Reunited and It Feels So Good!

I think I am officially back to running! While I was gone, I ran a half-marathon and then continued to train for a full marathon until my IT band (the muscle on the outside of my left leg, affecting my left knee) flared up. It was devastating and I didn’t want to stop. So I didn’t. Which as you all can guess made it worse. So I finally listened to the “Doctor’s orders” and took time off of running AND the elliptical.

This morning was my second day running this week with NO pain! Hooray! And as for the rest of me, I feel great! My energy levels are more than they should be after my longest day at work ever…

Dark Lunch in a Dark Room

I know this is a terrible picture, but I feel like it gives you a glimpse into how I felt at work today. Trapped and blah. As soon as I left though I felt better!

Lunch was a spinach salad with red onion, celery, raisins and roasted chickpeas and tossed in TJ’s Cilantro Dressing. Ever since I saw Julie’s Guest Post for Tina, I’ve wanted to try roasting Chickpeas and putting them on a salad. They were SO good! Especially with the raisins!

I'm working on presentation...

And some more Sweet Potato soup!

A Tea Mug from England!

Breakfast was your traditional bowl of Oats with banana and egg whites and Cinnamon Raisin PB on top and a side of vitamins!

Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!

What’s your ideal work environment? Today I was stuck in a quiet room with no windows, which is NOT ideal for me! I love noise and a view of the outside!

Well Traveled

Well, Day #2 of my Wellness challenge has been great! I have a good amount of energy today and I took both packs of vitamins (19 more days and it’s a habit, right?). For breakfast and lunch I had just about the same thing I did yesterday.

Except I also had about a cup of this delicious creation…

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

So because my food was the same, I thought I would share something else with you…my postcard mural!

I have been collecting postcards since I was a little girl and now have over 1,000 in my collection! Many are from places I have gone and many are from friends and places they have gone! It’s my favorite piece of decor in my room!

Happy making it over the hump day!

The Veggie Challenge

Good afternoon!

As promised…My Vegetarian Challenge

I LOVE meat and it is my primary source of protein. Or should I say, my favorite source of protein. So I was considering giving it up for Lent. However, after some consideration I decided to only eat meat at dinner. It may not sound that hard (especially if you are a vegetarian), but I love my turkey sandwiches. Especially on days when I pack a lunch! I’ve grown up in a meat loving household, so it’s sometimes been a challenge to find other sources of protein, but I am enjoying it! And eating a lot of eggs!

Lunch today was really good!

I Call It: Garlic Veggie Delight!

This is a hummus and veggie sandwich made with:

• 2 TBSP Artichoke and Roasted Garlic Hummus
• Julienned  and Smoked Sundried Tomatoes
• Roasted Red Pepper
• Spinach
• Roasted Garlic
• On 2 Slices of Trader Joe’s Sprouted Wheat Sourdough

All the garlic with the sourdough made for an intense sandwich, but it was really good!

I also had…

Baby Carrots with Mango Peach Salsa

Vitality for Life Update: I am feeling pretty good this afternoon! Not too tired. I don’t expect the vitamins to have kicked in yet, but you never know!!

Vitality for Life – Day #1

Good Morning!

Today starts my Wellness challenge! And it starts with Vitality for Life! I am committing to taking these vitamins twice a day for the month of March. I am going to blog about how I am feeling so I can see if they really do make a difference!

So after I ate this delicious breakfast:

An egg white sandwich:

• 1/3c egg white
• Leftover grilled asparagus and red pepper
• Spinach
• Garlic
• Reduced Fat Pepperjack Cheese

On the side I had half a blood orange. Look at how red that baby is!

I popped these in with a nice cold glass of water!

Vitality for Life

How I’m Feeling: I woke up feeling really tired and groggy, even though I got the same amount of sleep that I usually do. I also had a little bit of a headache. After my 6am Muscle Challenge class I felt a little better. Definitely could use some energy for the day ahead…coffee anyone?

Still Ahead Today: My Vegetarian Challenge

And You Probably Thought I’d Never Be Back…

Hello!

I am not sure if I have readers. Or maybe I did and you all left. If you kept me on your Google Reader for all of these months, I apologize for being gone for so long!

In the months I have been gone I have kept up reading blogs, gotten so many great ideas for food and life, and thought a lot about whether I should start up again and what my blog’s identity should be!

Then today, March 1, I’ve given myself a new challenge. And I thought…what better way to keep track of how I am doing but to blog!

The Wellness Challenge

It all started with these:

Melaleuca Vitality for Life Vitamins

I have been a member of Melaleuca for 3 years off and on. I was never good about taking their vitamins, but they have 10 times the absorption rate of the leading brands of vitamins — with a TON of antioxidents and probiotics! My friend Joy on Sunday was telling me how much more energy she has in taking the vitamins and that if she misses a day, she totally feels it!

So I thought, I should do that too! And then I thought, I should bring wellness to my entire life! And become a more well rounded person.

This is my first step. I will keep you updated on other steps (tomorrow I will tell you about my vegetarian lunches). And I will of course still blog about food…because I love it!

Thanks for joining me on the journey!

Veggie Chili @ Disney's California Adventure

Step 2…A Meat Lover becomes a Vegetarian for 2 Meals a Day!

Sleepy = Short Preview

My fabulous East Coast Trip…Sneak Preview:

A real Philly Cheesesteak!

Washington DC

So I’ve gone missing the past couple of days because I have been exploring our nation’s capital!! A friend of mine, Kat, is doing an internship with the Department of State, and another friend of mine, Meagan and I are visiting her! It’s been an amazing trip so far. Lots of lunch packing and visiting all the free museums! Today is monument day!

I forgot my camera cord, so I can’t post pictures, but just you wait there will be a great picture post when I get back! I get to have a real Philly Cheesesteak this weekend… we are going to Kat’s house where she grew up in Philadelphia. I am thrilled and will tell you all about it!

Hope everyone is doing fantastically!

PS- I love this city!

Finally Fall

Happy Monday! If you’re annoyed today, just think, it’s the start of a new week. A new week that could bring anything! Enjoy the fresh start today, and find something to make it special. My mom and I have declared Mondays yoga and yogurt (frozen) days. I totally look forward to Mondays now.

Last night I lit a Pumpkin Spice candle and it wafted through my house wonderfully! It finally feels like fall! It’s chilly here and I had a nice cool run along the ocean this morning with my friend Courtney. It’s so nice to run with a friend, and I hadn’t seen her since we both lived in Bend, OR and now we both live in So. Cal!

I came home and made myself this:

We’ve got a veggie and egg scramble with zucchini, mushrooms, spinach and lots of onion and garlic! And organic ketchup on top of course (I love ketchup)! Then 1/2 a WW bagel and a wonderful mug of french press coffee. My only regret is that I totally could have put some pumpkin butter on that bagel.

It was nice to sit and enjoy my breakfast this morning. I was supposed to work but the owner of my store thought I was leaving for DC today (I’m leaving tomorrow!), and didn’t schedule me. I was bummed, but am enjoying this time to pack and clean before I leave tomorrow!

I have an acorn squash I want to use for dinner tonight. Any ideas?

What was the best meal of your weekend?

Race Day!

The Mission Bay Triathlon was a success this morning! One of my favorite parts about racing, is the pre-race excitement in the dark! It’s the best people watching. The moon was really pretty this morning too.

The race went pretty well for me! I took 9 minutes off of my PR! That’s once nice thing about a triathlon, is there are several areas that you can shave off time (the three obvious, swim, bike, run and then transitions). The bike felt good, but it was really windy. I felt a little sluggish on the 5K run, but I still had a great time!

Mission Bay 2007

Mission Bay 2009 - Lighter and Faster

My dad is the one who inspired me to do triathlons! You can tell we have both lost weight, and we’ve both gotten faster! Our pre-race meal was 1/2 WW bagel with peanut butter, with some banana later down the road. Our post-race meal was a little bit more greasy. Neither of us were hungry right after the race (9/1oam) and then when we got hungry we wanted mexican food!

Chicken Fajitas

This was taken AFTER I made my fajita. The order was huge, and even my post-triathlon stomach couldn’t take all of it. I did take out all of the veggies though! Here are a couple more fun pictures:

I couldn't get my wetsuit off!

Finish Line

T-minus 2 Days

Well, I just have a bit to decompress from work and head out to have a little mini high school reunion with the girls I hung out with! It should be fun! I have no idea where we are eating, but I will let you know.

My next triathlon is on Sunday! I am getting excited and trying to rest as best as I can (resting is not something I do well).

Check out this great giveaway at Sound Eats!