FitFeat

where daily feats & eats can be adventures in themselves

Archive for October, 2009

The Great Meltdown, Running Pumpkins & Sleepyheads

Oct 31

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Hey everyone!  Happy Halloween!

“The Great Meltdown of ’09″ is happening today…. thanks to a beautiful, sunny day in the mid-50s,  that 2 feet of snow is quickly disappearing.  YAY! 

Speaking of two feet….

pumpkin

Ha ha ha! 

Did you get your exercise today in order to burn off the Halloween candy that you will be taking from the treat bowl tonight?   I will be doing mine shortly after I publish this post.  I’ve been enjoying my yoga streak this week and may keep it going.  But the sunshine is also calling to me, so I may have to throw on my water-resistant trail runners and get outside for a Vitamin D boost!

Yesterday was a very full day, so I didn’t end up getting to eat much. 

Ezekial toast with almond butter and honey for breakfast:

img 536

A green smoothie for lunch:

img 537

And huevos rancheros for dinner (eggs poached in green chile sauce and slapped on a tortilla):

img 540

I think you may be as surprised as me that there was NO Larabar yesterday!  (say what??)

So I have to tell you that I am a little nervous for the time change tonight. While I am always very excited to have daylight earlier in the morning, I’m already falling asleep WAY TOO EARLY at night!  Last night I started reading at about 7:00 and next thing I know, it’s 8:18.  Somewhere in the first few pages, my eyes betrayed me and CLOSED!  And this is even a book that I am enjoying!  Had the time been changed already I seriously would have been sleeping before 7:00 pm.  I am Lame with a capital L.  Really with a capital A, M and E too.  

In my defense, I was beat.  After the early morning 60 minute fight with the snowblower/shovel session (somehow I actually BROKE a snowshovel!) I decided around 10:30 to go back out to battle the rest of that sidewalk that I’d given up on with the snowblower (the impenetrable wall of snow/ice!)  I did conquer it finally.  I worked up a sweat and ended up shedding my coat and fleece to just snowpants and a T-shirt! 

Then…. to really get my workout on… I needed to re-dig the trench in the ice/slush in the curb gutter along the front side of our house.  This required a real shovel and a whole lot of elbow grease.  An hour later, I came in for my green smoothie, sweaty and fatigued.  It was awesome! 

Well blog buds, as it’s a holiday I’ll keep this one short!  Hope you are all having a WONDERFUL Halloween so far!  Have a safe and happy evening!  Hope you get all treats and no tricks!! :)  

And don’t forget to turn those clocks BACK tonight!

See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

Snowblowing is My Football Practice

Oct 30

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 4 Comments

Oh boy it’s Friday!  Happy Day! 

The snow FINALLY stopped late last night and the SUN is actually shining today.  (Oh yeah!!) I just got in from another round of snowblowing and shoveling.  This is the fourth time, I think.  They are all starting to run together.  All told we seem to have received somewhere between 20″ and 28″.  It’s hard to say as I do not own a yardstick.  It’d be easy to think we got like 5 feet since every time I snowblow, I seem to be going through an 18″ wall of snow.

Do you miss my normal weight training logs that I typically list on here?  I’ve been so out of my normal routine.  I’m still getting plenty of exercise.  Just in different ways.  My chest/shoulder muscles are toast from pushing the crazy snowblower.  Imagine those sleds you see linemen pushing in football practice, where the coach stands on it and the linebacker runs at it and tries to push it.  This has been my exercise for the past 48 hours.  Some parts of our sidewalk have snow so high (thanks a bunch city snowplows) that the snowblower didn’t want to go through.  So I’d back up and try to get a running start.  Hit a wall.  Push it down to climb OVER it and shave a bit off the top.  Then take another run at it.  I never thought snowblowing would be hard work.  (Thank you MSP for having done it all these years… maybe if you’d complain a little I’d know how much it sucks!!  You made it look so fun and easy.) ;)   MSP is too level-headed to rant about stuff the way I do…  

img 512

img 515

img 517

Today I actually gave up on about a 20-foot section along the side of our house —  nothing I did would make the snowblower go through it.  And I started yelling cuss words out loud instead of in my head.  That’s when I knew it was time to come inside. 

I tried to be optimistic and think up ”silver linings” to fight my black cloud thinking…

Black Cloud:  why on earth did we buy a house with a 3-car garage?  Which translates into a 3-car DRIVEWAY to shovel?
Silver Lining:  Just think of all the extra exercise you get with that.

Black Cloud:  why on earth did we buy a house sitting on an outer curve so that our front sidewalk is extra long and takes forever to snowblow & shovel?
Silver Lining: Just think of all the extra calories you burn with that.

Black Cloud:  what were we thinking buying a house on a corner lot which means we have to clear the sidewalk all along the SIDE of the lot too? 
Silver Lining: Just think of all the extra cardio you get with that.

Black Cloud:  why didn’t we realize that as soon as we’d get done clearing that sidewalk along the side of the lot, the snow plows would come through and cover it all right back up again?  (boo hoooo)
Silver Lining:  Just think of all that extra muscle building you get with that.

Yep that’s all I could come up with.  Extra exercise, calories, cardio, muscle work.  I am definitely ready to start looking for jobs in Arizona.  If I’m thinking about how much I hate winter in October, then it’s going to be a L-O-N-G winter. 

After all that work outside in the cold, I was a total “hollow leg” yesterday when it came to food.  :)

I had half a Larabar before going out for the morning session:

img 503

Then an apple with almond butter afterward:

img 522

Lunch at home between vet visits (mmm veggie wrap):

img 526

Once home for good it was time to ACT like it was a snow day – grab a cup of tea, a couple of cookies and a book.  Notice that I am trying to attract warmer weather by using my Hawaii mug and reading a book where people are walking on a BEACH!

img 527

And then even more “acting like it’s a snow day”  with a glass of wine, raw goat cheese with Mary’s Gone Crackers and some TV action:

img 531

At dinner I figured I should have at least a few more veggies for the day, since I neglected to make a green smoothie:

img 532

A little spaghetti squash, zucchini ribbons, raw marinara sauce, and spinach.  Lightly warmed in the microwave to take off the cold edge.

After a few game of Wii “Big Brain Academy” I even had to have some Count Chocula cereal, in honor of Halloween!

Outside of the snowblowing and the $200 vet visit followed by a $45 pet pharmacy visit (which should have just been a quick eye stain and a ‘looks good, she’s all set’) we did have a very fine snow day.  I was so glad MSP got to work from home!  There’s just something about getting to stay  home because of snow that brings back that wild excitement we had as kids when school was canceled.  LOVE IT!  When he got the email Wednesday night, we literally danced around with our arms in the air.  You immediately think “wahoo I can stay up late and sleep in!”   (And of course I didn’t make it past 8:45 pm… lame!)

So now tomorrow we have Halloween!  I feel bad for the kids in Colorado who will have to trudge around in all this melting snow.  I’m curious to know what you all do for Halloween?  If you have kids do you take them around the neighborhood?  Or to a local ‘safe’ place like the zoo, mall, etc.?  If you don’t have kids, do you stay home and pass out candy?  Go see a scary movie?  Hide in your basement like we do?  ;)    Drop a comment!

Have a FABULOUS FRIDAY and I’ll see you all next time!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like …. Hallow-mas?

Oct 29

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Hello from Blizzard, CO!  :)    What do ya know, the evil forecasters were right yesterday.  We got the SNOW SMACKDOWN!   The poor trick-or-treaters this weekend will be out in Christmas weather, not Halloween weather!

Yesterday morning:

img 482

This morning:

img 500

Riley LOVES to chase her ‘flying squirrel’ in the snow:

img 489

Pretty  much all schools were closed yesterday and a few more today.  And it’s still coming down.  But the thing that’s great today is that MSP gets to work from home, as they closed his office. 

Yesterday’s exercise consisted of two rounds of snowblowing and shoveling.  It was the first time I’d used the snowblower.  I thought it would be a piece of cake.  Alas, not so much.  I am kicking myself now for NOT wearing my heart rate monitor so that I could report back to you with some ‘official stats’.  Getting the thing started was a workout in itself, since it hadn’t been started since early spring.  I am not kidding when I say that my RIGHT OBLIQUE is actually sore today from that pull/twist you  have to do.  I think I pulled on that thing 25 times before it finally got going!  

The snow was really wet and heavy and the snowblower did not want to move forward through it.  So I would do a ‘wheelie’ first to take a pass at the snow over the top layer then another to get what was left underneath.  We live on a corner lot so we are responsible for the sidewalk in front of our house and also along one whole side of our lot. 

I was having such a good time (not really), I also did the sidewalk for the neighbor on the west of us.  Then I went across the street and did the sidewalk for our neighbor who has a corner lot just like ours.  Really I just felt bad for them knowing that they DON’T have snowblowers and trying shovel that amount of snow with how heavy it was is asking for a herniated disc. 

After being outside, adding in an extra cup of herbal tea per my post yesterday was easy!

img 485

And then another!  (Of COURSE I had to use my snowflake mug!!)

img 495

And you know if the word of FitFeat, not a day goes by without consuming a Larabar:

img 486

It must be the time of year for butternut squash soup.  I’ve been seeing it on a few foodie blogs, plus reader Joan very generously wrote out a full recipe for it in the comments section of a previous post for us.  By the power of suggestion, I figured that I’d open a can of Amy’s Organic version of said flavor, with a little garnish on top:

img 496

I confess this is the first of her soups that did not knock my socks off.  In Amy’s defense, there is a blurb on the can that says “or use as a base for your own creation”.  I think that’s the better option.  As a standalone soup it was just … blah.  When I’m feeling motivated, I will definitely try Joan’s recipe.  I can’t say that I’ve ever HAD butternut squash soup before, so maybe it’s supposed to be a little bland?  FitFeat readers, I’d love to hear of your squash soup experiences.

***

I had more that I wanted to post, but we have to go pick our dog up from the vet.  What was supposed to have been a quick follow-up on the eye has turned into something so much more (and therefore so much more expensive).   

See you next time!   If you are a reader in Colorado, STAY WARM!!  :)

– Shari B.

What Is YOUR “One Thing”?

Oct 28

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature | 4 Comments

Another day, another snowstorm.  :)   It’s starting to feel like the norm here lately!  This has been the craziest, snowiest AUTUMN that I recall having experienced in Colorado in a really long time, if ever.  I know, I know – this is a fitness blog, not a weather blog.  But hey, the weather does in fact affect my outdoor exercise, so really, it’s relevant.  Right? 

They (the evil forecasters) are saying anywhere between 10″ and 18″ by the time it stops snowing tomorrow night.  Guess we all know what my CARDIO will be, huh?  :)

snow day

Luckily for my cousin, the snow didn’t start accumulating on the roads until she was well on her way to the airport this morning in her all-wheel-drive rental car (big yay for them giving her a Subaru!)  She is officially safely in the air on her way back home and will be stepping off the plane into 60 degree weather.  My family will never believe me again when I say that we have FABULOUS weather here in Colorado. 

OK, so enough of my boo-hooing about the snow. 

First things first, yesterday’s feat!  I did IRON YOGA again!  It felt so great the first time, that I was actually kind of ‘craving‘ it!  Hmmm, this could be the start of a new trend for me!  Afterward, Lisa and I each had double green smoothies. 

img 467

OK, green smoothies and YELLOW smoothies might be more like it.  ;)

We hit up a local coffee shop later in the morning for some ‘quiet time’, then on to Whole Foods for lunch at their mix-n-match hot-n-cold bar.  I had a BUBBLY for the road.

img 471

For dinner, I was feeling like some ITALIANO.  For me, I tried a recipe for Raw Marinara Sauce from Raw Foods Made Easy for 1 or 2 People.  I added it to a pile of raw zucchini ribbons and some baked spaghetti squash and kalamata olives.  For MSP, I made whole wheat penne pasta with meat sauce. 

img 474

img 478

My dinner was veggie-licious!  

***

I was reading an article this morning about families making changes to their holiday habits to make things less stressful and it got me thinking about today’s FitFeature.

Every transformation (whether it be for your physique, health, finances, anything) starts with the first step.  Then taking ONE more step.  Add those steps together and you have yourself a journey.  If they are all POSITIVE steps, then you have yourself a SUCCESSFUL journey!

Today I’d like to challenge you to note ONE THING you can do to improve upon yesterday or to maybe get you started on a journey you’ve been meaning to start but haven’t. 

I’ll go first:  since it’s been unseasonably cold and snowy, I’m finding that I am not drinking the amount of water I normally would.  Sometimes water is the last thing I want when I’m feeling chilled.  It’s easy for me to gravitate toward an extra cup of decaf coffee, which is acidic and will dehydrate me further.  Now I’m noticing that not only is my SKIN feeling dry, but even my eyes are.  So today, I’m going to drink more room temperature water and also add in a couple cups of hot herbal (and naturally caffeine free) tea to boost my hydration. 

Hydration in cold weather is just as important as it is in hot weather.  The body produces more urine when cold, so dehydration can occur more quickly than it would on a mild weather day.  (Keep that in mind if you participate in cold-weather outdoor activities, like running, skiiing, etc.)

What is your ONE thing that you can do today?  Share with us in the comment section.

I’ll leave you with this fun little ‘story’ below that I used to keep posted in my previous personal training studio, in hopes of reminding clients that before you can lose 5, 10, 20 lbs you must lose ONE.  Much the same way that before you can change multiple bad habits into good ones, you still have to change ONE. 

JUST ONE POUND

Hello, do you know me? If you don’t you should. I’m a pound of fat, and I’m the happiest pound of fat you would ever want to meet. Want to know why?  It’s because no one ever wants to lose me; I’m ONLY ONE POUND, just a pound.  Everyone wants to lose three pounds, five pounds, or fifteen pounds, but never only one, so I just stick around and happily keep you fat.  Then I add to myself ever so slyly so that you never seem to notice it, that is until I’ve grown to ten, twenty or even more pounds in weight.  Yes, it’s fun being ONLY ONE POUND of fat, left to do as I please. So, when you weigh in, keep right on saying, “Oh, I only lost one pound.” (as if that were such a terrible thing!)  For you see, if you do this you’ll encourage others to keep me around because they will think I’m not worth losing.  And I love being around you–your arms, your legs, your chin, your hips and every part of you.   Happy Days!!!  After all, I’m ONLY ONE POUND.

(Unfortunately I do not know who to give proper credit to as the author – it’s posted in many places online, but I haven’t found a name.  So for the record, I did not write this.  Some other genius did  ;) If you know who the author is feel free to let me know and I’ll update the post.)

Have a great Wednesday everyone!  I’ll see you all next time (provided I don’t get stuck in a snowdrift while shoveling!)

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , , , ,

A Bullwinkle in the Rockies

Oct 27

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Good morning blog friends!

Well as promised here are a couple of pics from yesterday’s hike that we did before heading off to the airport. 

See anything interesting in this photo? (besides the boatload of snow, that is…)

img 456

Here it is when I put my camera on full-zoom:

img 457

I’ve lived in Colorado for 18 years and this is the first Bullwinkle I’ve ever seen!  I was SO excited!!

What a beautiful hike we had.  Fresh powdery snow below us and clear blue sky above us.  Perfect. 

The morning started with some Ezekial toast, raw almond butter and honey pre-hike.

img 455

Post-hike was a great lunch treat (thanks Kevin!) at an irish pub on our way to the airport.  I ordered a veggie burger and it was the BIGGEST patty I think I’d ever seen!  I ate it bunless with a side salad and a dill pickle.

veg burg

Even though MSP, myself and my cousin all picked different things to eat at home for dinner we all somehow ended up following a mexican-food theme.  MSP had leftover turkey tacos, Lisa had chicken tortilla soup, and I had a GIANT Shari-Salad, southwest style (meaning I added avocado, salsa and a squeeze of ranch onto my usual suspects):

img 461

We must have all been subconciously wishing to be south of the border where it’s much warmer than here!  (On the continued crazy Colorado weather front, we’re now hearing a forecast of 8″-14″ of snow Wednesday night into Thursday.  Lovely.  Not.)

We had a wonderfully relaxing evening watching some “Dancing with the Stars” and snacked a bit on more Halloween candy.  (not gone yet, but I imagine it won’t make it till Halloween night!)

Today is the last day Lisa and I will have to spend together as she leaves SUPER early tomorrow morning (we are crossing our fingers that the snow waits until her flight is in the air!) so I’m off to spend some good girl time with her. 

For today’s discussion question, do you have a favorite ethnic food?  Do you have ways that you ‘tweak’ it to maybe make it healthier than the authentic version?  I love all food for the most part, but am dying to go try Indian food soon.  I think I recall having had it years ago but don’t remember the flavor.  The author of ”The Fitnessista” (a blog you’ll see on my blogroll) tries to have Indian food every Wednesday.  The vegetarian dish she always gets looks AMAZING and I’m itching to try it, then maybe I can try a homemade version after I know what it SHOULD taste like.

I think right now with the way our weather pattern has been, spicy food is the way to go so I can warm up from the inside out!

Have a TERRIFIC Tuesday!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

Look Ma, No Hands!

Oct 26

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 7 Comments

Hi friends!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  I took Sunday “off” from blogging to be with my cousins, since one of them already has to fly home this afternoon.   I’ll rewind way back to Saturday morning for a few updates.

MSP and I wanted to get out for a run before our guests arrived, since we knew it’d be a little tough to break away for a workout after that. We had a BEAUTIFUL run along Willow Creek for 4.4 miles.  The weatherman said it was 55 out… and you’d think by now I’d know better than to trust him!  But I left my mittens at home anyway because I DID trust him!  And boy was I sorry!  We both thought it felt a little more like 25 than 55.  My little hands were red and freezing the whole time.

Have you ever tried to run with your hands stuffed in your pockets?  One word:  AWKWARD!  Imagine someone running with their hands plastered to their sides and think of how funny that looks.  Then put me in that vision.. that was me.  Maybe this was an instance of “you just had to be there” for it to be funny, but for some reason it cracks me up! 

I am a little TOO energetic first thing in the morning...

Sometimes I'm TOO energetic first thing in the morning!

I’ve never been one of those runners who can go outside in shorts when it’s cold out.  I see people wearing tiny running shorts and a long-sleeved shirt with maybe hat and gloves when it’s below freezing.  And then there’s me with insulated running pants, dry-wicking shirt, fleece pullover and down running jacket.  Usually with an earband AND a scarf.  I’d rather tie all those layers around my waist once I get warm than freeze my A$$ off for the first 20 minutes of my run. 

After our run we came home to finish up the remaining items on my housecleaning to-do list, including some Doodie Duty (aka:  squat-n-scoops) so at least I got a little leg training in.  ;)   Then zipped off to the airport.  Later in the afternoon we set up a “snack buffet” of pita chips with hummus, baked tostito scoops with salsa, and carrot sticks with my homemade navy bean dip.  We watched the Cincinnati Bearcats game and just chilled inside while it was chilly outside.

That evening we ordered some gluten-free veggie pizza delivery from Garlic Jim’s so I had a piece of that with my usual extra-large ‘side salad’. 

Sunday brought snow AGAIN, two rounds.  One first thing in the morning then another one at about 2:30.  It’s not even winter yet, and I’m already ready for spring!  ;)   We all bundled up and took the dogs out for a walk… about 3 miles.

img 444

Post-walk nutrients:

img 440

Look what my cousin Lisa brought me from Ohio!  A PLETHORA of PISTACHIO…!

img 442

(Wahooo!  Thank you Lisa!)  You know I had to gobble one up almost immediately.

We had a little “burrito/taco bar” action for lunch:

img 450

Here’s mine (whole wheat tortilla, Tofutti, mashed avocado, homemade blackbean dip, spinach and chunky salsa).  My “burrito” looks suspiciously like a “wrap”.  :)

img 449

We did a little sightseeing at Red Rocks Amphitheater before the snow REALLY kicked in.

Once home again we were feeling “snacky” so I made some baked purple kale:

img 452

I ate almost the whole batch myself!

And some baked sweet potato chips sprinkled with cinnamon – these went over better with my guests than the kale did…

img 453

We played a little Wii and watched a couple of movies while snacking on the above chips (and some Halloween TWIX). 

It is supposed to be sunny today so I’m crossing my fingers that maybe we can get out for a hike before noon when we have to head back to the airport.  I’m hoping that I’ll have a few great scenery shots to share with you in the next post.

Have an excellent Monday, friends! 

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Pavlov’s Veggie Dogs

Oct 24

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 2 Comments

Good morning blog buds! 

Ahhh Saturday.  I say that every week, don’t I?  I am often amazed at how quickly weeks really do pass.  Can you believe that Halloween is next Saturday?? 

My big plans for today are heading out to the airport to pick up one of my two cousins.  (No I’m not leaving my other cousin stranded at the airport … she’ll be flying in a few hours later and her work is getting her a rental car.) 

I’d like to get out for a run this morning while we have some nice weather because more cold and snowy weather is on the way tonight.  (NOOOOOOO!)  I also have a To-Do List a mile long of other various things I want to accomplish before 10:40 am when I take off for Denver International.

Isn’t it ironic that one of the things on my TO-DO LIST is listen to more of my Tony Robbins audio of how NOT to live & die by the TO-DO LIST?  :) I’ve only made it through 2 out of 16 CDs.  Maybe learning how NOT to have a to-do list will be on disc #3…

So…my dogs are OBSESSED with veggies now.  We don’t give them ‘table scraps’ per se … should something fly off of our plates and land on the floor then it’s fair game.  But I do give them ‘veggie scraps’ when I’m making my green smoothies.  Rascal now knows the sound of the vegetable peeler and comes tearing into the kitchen in hopes of a nibble.  (I can grab the peeler from the dishwasher just to put it AWAY and he’ll come running… my peeler has become PAVLOV’S BELL!) 

Cucumber is their absolute favorite.  They both don’t like celery (they must get that from MSP!) 

Look who’s getting a little time out of her cone of shame?  :)   AND some cucumber… a dog’s life, I tell you.

img 420

Mmm green breakfast.  Water, spinach, celery, cucumber, clementines, pepitas, broccoli slaw (yes broccoli slaw…hey it was in the fridge, might as well use it up!)

img 419

A slice of Banana Bread mid-morning:

img 422

Lunch was SUPPOSED to be my favorite Tokyo Joe’s salad:  the KIHEI.   Which normally has grilled mahi on it.  What they gave me was NOT mahi.  I don’t know what it was they decided to pass off as mahi but it was NASTY with a capital N.  Unfortunately after I took this photo, I cut the whole salad up into tiny bits (BEFORE tasting the fish).  Needless to say… it all got picked back out and we essentially spent $8.35 on a bowl of spinach with no fish.  Bugger!!  If I’d been AT their establishment I’d have said something, but it was takeout and we were already home.  Tokyo Joe’s, I’m on to you… you’ve always been my favorite healthy fast food place… but you’ve done me wrong a couple of times recently!  Soon you’ll be bumped off the list by Garbanzo’s!

img 424

Here’s one place I know I can always count on my order tasting right:

img 426

See how good I’ve been lately?  It’s been at least a week since I caved in to the Starbucks lure.  This was a soy latte, with ONE pump of Chai.  (Normally 4 pumps, and WAY too sugary.) 

I was starvin’ Marvin at about 4:00 so I ate the last bite of my raw goat cheddar and some pepitas to tide me over till dinner. 

img 429

I ‘surprised’ MSP by announcing that I was treating him to one of his favorites:  Mama Roma Ristorante.  Instead of “Pasta Friday” at home, we were going to have “Italiano Friday” out.  He had his usual:  sausage and pepperoni Calzone, which he gets to enjoy again and again because they are HUGE so we always have a box to take home.  I had a side salad and a bowl of minestrone soup.  (And a glass of chianti… mmmm vino!)   No pic to share, I’m sorry to say.  There are some places where I feel a little TOO odd whipping out my camera and taking pictures of my food.  This was one of those places. 

I was in the mood to wander Whole Foods after dinner.  First, how weird am I that on a FRIDAY night, what constitutes as FUN for me is hanging out at Whole Foods.  Second, I should KNOW that my defenses will be down after having a big glass of wine at dinner and will probably buy a bunch of stuff I don’t NEED.  This is my version of drunk dialing, I guess.

And of course I left with two VEGAN cookies to enjoy (among other things):

img 430

Do you have stores that put you in danger of doing serious damage to your budget or checkbook, like I do at Whole Foods??  There are SO many things there that I want to try.  I’m not a shopper for things like clothes (unless Nike Shox shoes count as ‘clothes) or purses or things like that.  But take me to a health food store and I’ll “ohh and ahh” all over the place!

Well kids, I better “ohh and ahh” myself away from the computer and get busy on “THE LIST”.  ;)   

Have a WONDERFUL weekend and I’ll see ya next time! 

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , ,

Talking Trapezius

Oct 23

Posted by Shari B. in Keeping Fit | 5 Comments

Helllloooooooo FitFeat Friends!  Welcome to the second-best day of the week!  (with the first being Saturday – just my opinion!  You may disagree…!) :)

As usual I am excited for the weekend.  But especially this weekend because I have some family coming to visit!  Growing up as an only child (until I was 11, at least) two of my cousins were like a brother and a sister to me.  I would spend a few weeks with them each summer, we spent holidays together.  Now we are all grown up and scattered across the country.  One lives in Ohio, one in California and then I’m smack in the middle here in Colorado.   They are both flying in tomorrow!  It’s going to be a great time – I’m so looking forward to it!

So yesterday I had a total food hangover from my “Lazy Bones and TWIX-fest Day” Thursday.  As I suspected, I had an unhappy belly most of the day.  :(   The older I get, the more sensitive my system gets (not to mention the healthier I eat, the more it freaks out when I eat fake or processed stuff.) 

Do any of you ever experience Food Hangovers? 

I remember my very first one vividly, back in ’99 when I had just started Body for Life.  I didn’t take the “Free Day” for the first month I was on BFL, and when I did finally decide to have some sugary food it was on a camping trip and we had s’mores.  Oh boy.  Upset-system City!  And while camping in the mountains … with MSP… while we were NEWLY dating!  (Can you say EMBARRASSING???)  I think that’s the evil goal of Bill Phillips when it comes to the free day … you eat yourself silly one day a week and learn how terrible you can feel afterward.   :)  

Despite the sad tummy yesterday, I did follow through with my commitment on the yoga!  In fact, the minute I posted the blog I was like, “I better just go get it done RIGHT NOW or I’ll be eating my words tomorrow!”  I chose Iron Yoga which I’ve had forever and have watched once but never actually ‘performed’.   They have you hold little dumbbells for most of the moves.  For example, while balancing on one leg in eagle pose, you are doing S-L-O-W upper body movements like tricep extensions, shoulder raises, etc.  Oh. My.  Burn.   I did it for 45 minutes… and there was still more to do.  I’m saving it for next time.  ;)

Today, my traps and delts are so SORE!  That is the thing I always love about yoga when I finally get around to doing it each time … you find out what muscles are really weak.  I know my traps are weak – I have the posture to prove it!  And they are reminding me today for sure!

I will DEFINITELY do this DVD again very soon!

As for the rest of the day…

My meal consumed at 5:45 AM prior to my personal training client at 6:15 … a Chocolate Coconut Chew brownie Larabar:

img 394

After yoga, I was craving some greens to make up for the previous day’s LACK thereof.  This green smoothie was darn near the size of my head:

img 399

Lunch was at Rubio’s as I was meeting a dear friend on her break from work.  We try to get together once a month no matter what life throws our way.  We each had their Langostino Lobster taco on a small corn tortilla with a side salad.  This image is from their website and I assure it looked NOTHING like this.  I’m actually pretty sure that we got about two tiny bites of lobster in our tacos.  But it tasted really good anyway!

Lobster taco(Photo Source)

A couple of clementines for my afternoon snack plus half of the best Larabar flavor known to humankind:  Tropical Fruit Tart.  mmmm…

img 408

It must be time to get back into my “wrap wrut” again :)   because I made a special trip to the store for some whole wheat tortillas!  This was SUCH a yummy dinner.  MSP had a leftover peppered eye of round with wild rice and green beans … mine was better-looking:

img 418

I smeared half of the tortilla with some of the Navy Bean Dip I’d made Thursday, popped it in the microwave to heat ever so slightly, then smeared the other half with Tofutti.  Toppings included pepitas, sprouts, tomato, spinach, and coarse ground pepper with a side of corn, fresh from the cob!  So yummy.

A Nana’s NO’s mini-cookie served as a sufficient dessert.

***

Many thanks again to all of you who participated in the giveaway and congrats to Cindy for winning!   I’m off to get the guest room ready, do some house-cleaning, then some grocery shopping for my guests!  And maybe some more trap-killing yoga! 

Drop a comment about your food hangover experiences!! 

Have a FAB Friday!  I’ll see ya next time!

–Shari B. =_

Tags: , , , ,

And the Winner Is…

Oct 22

Posted by Shari B. in Giveaway Contest | 8 Comments

Hi “contestants”!  :)   Happy “must-see-TV” night! 

So are you ready to find out who won this FitFeat Care Package of goodies?

img 410

First I’d like to say thank you to EVERYONE who entered!  Thank you all for reading the blog – I love writing it every day knowing that you are out there reading it!  Thanks for the ‘shout-outs’ from your Facebook pages and blogs.  And if it turns out that this time you don’t win, DON’T BE SAD, SPARKY!  There will be plenty more giveaways in the future of FitFeat!

So, without further ado….

{Can I get a drumroll please??}

Here are the entry numbers for the valid entries:

  1. Cindy
  2. Carrie
  3. Carrie
  4. Wendy
  5. Carrie
  6. Cindy
  7. Cindy
  8. Laura
  9. Joan
  10. Beth
  11. Carrie
  12. Carrie
  13. Carrie
  14. Joan
  15. Tray
  16. Alison
  17. Joan

And the random number generator at www.Random.org said:

Contest Giveaway Number 10-20-2009

#6 is CINDY!  You’re the winner!  Wahooo…. Congratulations!  Cindy, drop me an email at shari@fitfeat.com when you see this post – include the address you’d like the package sent to! 

Thanks so much everyone for playing!  I’ll let you all get back to “The Office” or “30 Rock” now!  ;)   Have a GREAT night and I’ll see  you again in tomorrow’s post! 

– Shari B.  =)

 

The fine print: 

In the ‘rules’ I wrote in the contest post, I said the first person to comment would be assigned the number 1 and subsequent messages would be numbered up from there (“Each comment becomes a number, first comment posted by time will be assigned #1 and so-on.”)  Afterward, I noticed that the comments area automatically numbers each comment, in the OPPOSITE direction.  However, for the sake of fairness I’m going to stick with how I said it would work in the initial rules – just to keep it all hunky dory.  (Additionally, the numbering would be off anyway because trackbacks don’t get numbered by WordPress, but I need to assign them numbers since they count as entries too!)  I’ll know better for next time now!

Will De-Lurk for Food

Oct 22

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Hi FitFeat friends! 

It’s the last day to enter the contest giveaway if you haven’t done so yet.  Today is the day for LURKERS to come out of the shadows :)   (you know who you are!)  The stats info in my admin area tells me that there are way more readers than there are contest entries!  Swing by to leave a comment and say hello – you might get a GIFT out of it!

Are you willing to DE-lurk for food?  Mary’s Gone Crackers, Chocolate Fudge Gluten-Free Cookies, Larabars, Tea, a fun coffee mug, Organic Dark Chocolate… mmmm treats!

Well it snowed like crazy here yesterday.  ALL DAY LONG.  According to the news we got 4″ to 5″ of accumulation. Luckily the ground was warm enough that some of it turned to water before it started to pile up otherwise I think it would have added up to a lot more.  Here’s what it looks like today.  My cousins are coming to visit this weekend (one from California and one from Ohio) so I’m praying this stuff melts before they arrive.  :)  I’m always gushing about how great the weather is here… they won’t believe me if they see this when they get here: 

 

img 395

 

And you all know that I run on solar power… and there was NO sun to be seen which meant PJs ALL DAY!  Lazy bones day!  Wahoo!  Yep, that’s right.  I was a complete bum all day.  I didn’t even break out the blender for a green smoothie or the cutting board for a salad.  (…GASP…)  Yeah, I know.  Hard to believe! 

Every once in awhile you just need to treat your soul to a day like that.  I can’t remember the last time I did it and it felt great. 

As such, food was random and not my healthiest example for you. 

Breakfast was a piece of toasted Ezekial with raw almond butter, raw honey and a date on the side.

img 369

Breakfast #2 later in the morning was an unpictured waffle (with sweet potato puree and 1/2 a banana in the batter).  I will be adding sweet potato puree to waffles again.  They were SO fluffy!

Lunch (I use that term loosely) was a crazy navy bean dip creation that I threw together.  It actually didn’t turn out half bad!!  I was craving hummus but thought I’d try a different bean.  Served with some raw goat cheddar and Mary’s Gone Crackers.  I am out of baby carrots or they would have been dipped in there too!

img 376

Afternoon popcorn with a BUBBLY (mmmy bubbly I love you!)

img 389

Dinner was leftover Amy’s Organic Black Bean Soup for me and leftover sneaky turkey tacos for MSP.  And Halloween TWIX – um, kind of a lot.  It was a pretty “acid-forming” kind of day, as opposed to the more alkaline side I prefer to be on, but it was fun and I had a great time so there will be no guilt from me!  Unhappy tummy maybe, but no guilt!

***

So I’m going to commit here and now to you all that TODAY I WILL DO SOME YOGA.  I keep meaning to do it and then doing cardio or weights instead.  We gravitate toward things we like and are good at… yoga is something I find incredibly challenging.  Mostly from a ‘being still of mind’ standpoint because I’m kind of a spaz!  So if I put it out here on the blog, I will be accountable to myself and to you!

I have a couple of yoga options from which to select my torture session:

  • P90X Yoga X DVD
  • Iron Yoga DVD
  • Rodney Yee Yoga for Athletes DVD
  • Bikram Yoga via iTunes

I’m leaning toward checking out the Iron Yoga because it’s been so long since I’ve seen the DVD that I don’t remember what it”s like.

I know a few of you readers that practice yoga regularly.  Today’s discussion questions:  If you practice yoga, what is your favorite type?  Hot Yoga?  Ashtanga? Power?  How long have you been practicing?  What benefits have you personally experienced?  Drop a comment so we can all learn from you!

Have a peaceful Thursday!  Namaste…!  ;)

I’ll be back tonight shortly after 8:00 PM MST to announce the CONTEST winner! 

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , , ,

Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes