached my 100th post!  This post is actually 103...I completely spaced and didn't even realize this was post 100.

Good things that are happening soon:

1. 8 workdays, then I am off for 11 days! 

2.  McNeese Cowgirls are playing LSU this Friday night.  Since all my friends will be there, it is becoming a sort of birthday party for me.  Basketball and beer at Burton for Becca's Birthday!  (since Burton Collesium is off campus, they are allowed to serve beer at NCAA games!)

3. Cake!  And lots of it!  Mom's birthday is Wednesday, dad's is Sunday, and mine is Monday.  That means german chocolate on Wednesday, yellow cake with pineapple (??) on Sunday, and carrot cake Monday!

I always insist that my birthday presents not be wrapped in Christmas paper!



Look at me...all positive and optimistic!  I'm definitely getting off probabtion in December!

Tell me something good.

Back to Life...Back to Reality

Despite my 2 naps yesterday and sleeping late today, I still feel jet lagged.

Fortunately, I have today and tomorrow off work.  I needed these days to get my life back in order.  On today's agenda was massive mountains of laundry, grocery shopping, and my first workout in 10 days.

Grocery shopping

A success.  I hit up Sam's and Kroger.

Welcome back into my life, fresh produce....I've missed you so!

I bought these whole wheat bagel thins and english muffins at Sam's.  I've never tried them. They are both around 110 cals, 22 g carbs, 3 g sugars, and 8 g  protein  for a whole muffin or a whole bagel. I thought they would be a fun alternative to bread.

Check out these plums from Kroger.  They are HUGE! The biggest I've ever seen! And the plums, peaches, and nectarines were on sale for $0.99 per pound.

I also picked up these purple and gold cauliflower off the clearance produce shelf for $1 per large head.  Aren't they pretty?  I haven't exactly decided what I'm going to do with them yet, but I have some ideas.

If you don't use it, You may not loose it

After 10 days off from working out, it was hard to motivate myself to go to the gym.  I was tired, I have some sinus issues going on, and my stomach has been hurting all day.

On top of all that, I was nervous I would not be able to keep up.  For some reason, I thought that all my muscles wasted away after not using them for so long.

Excuses for my lack of exercise

I swore I would work out while on vacation...at least get in some treadmill runs. But that didn't happen. 

Wednesday I left for Houston immediately after work.

Thursday was spent traveling all day. 

Friday we left early for surf camp, which was definitely a workout.  My chest and shoulders were sore from paddling.  So much fun, though!

Saturday morning I got up, put on my tempo's and running shoes, and headed to the gym.  It wasn't open yet but peaking through the window, I saw no treadmills and very little weight training equipment.  I think the gym was geared more towards yoga and pilates classes. 

I snapped a pic of me in my running gear to prove my attempt at working out.

After this, I gave up.  I wasn't going to wait around until 10:00 AM for the gym to open, especially since they didn't have any equipment I wanted to use!  I didn't feel safe running around our villa alone.  So I was basically a lazy beach bum for the rest of our stay.

My first workout back

Today, I procrastinated for as long as I possibly could and finally went to the last CrossFit class of the day.

The WOD was basically 3 half mile sprints with 3 minute rests between. (The warmup itself was pretty tough and included a 1500m row along with some other things.) It was a great first workout back, since running is something I'm generally comfortable with.

While it was only a mile and a half total run, I really pushed myself and it was tough.  My official half marathon training starts next Wednesday, and this was an eye opener of how hard my speed runs will be. I have been focusing on distance and neglecting speed.

It felt good to get blood pumping in my legs. 

I'm back, baby!



What is the longest amount of time you have gone without working out? 
Do you ever buy clearance produce?