Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Crazy for Chocolate

Sunday Workout: 22 min run/walk plus PT exercises
Monday Workout: 20 min Arc Trainer plus PT exercises

As my last days of chocolate consumption pass me by, I have to figure out what to replace this amazing food group (yes, in my mind it is a food group) with...and what I can make with my leftover chocolate chips (from previous posts you know I eat them straight/with PB so they won't be good to have in the house). 

Here are some ideas I came up with for chocolate replacements: 

- Edy's Fruit Bars: I love these things.  There's between 60-80 calories per bar and they're all natural, so I know what I'm eating.  Plus I can't feel guilty since I'm pretty much eating fruit. 

The Acai Blueberry is in my freezer right now (source)


- Fruit: From what I've heard, the sweetness in fruit sometimes stops sweets cravings. I've obviously never tried it. Some of my favorites are strawberries, nectarines, bananas, apples, oranges...and many more. 

- Oatmeal:  Another snack suggestion from a coworker...I don't know if I'll go for that or not.

- Yogurt: This could be good.

- Cereal: I LOVE cereal...good option in my opinion. 

- Candy of the non-chocolate variety(in moderation of course): Mike and Ike's, Jolly Ranchers, Starbursts, oh the lists goes on and on .  
Our current candy stash

After writing it all out...giving up chocolate looks like it could work.  From what my Dad told me, the first two weeks are the hardest.  They will be hard for me since my birthday is in the first two weeks of November, and I always get a chocolate dessert on my birthday. 

We shall see how it goes!

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What is something you find hard to give up?

What is your favorite non chocolate snack?

Any suggestions for a baking recipe including chocolate chips?
 

Sunday, October 23, 2011

1st birthdays and a ghost tour

Good morning everyone! I'm happy to report that I'm feeling better.  Whatever I had was pretty crappy though. 

Yesterday was extremely busy with errand running, birthdays and ghost tours.  The first thing we did was order our IPHONES!!! We both got the black iPhone 4S and it should be shipped to our apartment in a couple weeks (which is good because we were due for an upgrade over a year ago).  

After a quick Subway lunch, we relaxed a little bit at home before heading to my cousin's house for his son's first birthday. 

That cake was awesome. It was chocolate and I didn't feel sick afterwards :)

The parents wondering if their son will like sugar ...

I think the answer is yes :)


Then Andrew and I went straight from the party to dinner and a ghost tour with Megan, Luke and Megan's parents. 

Watch out Ghost Hunters...

I guess you can sometimes see a figure in the window...I didn't see anything though


The ghost tour guide said 'orbs' were seen in pictures taken on these steps.  Again...I didn't see anything.

Also haunted...

One of the jail cells...there were only three for this small town. 

All in all, a great not-feeling-sick anymore Saturday.  Now today is another busy one: 

- Sunday school
- Church
- Lunch (probably subway again...hehe)
- Girls on the Run
- Workout 
- Grocery shopping 
- Dinner
- Collapse

Have a great day everyone!  


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Are your weekends usually busy, or do you get some down time?

Any races today? Fun workouts?

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Sick Days Suck

Monday workout: 25 min bike
Tuesday workout: PT session
Wednesday workout: 20 min RUN with PT exercises
Thursday workout: OFF
Friday workout: OFF


Happy Weekend Everyone!  Is it just me, or did this week actually go by quickly? I had a lot to do at work, which made the workdays go fast, and my evenings were pretty packed as well.  I was very excited that I got a 20 min run in on Wednesday pain free.  I wasn't excited that in those 20 mins I barely ran two miles, but I know I'll get faster :)


I had awesome plans for yesterday.  I was going to work, then PT, then maybe workout, then come home to watch a million episode of Gilmore Girls.  Well...that didn't happen.


Instead I woke up with the worst stomach ache of my entire life and Andrew forced me to stay home since he is an amazingly caring husband (yes, I would have dragged myself to work only to leave 2.5 hours later in pain).  I didn't go to PT or work out but instead watched 12 episodes of Gilmore Girls and 2 episodes of The Office.  I guess at least one part of my plan worked out. 

Thank goodness I feel better today! I think  the culprit of my sickness was all the chocolate I've been eating lately.  I even had 1/2 a cup of hot chocolate yesterday and that KILLED my stomach. 


Yeah...painful chocolately memories

I guess I can't eat chocolate for the unforeseeable future if I want to feel alright.  This was fine because I'm giving up chocolate starting November 1st with my Dad...just to see if we can do it.  I get my love of chocolate from my Dad...so it's going to be pretty hard for us.   Although Dad did give it up for almost a year once, but every attempt since then has failed.  I think the longest I lasted without chocolate was 24 hours. Then I ate 1/2 a box of Oreo's. 


Reese's...I'm going to miss you! (source)

Today is a jam packed day with errand running, getting our IPHONES (hopefully), a 1st birthday party and a Ghost tour.  I'll give updates + pictures later. 

Have a great Saturday everyone!

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Any fun weekend plans? 

If you saw a ghost, what would you do?

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

100 Things About Me

I'm stealing this idea from another blog...but these are always fun and they actually get me to think.  I don't know about you, but it's really hard for me to think of 100 things about myself...But here we go:


1. I was born in Germany.  And yes, I can run for President.


2. Since my Dad was in the Air Force, I've moved six times.


3. Thanks to Dad, I can also say that I lived in Germany and Italy.  Too bad I don't really remember either of them (although I do remember Italy had really good bread..random).


4.  My mom is one of my best friends.  I tell her everything.  Maybe too much.


5.  My (younger) sister and I didn't get along until we were in college.  Now she lives in South Korea (she's also in the Air Force).  Email and Facebook are now extremely important.


6.  I am the oldest child (and the wisest...and since the young one isn't here to defend herself...I win)


7. My Dad is one of six kids.  Mom is one of four kids. 


8. The fact above means that my family is HUGE.


9.  My husband and I met through friends through Facebook.  Our first phone conversation was six hours long.


10.  Marrying him was one of the best decisions I've ever made :)


11. If you couldn't tell already, family means the world to me.


12.  I haven't seen all of the Star Wars movies (I need to see Episode 6) but have seen and read all of the Harry Potter books/movies (multiple times).


13.  I don't like roller coasters.  In fact, I almost passed out after riding The Racer in Kennywood.  It's pathetic, I know.


14. I love the spin rides though.  I think I may be the only person in the world who does. 


15. I played three Varsity sports in high school: Soccer, Basketball and Lacrosse.


16. I played soccer and lacrosse in college.


17. Lacrosse is, by far, my favorite sport to play.


18. Soccer is my favorite to watch.


19. Baseball is my least favorite sport. EVER. Maybe if the games weren't as long I would like it more. 


20. I did, however, become a Chicago Cubs fan when I moved there.  I lived on the North Side.  It was mandatory.


21. I didn't like running until college.  Dad signed me up for my first half marathon, and it's still my best 1/2 marathon time.


22. I have run three 1/2 marathons in under two hours.


23. I hope to run a marathon one day, if my body will let me.


24. Add a triathlon to that list too.


25. If I could run any race, it would be the Rome, Italy Marathon.


26. I have an extra muscle in my left foot.


27. My SI (Sacroiliac Joint) also likes to pop out of place.


28. Doctors have compared my feet to a 60 year old, overweight man.  Nice, huh?!


29. I usually have to wear the most stable running shoes. These are usually very ugly.


30.  My goal when I graduated from college was to move to a city where I had never been before. Hence moving to Chicago.


31. Andrew and I love to travel, but this thing call money and lack of it prevents us from traveling on a regular basis. 


32. I want to go back to Europe before we have kids. 


33. Our trip to Las Vegas in December will be the first time Andrew and I have been to the West Coast. 


34. I have never gambled before.  And probably won't while we're in Vegas.


35. California will be our next trip to the West Coast. 


36. My sister is also trying to convince me to visit her in Korea.


37. Giving me the winning lottery numbers will help to achieve 29-34.


38. I'm a reality TV junkie.


39. I particularly love the food related reality shows...like Man vs. Food.  He has the best job...he gets to eat all day!!


40. I also like the trashy ones, esp. the Real Housewives...so funny/dramatic!


41. Andrew and I also watch Ghost Hunters on a regular basis.  Don't judge ;)


42. I would love to be on the Biggest Loser so I could work out 6-8 hours a days.  I don't think I qualify though.


43. I'm in love with chocolate.


44. And peanut butter.


45. And cookies.


46. And candy (esp. Reese's!)


47. And pizza.


48. Ok...maybe just junk food in general.


49. I always try to eat healthy, but my addiction to the food listed above prevents me from doing so. I'll start tomorrow ;)


50. I try to eat a fruit and vegetable with every meal.


51. When I moved out of my parents house, I didn't know how to cook at all.  I couldn't even boil water.


52. Since I got married, I cook all the time.  New recipes no longer scare me.


53. Since I got my Kitchen Aid Mixer, I now LOVE to bake (Thanks Mom!).


54. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. 


55. Pancakes and cereal are my favorite breakfast food.  I lived on cereal in college (the food was pretty bad).


56. My goal is to make homemade cinnamon rolls and biscuits for breakfast on the weekends.  They take a lot of time.  I don't really have that right now :(


57. I must have coffee in the morning.  Andrew has witnessed the monster that comes out when I do not get my daily dose of caffeine. 


58. I also order the same thing when I go to any coffee shop: A small non-fat, no whip mocha.  Since this can make my waist line bigger and my wallet smaller, I don't go to coffee shops very often.


59. My favorite color is Carolina Blue.


60. UNC has been my favorite college team since fourth grade.  I had to pick a team to hang out with the boys and I liked UNC's colors the best.


61. The Pittsburgh Steelers has been my favorite football team since I can remember.  I even liked them in the 90s...when they were horrible.


62. I also didn't like playing with Barbies or anything girly when I was younger.  G.I. Joes were so much cooler.  So were Nerf guns. And Legos.


63. Andrew and I actually put together his Lego pirate ship...just for fun.


64. On a more girly note, my favorite flowers are tulips and roses.


65. My first celebrity crush was JTT. 


66. It then quickly moved on to Hanson.


67. Then the Backstreet Boys.


68. The 'N SYNC.


69. And I've been in love with Justin Timberlake ever since. 


70. Andrew and I share a passion for music and try to go to concerts as much as we can.  He did refuse to take me to the NKOTB/BSB concert though...lame!


71. I know how to play the piano, flute and drums.


72. I actually took a piano class in college.  I got an A.


73. My favorite seasons are fall and spring.


74. I only like snow when I get off school or off work.  I hate it in any other situation and don't really care how pretty it looks.


75. The reason I feel this way about snow is due to the town I went to college in then the city I lived in after college.  Walking through it every day was awful, esp. when it's April and it snowed 8 inches.


76. I like summer more than winter because it's great running weather.  Sweat = Proof of a great workout.


77. I also love the beach.


78. My husband is more of a hiking/museum guy.


79. On our honeymoon we compromised: We stayed at a resort in St. Lucia, but went on a safari as one of our excursions.  It was probably the best trip we've ever been on together (thus far).   


80. I was only 17 when I went to college and am the youngest one of my college friends. 


81. I don't think I will ever feel old.


82. Speaking of old...is anyone ever too old to go to Disney World?!  It's one of my favorite places.


83. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie.


84. Bell is the coolest Princess of them all!


85. On Broadway, however, the Lion King is much better than Beauty and the Beast.  I highly recommend seeing it!


86.  Tigger is my favorite non-princess Disney character. 


87.  My parents own almost all of the Disney movies on VHS (remember those?!) and my Dad knows all the words to every Little Mermaid song.  We watched that one a lot as kids.


88.  My favorite Non-Disney cartoon is Johnny Quest.  If you've never heard of that cartoon you're missing out!


89. I have watched every episode of Gilmore Girls multiple times and own all seven seasons.


90. My sister and I randomly quote Friends on a regular basis. 


91. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.  (Does anyone really know?! Or have any ideas for me?!)


92. I worry way to much.  Usually about things that aren't important. 


93. I wish that I took more pictures.  That would probably make this blog more exciting.


94. I'm a perfectionist.

95. I always triple (not double) check my work.  I feel like it is only half done if I don't.


96. I am the worst speller.  I used spell check on Word all. the. time.


97. I'm also not the best writer. But I love blogging.


98. I look up to those bloggers that update their blogs multiple times a day.  It's definitely something for me to strive towards. 


99.  I am extremely Type-A (and because of this I worked on this post for days. I actually almost stopped at 51 facts...but just had to keep on going until I got to 100).


100.This post took me five days to complete.
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What's a random fact about you?
See above :)


Could you think of 100 things about yourself...or is 100 just too much?

Friday, October 14, 2011

Fun Fall Friday

Monday Workout: 36 mins bike and PT exercises
Tuesday Workout: PT session
Wednesday Workout: OFF
Thursday Workout: 35ish mins bike and Body Pump
Friday Workout: PT session and 2.5 mile walk with the hubby.

Happy Friday!!!! So I have some great news....

....I went to the doctor today....and

HE SAID I COULD RUN!!! I'm excited...can't you tell?!

So my husband and I went to Chick-fil-a for dinner to celebrate.  Actually we were going to Chick-fil-a anyways because it has become our Friday thing...but that's besides the point.  

After dinner we decided to take a walk around this park by our apartment complex.  My wonderful husband took some pictures on our walk.  Here are a few:


Facebook profile pic...'Like'


This is my favorite!

Ok...maybe this is my favorite...I love the colors of the leaves.
I love fall! I think I may need to make something pumpkin or apple related like soon to celebrate fall.  I know what you're thinking...and yes...it will be extremely hard to back away from the peanut butter and chocolate combination.  But that will be back soon :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

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What is your favorite season?
I like the 'in between' seasons: Fall and Spring.  It's not too hot, not too cold.  All you need is a light jacket. (Name that movie!!)

Pumpkin or Apple?
I like eating apples straight, but in desserts pumpkin takes the cake (pun intended).

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Late Night Organization

(Potential) Sunday Workout: Bike, Body Pump and CX30 (a new abs class at the Y)

Do you and your husband ever start on a task late at night, then wonder why you didn't start it earlier?! That was Andrew and I last night.  His parents gave us an end table, and once we found a place for that, the reorganization of the Nagel apartment began!


A blurry picture of the table that now houses our liquor and our board games.  Weird combo...I think not!

The pile of stuff that has followed my husband for years and (sort of) doubled when I came into the picture

The place where his dresser used to be (which is now in our bedroom)

I also reorganized my cake decorating stuff because Andrew's Mom gave me a bunch of stuff from her cake decorating days. 

See the new spot for Andrew's dresser?!


Some people may hate to clean/reorganize, but Andrew and I love projects like this.  Hopefully I'll remember to take some 'after' pictures to show off our reorganized apartment :)

Have a great Sunday everyone!

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What kind of projects do you enjoy with your significant other?
Andrew and I are both OCD, but have different levels of it, which I think makes us a great team :)

Do you have Columbus day off? Doing anything fun?
I'm hanging out with my Mom and we're doing some shopping.  I haven't shopped or hung out with Mom in awhile (I'm trying to be good and not spend a ton of money) so I'm really excited!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Fall Festival Fun...and Fro Yo

Saturday Workout: 32ish min bike and PT exercises

Hey everyone! I hope you had a great Saturday.  The weather was PERFECT here.  It was actually a perfect day for running, but I settled for walking around a fall festival with Megan, Andrew and his parents instead.  We walked from Megan's house to the festival, which involved a crazy hill that we walked up/down.  I definitely got another workout in...and it felt great. 

Before the festival we went to the Double T Diner for breakfast/lunch (Andrew's Dad and I got breakfast, Andrew and his Mom got lunch).  This is what you see as you walk in the restaurant:


The first two make sense...but how often do you walk into a restaurant and take off your shoes...honestly?!

Then we walked off our meal.  Here are some pictures of a cool car we saw there:



Ok...so maybe I forgot to take pictures of other things...oops! But here is one of the best parts of the day, besides the weather and hanging out with family and friends:




FRO YO!! It's been so long since I had it...and it made a great dinner.

Andrew and I decided to reorganize our apartment...at 6:00pm...it's going to be a long (but productive) evening.  Have a great night everyone!

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Did you have amazing weather today?  Did you take advantage of it and spend some time outside?

Friday, October 7, 2011

Clowns eat souls...and babies

Sunday Workout: 30 min bike and BODY PUMP (pain free....YAYAYAYAYAYAY)
Monday Workout: Off Day
Tuesday Workout: 30 min bike and PT exercises
Wednesday Workout: PT session (15 min bike and a TON of exercises...including two new ones)
Thursday Workout: Body Pump and 17 mins on the bike
Friday: PT session (15 min bike and many MANY exercises)

Hey everybody! How excited are you that it's Friday?! I'm very excited about my three day weekend, esp. since I've been stuck in training for the past five days.  So not cool...but necessary for the certification that I have.


So you may be wondering about the post title for today.  At GOTR this past Sunday, we had the girls give us examples of things that stressed them out as they ran laps.  One girl said clowns (they can be kind of scary!).  We asked why she thought they were stressful...and her response was "OMG they are so scary, they eat souls....and babies!!".  Megan and I were cracking up! The girls are hilarious and it was a fun hour, despite the weather being kind of chilly.


This weekend is jam packed with stuff.  Today I had PT after work, then Andrew and I went to one of our favorite places...CHICK-FIL-A ("I could eat there seven times a day"...thank you, Tim Hawkins).  Although I didn't get the waffle fries, there over sized fruit bowl is pretty amazing.  And it's all washed down with some Diet Coke (Andrew says I'm an addict...which isn't true...ok... maybe I'm just not ready to admit it.  Plus Diet Pepsi is better....they just don't offer it at Chick-fil-a). 




Tomorrow we're hanging out with Andrew's parents and going to lunch and a Fall Festival.  They didn't have much about the festival on the website, but I hope they have lots of fall-like food (aka pumpkin and apple related things). 


Have a great Friday everyone!

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Caramel Apple or Candy Apple?
I love caramel apples!

Does anyone else do Body Pump?  Are you in pain (aka..the 'I worked out hard' pain) afterwards?
I think I'm more in the 'I haven't lifted anything in months and need to get back in shape' hurt...but it feels so good!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Date Night!

Saturday Workout: 30 mins bikes and PT exercises

On Saturday Andrew and I went out to dinner and to mini golf.  Since we're both foodies, we decided to try a new place that had New Orleans creole style food.  I was a little skeptical at first since I'm not a spicy food kind of person, but once the appetizer came I was alright.

The spinach dip (center) had deep fried bow tie pasta noodles to dip...so good!

Then our meals came out.  I got salmon and mashed sweet potatoes (YUM) and Andrew got the Jambalaya (is that how you spell that?!).  



Then it was off to mini-golf.  We didn't keep an overall score, just who won each hole (that's what she said).  Andrew won the mini-golf game...barely.  But he won...and boasted until I kicked his butt in air hockey (ok...maybe he won one game too...but that was a practice game...he just didn't know).  Here are some pictures from the crazy golf course.



Game face

Cute

This is my favorite picture...I love the crab

This was the 18th hole. How scary is that clown?!

Today we have church and I have GOTR.  Then I'm doing my first body pump class in months with my friend Megan (another Megan than the one I'm doing GOTR with...yeah...it can be confusing).  Have a wonderful Sunday everyone :)  

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Are you good at mini-golf? Regular golf?
I'm decent at mini-golf, but the real thing...forget it! 

Do you take Body Pump?  How often do you go?
When I could go I was trying for twice a week (I would still do cardio).  I'm going to try that approach again this time around.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Cake Decorating Prep..and The Finished Product

Monday's Workout: 27 mins bike with PT exercises
Tuesday's Workout: Session with Physical Therapist; 30 mins bike with PT exercises
Wednesday Workout: 28 mins bike with PT exercises
Thursday Workout: off
Friday Workout: Session with the Physical Therapist (15 min bike and PT exercises)



Monday and Tuesday's plan after work was to prep for my cake decorating class on Wednesday.  I missed the very last class due to the hurricane (an electric oven makes it very hard to bake when the power is out). 


I forgot how much work decorating a cake was, so it took me all evening to bake the cake, make the frosting, frost the cake and make the frosting flowers (it takes them a day to dry..and most of them broke so I didn't use them). 


It took three days for the food coloring to come off!

The work paid off: I decorated my final cake and got my certificate (yes...the colors are quite annoying).  I don't think I'll be signing up for any more cake decorating classes since it was so time consuming, but it was really fun and I learned a lot. 

The finished product :)

Yay!


After PT last night Andrew took me out to dinner and to play mini golf (it's indoors and everything glows in the dark!).  I'll tell you about the yummy food and how bad I beat Andrew the mini-golf game in a later post.  Have a great Saturday everyone!


P.S. : Have you entered Vanessa's giveaway.  What are you waiting for?!

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How much frosting do you like on your cake/cupcakes?
I like a good 2:1 frosting to cake ratio.  You can even leave the cake out ;)

Chocolate or Vanilla Frosting?
Chocolate!!!!! (as if that was a surprise to anyone reading this)