Oh October..

So, it's been a while since I have posted. Probably because I've been kinda bummed about the way things were going in my life. My hip was hurt and I was unable to run for a long time (5 months), my boyfriend lives 3.5 hours away from me, I am at a career stand-still until I get a graduate degree....

Aaaaaaaanyway, I am done sulking over what isn't going my way and I am taking strides to make changes in my life. First off, I love my job. Of course, it's not theee best job out there, and it occasionally (read: more often than not) makes me crazy, but I get to work with kids who are funny, silly, and like to have fun - in between their issues that we work on.

I was able to resume working out, doing low-impact activities, around mid-July. That was nice, but the best part came when I was able to resume going to spin class again! More recently, I was cleared to run. So far, I have only run one consecutive mile. Slowly but surely, I will regain my running endurance.


About a month ago, I decided to talk to my spinning instructors, one of whom is in charge of the business end of the gym, about becoming a spinning instructor. They were both delighted and very encouraging of my idea and I was told that once I become certified, I will get hired to teach at my gym!!! At first it'll probably just be as a sub, but then I may get my own class! Who's excited?! THIS GIRL! So, Saturday, November 3rd, I will be taking the certification course! Wish me luck!!

That brings us to my most recent achievement. I did the Run For Your Lives Zombie 5k Obstacle Course this past weekend in Maryland. It was incredible! It was rough, but Alan and I finished the course with a group of his friends. We didn't do much running, unless it was away from zombies, but we did a lot of mud jumping, electric rope dodging, army-crawling under barbed wire, and jumping into the coldest water I've ever been in. It was a real physical challenge, but I proved I could do it. I think my next challenge may be the Warrior Dash!

Well, that's all for now, I am currently cuddled up in bed with an upper respiratory infection, awaiting the wrath of Hurricane Sandy... all alone. However, I am prepared!

Peace, Love, and Happiness. xo

Summertime, and the livin's easy...

I absolutely love the summertime. It's such a great time to get outside and workout without feeling bored. You can jump on your bike, go for a hike, jump in the pool, or just take a walk and enjoy the fresh air. My favorite thing to do is to go hiking, wether its a harder hike to get to a beautiful view, or just a leisurely hike through the woods.

Unfortunately, because of my hip injury, even though I have been off crutches for 3 weeks, I am unable  to part-take in most of those outside activities, but just being outside is enough for me.

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July holiday & weekend. My boyfriend came to visit and our 1 year anniversary of dating was on July 5th, so on the 4th I made a wonderful dinner for us (and my grandparents). I made mozzarella stuffed chicken breasts, healthy fettucini alfredo, and garlic parmesan pull-apart bread. (Since I don't eat meat, I didn't eat the chicken, but it looked so good and I was told it was yummy!)

I also made a bunch of 4th of July inspired goodies. I made white (blue) chocolate covered oreos, firecracker cookies, and white chocolate covered pretzels. They're so yummy - I can't stop eating them!

Click on the picture to take you to recipes!! (or you can check them out at the recipes tab)

Peace, Love, and Happiness. xo

Busy as a bee!

It's been a busy few weeks since I've posted.

I went to Rhode Island for my best childhood friend's wedding (June 17). We left Thursday (after I got off my crutchess!!!! wooohoo!) night at 10 pm and arrived (after too many bathroom breaks) to Coventry, Rhode Island at 8:30 am. We took a nap, then headed to 1st beach in Newport. Even though it was chilly, I was determined to wear my new bikini I bought for the very first time! After the beach, we grabbed dinner and spent the night in having a few drinks and playing some games at my friend's house. I didn't go to sleep until late, but had to be up early because we had plans to help decorate the ranch for the wedding on Sunday. We had such a great day decorating and exploring around the area a bit. Saturday and Sunday nights we had a hotel so we were out of the bride's way, they had a bunch of people staying there, so 5 of us got a room - we were a little squished, but we made it work! The wedding was a beautiful Sunday afternoon wedding. We sang, danced a bit, and ate a lot. The wedding was over early, so we went to the beach for a bit since we don't get to the beach too often living in Pa. We checked out on Monday morning around 10 am, and didn't get home until 12:30 am Monday night (or Tuesday morning..) - too many pee breaks, we stopped at some outlet shops, and got some grub (Mad Mex in State College!!!).

I was exhausted upon returning home; luckily one of my clients was on vacation, so I only had to squeeze one client's worth of hours into Tuesday through Friday. Tuesday, my boyfriend got into town to hang out for his weekend (his 'weekend' days off are Wednesday and Thursday.. grrr) and Wednesday (June 20) was my birthday. When I got home from work on Wednesday, my boyfriend had decorated my room with princess crowns, 23 foil balloons, and he had blown up 50 latex balloons. It was so sweet (he got me some other stuff too, but this was the most noteworthy!) For dinner, most of my family got together for a hibachi dinner and then my boyfriend and I went to Shaffers for ice cream!

My boyfriend left Thursday night, and my friends arrived on Friday evening. 2 of my friends got here in time to go to dinner, so we got Rey Azteca (DELICIOUS Mexican food) and then came back to my house for a game/drink night. My other friend got here just in time to start playing Quelf (such a fun game - if you've never played it, go buy it!!). Saturday, we spent the day at my aunt's pool drinking and eating tons of yummy food, then my family had a cookout for me! Another friend had come in from Harrisburg at cookout time. We went back to my house, cleaned up, then headed down to Thunder in the Valley where we ate more and drank some buuuuurrsss.

It was a fabulous few weeks filled with so many friends, family, and love and tons of food.


Needless to say, the number on the scale has gone up a few pounds from all the eating I've been doing and the lack of exercising. I have been back to the gym 2 times since I got off my crutches, but I do have to be careful I don't injure myself again. The doctor told me things like the stationary bike, elliptical, and swimming were good, so I've been doing those in moderation.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, my boyfriend (who doesn't cook) decided he wanted to make me dinner. Not just any dinner - spanakopita. Now, I don't know if you've ever had that before, but it's a DELICIOUS greek dish that's a phyllo dough filled with a spinach and feta mixture. It's an easy dish, but a decent amount of work goes into prepping it. I was a little skeptical that he wanted to make it, but he did a fabulous job. (I do have to admit, I helped him out a little, but it was only because he was in a time crunch...). Anyway, click on the picture to get to the recipe, or head to the recipe tab! :)

Peace, Love, and Happiness. xo

Summer Salads

One of my favorite things to eat in the summer time is salads. Fresh crisp greens, with some nuts, a little cheese, and occasionally, some fruit (strawberries, grapes, raspberries...) The possibilities are endless. One of my all-time favorite salads is Strawberry Spinach Salad with Balsamic Dressing.

When you think of salad, most people think 'low cal! Let's do it!' when in reality, salads can easily be 700 calories before you know it. Just think about it, dressings, such as ranch and caesar, can be approximately 75 calories per tablespoon. When pouring dressing on your salad, I would bet that you're putting more than a tablespoon on. Then comes the cheese. Who doesn't love cheese; but at about 100 calories for 1/4 cup, it adds up quick.

So, here are some tips to avoid turning a healthy choice into a calorie and fat laden lunch or dinner.
1. Start off with a lettuce that will give you some nutrition - spinach, romaine, spring mix rather than iceberg, which is tasteless and hardly worth eating
.
2. Choose a lean protein - grilled chicken strips, sliced turkey, tofu, even a small amount of black beans or chick peas add a lot of flavor.

3. Add a few tablespoons of cheese - feta is always delicious, cheddar, whatever you like. Believe me, a little bit goes a long way.

4. Nuts are a good option for salads, but again, the calories add up quick, so choose a nut that has a big bang for your buck. Candied nuts are okay occasionally, but add extra fat (not the good kind) to your salad. A few tablespoons of toasted almonds or walnuts are a good choice.

5. Slice up some strawberries or whatever fruit makes you happy.

6. Choose a dressing that will give your salad a flavor boost without adding a TON of calories. I generally like to use about a tablespoon of balsamic (olive oil is good too because it has healthy fats, but at 120 calories per tablespoon, I generally save that for sautéing veggies, and not weighing down my salad). Other choices that are light and refreshing are fresh salsa (I'm not talking about the stuff in the jar - ew!) which you can make yourself at home or get in the vegetable section of the grocery store, or lemon juice and some herbs and spices.

Salads can be delicious and fun. I'll probably post some recipes over the summer as we start grilling out more, but for now, here's my all time favorite. Click on the picture for the recipe!

Peace, Love, and Happiness. xo

S'more please!!

I have not come across a single person in my life that doesn't like s'mores. How could you hate them? You have graham crackers, chocolate, and toasty marshmallows. I almost drool thinking about them.

I present to you, an easy and delicious peanut butter (cause I have an obsession with peanut butter) s'mores bake. This way, you can make about 12 servings of s'mores at one time and you don't even need a campfire to do so. Now, I know this is not really a healthy dessert, but I am in love with it and thought that everyone could enjoy something a little different.

I baked it for my boyfriend (and whoever else wanted to part-take in eating this sinfulness!) and while it was good, there was something about it that I felt needed changed - so change I did...

Today I attended a picnic party celebrating Memorial Day and I didn't want to show up empty handed, so I decided that I would bring the s'mores bake. This one (pictured to the right) turned out so much better than my first one (which you'll see posted in the recipe). It took a little trial and error to get it right, but I think I've figured it out :)

Check out the recipe by clicking on the picture and enjoy! Let me know if you make it and if you liked it!

Happy Memorial Day - Remember all those who have given their lives so that we could enjoy the lives we have today!

Peace, Love, and Happiness xo

Zombie Run

A few months ago, Alan, my boyfriend, had told me that he wanted to do a Tough Mudder with me. I couldn't believe those words came out of his mouth! He had recently become inspired (not because I was on his butt about being healthier or anything...) to work out and start eating a bit better, and wanted to see how much he could push himself. This would be an ultimate test; a test we would endure together. If we could make it through this, we could make it through anything.

Despite it looking like hell on earth, I decided that would be an awesome adventure to accomplish together. In theory it was great, but reality told a different story. He's recently been in and out of the hospital a few times (he's okay now!) and with my recent hip injury, we decided to save it for another time when we are on top of our game - maybe next year?

Instead, on October 27, we are going to do the Zombie infested 5k obstacle course. It's still an obstacle course, just a little more on our level right now. We just registered and are heading down to Darlington, Maryland to RUN FOR OUR LIIIIIIIIVESSSSS! Should be a dirty, good time! Check it out, give it a shot, let me know if you'll be in Maryland that day... :)

Let's just hope that these bones of mine can handle training this summer...

Peace, Love, and Happiness xo

Today was a LONG day...

So when I got home, after I ate about 5 cookies... They were delicious;  made them last night to take to the preschool I work at and had some extras. Anyway, I showered and decided I needed something quick (I was HUNGRY!) and healthy. I had spaghetti squash, already cooked, in the fridge, so I poked around and decided to make this wonderful dinner. It was quick, super easy, and delicious! (I also knew I had to make something light because Alan is on his way to my house for a few days, so I am making him a peanut butter s'mores bake ... I'll post how it turned out after we try it tonight!!)

Anyway, here's a photo of my Greek inspired spaghetti squash with cauliflower 'mashed potatoes'. (Click on the picture to get the recipe!)

Buon Apetito! 

Peace, Love, and Happiness. xo