It’s Ladies Night What… it must be Angie on the mic!

It’s finally Saturday and I am SO excited because I’m having a SLUMBER PARTY!!!! Tonight, I am having nine of my closest friends over for drinks, dancing and possibly then heading to bowl and sing some karaoke:)!

I planned this night over a month and a half ago and am very excited because many of my girlfriends are coming from all over the state of Ohio and I haven’t seen them since my wedding back in September.

Many of my friends are mommies and have stressful jobs so I think they were looking forward to a night out!  Here is a roll call in pics of some of my RSVP’ers:

I have a crock pot of sloppy joes cooking, alcohol chilling and the house is spotless in preparation for all my special guests!  Not I’m off to get in a great workout and maybe a quick nap before my guests arrive!  Have an awesome weekend everyone!!!

Killer recipe before a killer workout…

First let me start this post by I am SOOOOOOOOO happy tomorrow is Friday!  I have an exciting weekend ahead of me which I spill about in tomorrow’s post but today has been a long day and I’m beat so let’s get to blogging…

Last night instead of following our meal plan, we got a sandwich from our favorite spot Primo’s Deli.  Since I didn’t want the produce planned for last nights dinner to go to waste, I decided to make it for lunch today!

KILLER RECIPE ALERT:

Hamburger Buddy

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
• 2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 10 ounces white mushrooms, large ones cut in half
• 1 large onion, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 pound 90%-lean ground beef
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups water
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth, divided
• 8 ounces whole-wheat elbow noodles, (2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, or chives for garnish

PREPARATION

1.  Fit a food processor with the steel blade attachment. With the motor running, drop garlic through the feed tube and process until minced, then add carrots and mushrooms and process until finely chopped. Turn it off, add onion, and pulse until roughly chopped.

2.  Cook beef in a large straight-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped vegetables, thyme, salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables start to soften and the mushrooms release their juices, 5 to 7 minutes.

3.  Stir in water, 1 1/2 cups broth, noodles and Worcestershire sauce; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

4.  Whisk flour with the remaining 1/4 cup broth in a small bowl until smooth; stir into the hamburger mixture.

5.  Stir in the sour cream. Simmer, stirring often, until the sauce is thickened, about 2 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley (or chives), if desired.

And ENJOY this recipe rocks….

And now on to the part of my day that kicked my ASS.  Through my daily blog reading I stumbled on this website:

http://www.bodyrock.tv/

This website is NO joke!  I have been looking for some killer at home workouts to do on the days that I need to take a break from running and this is definitely it!  First off just look at Zuzana who runs this fitness blog:

I looked at numerous workouts on her site and decided to go with the “Swimming In My Own Sweat Workout“.

Workout Breakdown

• 1. ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (RIGHT ARM)10 reps
• ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (LEFT ARM)10 reps
• BURPEES20
• 2. ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (RIGHT ARM)10 reps
• ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (LEFT ARM)10 reps
• BURPEES19 reps
• 3. ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (RIGHT ARM)10 reps
• ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (LEFT ARM)10 reps
• BURPEES18 reps
• 4. ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (RIGHT ARM)10 reps
• ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (LEFT ARM)10 reps
• BURPEES17 reps
• 5. ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (RIGHT ARM)10 reps
• ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (LEFT ARM)10 reps
• BURPEES16 reps
• 6. ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (RIGHT ARM)10 reps
• ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (LEFT ARM)10 reps
• BURPEES15 reps
• 7. ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (RIGHT ARM)10 reps
• ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (LEFT ARM)10 reps
• BURPEES14 reps
• 8. ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (RIGHT ARM)10 reps
• ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (LEFT ARM)10 reps
• BURPEES13 reps
• 9. ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (RIGHT ARM)10 reps
• ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (LEFT ARM)10 reps
• BURPEES12 reps
• 10. ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (RIGHT ARM)10 reps
• ONE ARM SANDBAG SWING (LEFT ARM)10 reps
• BURPEES11 reps

This workout made my 6 mile run yesterday seem like a piece of cake!  The whole routine took me 35.00 minutes to complete (I stopped quite a few times because I thought I was going to hurl!)  Half way through each burpee felt like I was carrying this guy on my back…

I walked on the treadmill for a mile just to get my heart rate down to a not-dying rate! I’m interested to see how I feel tomorrow (will I be able to get out of bed)?!?

So thats all folks, now I’m off to watch these Real Housewife crazy biotches yell at each about who’s richer on the reunion show….

Happy Hump Day!

What is that green glob of goodness you staring into…. That would be my delicious “Green Monster” smoothie I made after my awesome run today:

Today work was slower than usual (thank god) and although my ultimate challenge is too run 3 half marathons this year… today I decided to register for a couple smaller races before hopefully running my first half in June.

The picks:

Run to the Beach 5k—–> hopefully its not this beach….

And a race near and dear to my heart since is was my first…

I registered for the 10k:)!  Two years ago when I ran the 10k my hubby came along for support and PROMISED me he would run it one day with me.  Well dear husband of mine reading this post… the year has come my friend and you PROMISED so don’t leave me hangin’ like this guy:

The best way to a fisherman’s heart is through his fly. ~Author Unknown

A filling meal was on my mind tonight during my 5 mile treadmill run…

I woke up this morning for my weekly weight watcher weigh in and I was up 2 pounds:(!  I knew I ate some crap this weekend and had a few too many beers but DAMN I thought ski/falling would of burnt that all off! Anyways my weigh in was a reality check today so it was lots of water and fruits and veggies for breakfast and lunch! Since I planned out our meals for the week on tonights menu was…

Mike and I first tried this Tilapia a couple weeks ago when we were at Sam’s Club and a cute little old man was passing out samples.  We both loved it and after checking the nutrition label and seeing a whole filet was only 2 weight watcher points I was sold!

On the side we had Knorr’s four cheese bow tie pasta and my favorite veggie…

Again I cannot stress how convient meal planning has been and its only Tuesday!  And look who told me to go relax after dinner so he could clean up!

Now I’m off to relax and watch the History channel or…

Meal planning success!

Tonight’s dinner was DELICIOUS!  So delicious in fact that I was so ready to eat after my run that as soon as Mike walked in the door I served dinner… we ate and I never got the chance to take any pics:(!

Slow Cooker Fajita Stew

Ingredients:

•               2-1/2 lbs. boneless beef top round steak ( I used two nice size pieces of filet                         mignon

•               1 onion, chopped

•               4 cloves garlic, minced

•               14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

•               1 oz. envelope fajita seasoning mix

•               1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1″ pieces

•               1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1″ pieces

•               1/4 cup flour

•               1/4 cup water

Preparation:

Trim excess fat from beef and cut into 2″ pieces. Combine with onion and garlic in a 4-5 quart slow cooker. Mix together fajita seasoning mix and undrained tomatoes and pour over beef. Place peppers on top. Cover crockpot and cook on low for 7-9 hours until beef is tender.

Combine flour with water in a small bowl and stir well to mix. Add gradually to crockpot and stir well. Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 15-20 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. Serve stew with hot cooked rice.

This recipe was even a hit with the hubby (who is not easy to please).  He even said he “thinks” he may be developing a taste for peppers….. I immediately felt his forehead to make sure he wasn’t sick!  Hey, dinner… no dinner if I can get my husband to add another vegetable in his diet then I have succeeded!

Hope everyone had a great Monday!  Now its time for A&E’s Intervention…

Weekend Recap Part 2…

Let me first start this post by saying… I have muscles sore in body today that I didn’t  even know existed!!!  I know I gave you guys a sneak peak of yesterdays festivities by posting this picture:

Well as you guessed it by my snow pants and the multiply ski lifts in the background we went SKIING:)!!!  Mike and I had been wanting to hit up Brandywine and go skiing since its so close to our house, but here’s the kicker… the last time I went skiing was in 7^th grade so yea 14 years ago!

Another couple Mike and Shelly came with us and we hit the slopes around 12pm!

Since I remembered doing pretty well back in 7^th grade (haha) I thought I would pick skiing right back up.  Well let’s just say my first couple attempts down the bunny hill were NOT pretty and I even considered going here…

Finally after some laughs… cries and blood (I’ll let you be the judge of which of the two are true) I got the hang of it from my two ski guides:

After conquering these hills…

We decided to take a breather and hit up the lodge for a afternoon refreshment…

After a little bit of liquid courage we hit the slopes back up for a couple more hours before calling it day!  We had a GREAT day and I can NOT wait to go back!

Yesterday was just the pick me up I needed to start this wonderful busy week!  Hope everyone is having a great Monday and check back tonight for a delicious new recipe I am preparing for the hubby and I tonight!

Weekend Recap Part 1…

Since my entire week was a bust from being under the weather, I more than made up for it this weekend!

Friday night Mike and I joined some friends and headed to a local “watering hole” near our house to grab some dinner and a couple drinks.

Mike and his twin brother:)….

Moi…

After dinner everyone entertained themselves by playing pool and darts…

However I hit up the jukebox and played some music by the good ole’ Dolly Parton to honor her 65th birthday this past Wednesday!

On Saturday Mike and I slept in…. drank coffee….  and laid on the couch:)!  Once I decided to be productive, I took about an hour and planned out a grocery list and dinners for Mike and I for the week.  It seems like here lately every night we are asking each other, “what do you want for dinner?”…. “I dunno, what do you want for dinner?”… I decided to take this frustrating problem off of both of our hands and plan meals out!  Keep your eyes peeled this week for some great recipes I found to try:)!

Mike and I then decided to spend the rest of our Saturday running some errands and using some of our Christmas gift-cards for lunch.

The decision…. Olive Garden!  I love Olive Garden for a number of obvious reasons but my favorite…. endless amounts of this

And Mike even got his favorite appetizer…  Smoked Mozzarella Fonduta (I despise this so Mike gladly got his fair share)

Saturday night Mike was asked to play at the Mustard Seed restaurant with his dad’s bluegrass band because there guitar player backed out.  Mike was happy to step in and really seemed to enjoy himself!

I was equally as happy because I got to enjoy a delicious California sushi roll while I watched the show:)!  Saturday night was an early night in for us because we had a big day planned for Sunday (today).

I’ve decided to save today’s adventure for a “Weekend Recap Part 2″ which I will feature tomorrow!  Let’s just say it involved me rocking this outfit…

Was my flu shot a dud?

Yep folks I’m sick again… Seriously the stomach flu at the beginning of the week and now a horrible cold at the end.  Was my flu shot a freakin’ dud?!?!

My day consisted of sitting in front of my computer working with mass amounts of…

And…

This week has killed me because its thrown me off my workout schedule:(!  I thought about running tonight but since I can’t breath and my entire body aches I decided maybe I shouldn’t push it!

I just got done watching an amazing show on A&E that I dvr’d called “Heavy”.  Have you heard of this show?

This show was AMAZING.  If you’ve ever struggled with your weight you can relate to the people in this show.  No, you may not of been as bad as these individuals but some of the issues that drove them to eat their emotions really hit home with me.  This show also proves to people that if you want to lead a healthier life its up to you and only you.  A healthier life isn’t about restrictive dieting or obsessive exercising, its about making positive choices mind, body and soul… for life!

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies with in us.” -  Ralph Waldo Emerson

You are just one workout away from a good mood…

Is there seriously a Justin Beiber movie coming out called, “Never Say Never”…. WTF???Sorry mid distraction on the TV as I lay in bed recapping my oh so exciting life:-)!

I woke up bright and early today back in holy Toledo ramped and ready to attend the Wellness Conference:)!

So I said ciao to my home away from home…

The conference had a great turnout even though Toledo got pelted with freezing rain.  We set up our booth and began doing our thang!  Well some of our thang… we took a million blood pressure checks which was fun after people just drove through an ice storm!

In between sitting in here…

And walking through here…

We managed to squeeze in a photo session:-)

I love my nurses and I love what I do:)  The conference ended at two and we packed up and headed back to C-town.  Since shit always hits the fan when I am out of the office more than 10 minutes.  I spent most of the drive home on my blackberry putting out fires…

By the time I finally got home I was tired and grumpy so I told myself, “You are just one workout away from a good mood.”  SO I quickly changed into my sweat gear and hit the treadmill.  I knew after being sick the last two days and doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING… this run was going to rough!  But what I wasn’t prepared for was this run to literally suck the life out of me… give me side cramps and make me ask myself 100 times, “what the hell am I doing?”…

However I managed to suck it up and pushed out 3 miles on the treadmill and start the one hundred pushup challenge:-)!  Soon after my workout Mike got home from work and prepared us a delicious dinner of spaghetti and marinara sauce:)

(Mikeeeeee WHATS BURNING!!!!)

All kidding aside dinner was delicious and Mike even told me to take a shower and relax while he prepared everything (seriously where did I find this guy???)!!!

So now I lay here in bed scratchy throat and all (if I’m getting sick again SHOOT me) ready to O.D. on NyQuil and go to bed!

Night ya’ll happy hump day!!!

Taking it easy on Tuesday…

Sorry for the lack of blogging yesterday!  Sunday night I woke up sicker than a dog with the stomach flu and was pretty much worthless yesterday.  I even took a sick day which I NEVER do since I work from home most of the time:(!

So yesterday consisted of sleeping… watching a marathon of Intervention and munching on dry toast yummmm!  I was counting the hours until Mike got home from work since he was bringing me diet 7up and soup from Panera plus he is a great nurse:)

Look what else he got me…

Today I am feeling much better but I’m still tired and don’t have much of an appetite.  So I have been drinking a TON of water and taking it easy.

I’m heading to Toledo tonight for a Wellness Conference tomorrow so hopefully by the time I get back home tomorrow I will be back to myself and can get a good LONG run in:)!

Hope everyone is healthy out there and having a great Tuesday!