Friday - Bring on the 3-Day Weekend!!

I was a disappointed that I didn’t get a run in last night, but with it being the last day of school it was a little crazy. My daughter sent me a text as soon as she was out of class to let me know that she is now a high school freshman!! Ugh, I’m not old enough to have a daughter in high school!

Anyway, once I was done running kids around last night I finally had a chance to make dinner at 8pm. I had put a sweet potato in the oven earlier in the evening (it was HUGE and took almost two hours to cook!) and mashed that up along with some spices and added black beans. I was inspired by Caitlin’s Sweet Potato Baked Bean Wontons, but changed it up just a little. After they were finished cooking I drizzled some Szechuan sauce over them – pure heaven!! I will be making these again for sure. Very tasty! Fabulous dinner even if it was a late dinner.

I even used a few wonton wrappers and made dessert (again inspired by a Caitlin recipe!). I sprinkled cinnamon over the wontons, added chocolate almond butter, couple of blueberries and a dash of coconut! Little bites of joy!!

I had thoughts of waking up at 4am today and going out running before work, but the alarm went off, I turned it off and went back to sleep that quickly. My goals for this weekend –

• Saturday – 6+ mile run/walk with Meghan
• Sunday – 8 mile hike with family
• Monday – 3+ mile run/walk

Really need to hit the grocery store and stock up on fruit and veggies. I have added blueberries to my morning oatmeal – super yummy! I love making up my breakfast the night before and then heating it up later in the morning at work. If I can wait and eat at 8 am I am good for the whole morning until lunch.

We do have this nice HUGE chocolate cake in the fridge for the boss’s birthday today. I might have to enjoy myself and have a small piece today!! I did make a pretty awesome birthday card for him – I was surprised to find I felt so creative the other night…it’s been awhile.

Oh, one more weekend might do – by a Camaro. LOL! I really have been thinking about them, but this weekend you get a free iPad with purchase!! LOL!

Wednesday...blah....

Have you ever had one of those days that you really think you should have just stayed home in bed? You spend your day over paranoid, over emotional and you don’t even have PMS; however, you could just spend your day crying?? Seriously, I am having that day. Living by the motto, “Keep your friends close, and keep your enemies even closer.”

Anyway, I had a great night last night. I got home and really looked forward to making a stuffed veggie lasagna for dinner. The filling consisted of onion, garlic, artichoke hearts, spinach, cottage cheese, Morning Star Farm Meatless Crumbles and lots of spices! OMG, it was to die for!! We couldn’t get enough of it! I think the darn thing weighed about 50 lbs. LOL!

After dinner I could have just laid around on the couch, but Meg really wanted to go out running. So, I laced up my new running shoes and we took off running. Again we did another exact 3 miles, still not running the full 3 miles but we did pretty good. I am sure we will be out again tonight. Meg is darn and determined to get me running those full 3 miles so I will take her out shopping for running skirts.

Later after watching American Idol I cut up a banana and covered it with some melted almond butter, a couple chocolate chips and sprinkled it with coconut for a nice little snack. So yummy!

I am looking forward to going up north soon and doing some hiking up there. My 10 year-old son is taking his first trip with Grandma for TWO weeks. They are taking the train to Michigan and then flying home two weeks later. However, you cannot catch the train here in Phoenix. So, we are making a mini vacation out of it. It will be sweet hiking up in the cool pines!!

Hopefully the day turns around, but until 4pm gets here I am not holding my breath.

Tuesday Thoughts

I am thrilled to say that after my 6.4 mile hike on Sunday that I am feeling no pain! I didn’t mention that while out hiking I did take a little fall, but my pack helped cushion the butt and I was only left with a bruised ego and flat power bar! LOL! Meg was a little worried about me, but I just hit some soft sand like dirt and it took me down. I was up and fine…and thankful no one else saw me fall.

With the weather getting warmer I am finding that my trusty old Boston hat is way too hot to wear. Oh, and I am tired of all of the comments from crazy mountain bikers. It always takes me awhile to figure out what the heck they are talking about, Boston?? Oh, my hat. I didn’t buy it because I was a fan or anything, just in Boston teaching a class years ago, it fit my big head, so I bought it. Anyway, thinking of going with a visor and one that is made for warmer weather. I was hoping to find one at the New Balance store, but they only had hats, not visors in the material I wanted. This weekend I am sure I will be heading over to Dick’s Sporting Goods to pick one of these up!

I came home yesterday from work with a splitting headache thanks to all of the computer work I had been doing all day. The husband was nice and took me out for veggie pizza for dinner, but was naughty later and enjoyed some ice cream with my poor sick son. Do you ever secretly enjoy when your children are sick and they actually want you to love and snuggle with them? I'll be honest and say YES I do! He is feeling much better today, must have been the ice cream and mommy love that helped.

Making a veggie lasagna for dinner tonight and then running with the daughter...maybe the husband will come along too.

Again I am looking forward to this weekend and getting out hiking again. I hope to do eight miles this time around and I think the husband is even going to be joining us!! That should make for a good time – him and my daughter – they both love to drive me crazy!

Please remember to stop by my Online Store and help support my walking 60 miles in 3 days!! I couldn’t do it without you!!

Sunday Hiking

What a lazy weekend. However I do think it was much needed. Yesterday ended up just being the daughter and me since the husband was working and my son spent the night at Grandma's house. My mom is planning a two week trip with my son and taking him to Michigan for the first time! They had this crazy idea of taking a train to Michigan and then flying home. Crazy kids!

Meghan and I pretty much relaxed around the house. Did some reading and watched August Rush, pretty good flick. We also got into the Greek Yogurt again and fixed up a nice cool afternoon snack.

This morning we were up by 4:30am enjoying a warm Breakfast Oatmeal Cookie. Yes, we are still microwaveless and had to use the oven. One of these days we will go shopping for a new one. Heck I am old enough to remember never having a microwave and the HUGE one we bought when they first came out....years ago. Anyway, we ate and packed up our pack and were off. We couldn't wait to try out the Garmin GPS and see our distance. We got in almost three hours and did 6.4 miles!!

Meghan wasn't totally feeling it today and was a little whinny, but we still got in a nice hike and the weather was a little on the cooler side. Getting their earlier made for less people on the way out. We had very little mountain bike traffic until we turned around and started making our way back to the car.



Once back to the car and on the way home we found out the boy child has come down with a cold/flu bug and wasn't feeling well at all. If he's not moving or asking for food...he's sick. Being the nice mommy that I am we stopped for some munchkin donuts for breakfast, and now mommy is feeling the pain of eating crap. Ugh.

The rest of the day - Laundry, nap, cleaning and cooking up lunch for the week! Thank goodness next weekend is a THREE day weekend!!

Off To a Running Start!

I made the most amazing Black Bean and Artichoke Burritos for dinner last night! The husband even gave it two thumbs up and a WOW. He had his work physical just the day before and the doctor told him since the year before he's gained some weight and his numbers weren't as good as they had been. Nothing that he didn't already know, he just has been lazy and he knows it. Anyway, he said he needed to start eating my, "veggie crap" more often. He liked how easy this meal was to make and how filling it was. We also baked up some zucchini to have as a nice side. The husband has been at work for the last three days (and by three days I mean 72 hours...joys of being married to a fire fighter), so it was nice to sit down and enjoy a healthy meal together!

Black Bean and Artichoke Burritos

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 (10 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 large tomato, diced (optional)

Directions

1. Pour the beans into a large iron skillet, and bring to a boil. Cook at a hard simmer until they become pasty and begin to resemble burrito beans in texture.
2. Heat oil in a separate skillet over medium heat. Stir in artichoke hearts, onion, and garlic; cook until the artichokes become golden brown.
3. Place tortillas in a dry skillet over low heat to warm. Remove from skillet. Spoon beans and artichoke mixture onto each tortilla, and top with cheese and tomato. Fold in ends, and roll up.

Amount Per Serving Calories: 159 | Total Fat: 11.1g | Cholesterol: 30mg

This morning the original plan was to get up early and go running with Meg, but sleeping in was a tick nicer. We were still up by 6:30 am, so we decided to make a nice breakfast and eat outside by the pool instead. Made ice cream for breakfast! Okay, not really ice cream but it sure did taste like it. We mixed some organic Greek yogurt with honey, cinnamon and a few almonds. Then mixed frozen bananas in the food processor with a little coco powder and Almond Breeze. Layered the two in glasses along with some raw oatmeal and a few blueberries! Perfect way to start off the morning!

I debated about going to the 3-Day Clinic at the New Balance store , but in the end decided I really wanted to check it all out and see other walkers. They started the clinic off with a a three mile walk, but Meg wouldn't be able to come with on the walk so we got to the store by the time they had all gotten back. That worked out perfect. They had tons of pink ribbon apparel and everything was 20% off for registered walkers. They did have the cutest running skirts, so when Meg and I reach our goal of running three miles we know where to go!!

I was really excited about having a shoe fitting since I swear I have one foot that is longer than the other AND I have really big feet as it is. Sure enough my feet are a little odd but the guy helping me wasn't worried at all. We spoke about what kind of running and walking I do and then he was off picking out options for me. The first shoe he put on fit like a glove , amazing. My toes actually had moving room and the ankle support was perfect. The shoes that most woman were buying were this hot pink rocking number, but they were a grade down from the ones I had first tired on. As soon as I put the hot pink ones on, wow what a difference between the two. I had to go with the first ones. Probably shouldn't have bought them this week...but they were 20% off. At least the husband isn't here to kill me. LOL! Oh, and I wore one of the shirts I designed and printed to the even! Got lots of great comments on it!!

Lots more to do this weekend, but I do see a nap in my future!

Have a healthy and happy weekend!!

Wanna Be Runner

With the husband working again yesterday dinner was kept simple. I cooked up a couple of egg whites, along with my red onion/artichoke/tomato mixture, spinach, feta cheese and whole wheat wrap….dinner was ready! I love quick and simple.

The best part about getting home from work last night was finding that FedEx package sitting there waiting for me! For such a small box that the GPS Watch came in they used a HUGE box for shipping it! It was crazy. Anyway, I opened it all up trying to figure out just how to get it plugged into the wall and charged up for later that evening to use. Than dug through the directions, wow this thing can do a lot!!

Later in the evening my daughter and I hit the streets running! We were excited to try out my new Garmin GPS and see how it worked. After a five minute warm up walking we were running and I was shocked at how much easier it was than just the day before! I mean, really I was running! We were even chatting as we were running, which kind of helped me take the focus off of my breathing. I think I was over thinking the breathing making it harder on myself.

We did an exact three miles and I felt really good. I would have kept going but I had to get home in time to watch Grey’s Anatomy. LOL! Meghan has wanted a running skirt, so I told her as soon as we can run three miles (no walking) than we were buying running skirts! Always nice to have a goal to work towards where there’s a nice reward at the end.

Later in the evening we plugged my GPS Watch into the computer and with Google Maps….SO COOL! We could see where we ran, our pace, everything! Stinken cool. Looking forward to using it this weekend when we go hiking.

Have a happy and healthy weekend!

Watches and Shoes

Woo-Hoo can’t wait to get home and find my package waiting for me!! Mr. FedEx man has delivered my new Garmin GPS Watch today and everyone at the house has been instructed not to open or touch it! LOL! Hopefully I will get to test out this baby tonight.


Meghan and I went out running again last night and we even went a little farther than the night before! I have a hard time when I first start out, but after a few minutes I find I am actually running and feeling pretty good. My shoes are starting to feel a little warn and it might be time for a new pair AGAIN. It’s funny I have NEVER been an athletic person, so when I was pregnant with my son I bought a pair of tennis shoes just to help my poor feet rest. I had those shoes for EIGHT years! I never ran or anything, so no big deal. Now it’s every four to six months and I am at the shoe store buying a new pair.

Off to go see my new watch! Have a great night!

Wednesday Yummies

I looked forward to getting home last night and running on the treadmill, but quickly realized once in the door that I had left my iPod sitting on my desk. Ugh. My darling daughter offered to go running with me later that evening and no way was I passing that opportunity up!

I decided to make up a batch of crackers since I had some to die for hummus sitting in the fridge just waiting to be eaten up. I used some oats in my cracker mixture this time around along with some Italian spices and it was amazing hot out of the oven!!

Since the husband was working I tried a new BBQ Tofu recipe that had been lying around along with making sweet potato fries for dinner. The tofu was a total FLOP. Yuck. I did save it thinking maybe if we mixed it in with something else it could be saved as another meal. So, it was just sweet potato fries for dinner. LOL! Without trying a new recipe you never know if you are getting a keeper or a stinker – BBQ Tofu – stinker!

Shortly after dinner we laced up our shoes, well I did, Meg left hers at school and wore her Ed Hardy pink shoes instead. Only a 13 year-old could run in those things. Now I am not going to win any marathons or anything, but darn I actually RAN and it didn’t hurt to bad!! Meg kept cheering me on, “Come on mom you can do it!” She is such a great motivator. We are planning on going out again tonight and putting a few miles on. I can’t wait to get my Garmin GPS Watch tomorrow and be able to track our distance and work on my pace. I’ll admit – I am a gadget GEEK!! It makes me feel all giddy just thinking about it.
Tonight for dinner – veggie pizzas!! I need to stop and pick up some whole wheat tortillas and pizza sauce for the kids, myself – I like a little olive oil brushed on the tortilla myself skipping the sauce.

This weekend I am thinking about trying to making whole wheat English Muffins! How yummy that will be topped with a little Almond Butter! I will share more on that one later this weekend.

Again – Don’t forget to check out my 3-Day Online Store! Meghan’s design has really taken off and thank you again for all of your orders and helping me reach my goal of raising $2300 to walk in November!!

Balance

Balance is the word for the day, the week, heck the month. Trying to find it – Balance. Committing to the 3-Day Walk in November has become a second job. A job that I have put in place of taking care of myself and keeping on track with my exercise. I have used it as an excuse and I know better than that. Balance is not an easy thing to find in today’s day and age. With working full-time, two kids, husband, fundraising and finding time for myself I seem to feel as if I am always letting someone down. If I take time for myself by just reading a book I know my husband feels ignored, when cooking dinner I know my kids would like me to be outside with them…it can be frustrating finding that darn balance.

Turning that around today (at least what I can). Tonight I will be back on the treadmill with another C25K run. Eating healthy. Feeling better. No excuses just moving forward. What else can we do?

Other than working on my balancing act, Sunday afternoon I actually got the husband to try a meatless hotdog – and he liked it! My daughter loves them and they do make a nice quick lunch. If I had more time I would have cooked up some sweet potato fries, but we just settled with some chips and homemade salsa that I made. The salsa was a flop, but I’ll try again in a couple of weeks. Just felt like it was missing something!

My new Garmin watch will be here on Thursday!! I really need to look into some running shorts of some type, but like all women I have one area of my body that I HATE – my damn thighs. They just are not pretty to look at, that’s at least what I think. I have had a heck of a time finding shorts that aren’t too short or too long. Any recommendations?? I think secretly I am telling myself, “IfI look like a runner, than maybe I’ll be a runner!”

I do want to take a quick second and share my Guest Designer on my 3-Day Online Store – she’s none other than my 13 year-old daughter! Please stop by and check out her design and all of the others available for sale.

Speaking of “Balance” today – what do you have a hard time balancing? How do you balance it all out??

Weekend Update

Friday I was just about singing in the car on the way home. So, very ready for the weekend! We did a quick Wal-Mart shopping run and then it was time watch some truck racing and relax! The husband picked me up some Bud Select 55 to enjoy and I made meatless sloppy Joe's for dinner that he LOVED! Said it was one of my best meatless meals yet!!

This morning the daughter and I were up at 5am and on the mountain by 6:10 am. We printed out the trail map before we left and found the trail that we really wanted to check out. It's a 14 mile trail, not sure how much we covered today, but we got a little over two hours in. The only problem are all of the mountain bikers on the trail. They are all pretty cool, and we almost saw one go down the side of the mountain BACKWARDS! Oops, just glad he saved it! After the hike we again treated ourselves to McDonald's for an ice coffee for me and a drink for the kid.


I decided today to go ahead and order the Garmin 205 GPS Watch! It should be here in a week or so. I am really hoping it does well tracking distance. I gave up on my stupid @$$ Nike +. All I want to know is how far we are walking/running!! Is that too much to ask for?? Anyway, can't wait to test this baby out!!

Once home from our hike and cleaned up I "processed" something! I made the most amazing snack!! First I mixed some Greek Yogurt with a little honey and almonds. Then using my food processor I put in one frozen banana, coco and vanilla then processed for about five minutes. I did layers of the two mixtures along with some raw Oatmeal on top. OMG, to die for!! Perfect cool treat for a warm afternoon.


Then it was off for some GIRL shopping today!! It was so nice to hang out with my mom again. We did a little shopping, looked at cell phone plans for my mom, hit Spouts for a few groceries and picked up sandwiches to go. Once home we enjoyed lunch and then worked on sending out a few more 3-Day Emails. My donations are up to $1,005!! Only $1,295 to go!! Thank you to everyone who has helped!!

Tomorrow we are planning on swimming, watching NASCAR and relaxing!! I just "processed" again and made salsa for tomorrow!! I am also planning on making Apple Almond bread for breakfast since we ate the last loaf last night. It was actually pretty funny. I kept asking the husband all day if he tried any, nope. So, after dinner I cut off a little piece and told him to try it. That brought out the boy and girl child. Then we were all cutting off pieces and eating it. No plates, no napkins, no sitting down...just standing over the bread devouring the whole darn thing!! It as pretty enjoyable.

Where has this day gone?? Off to relax with a book for awhile.

Have a happy and healthy Saturday!!

A Little This and That

Last night I played the part of Super Mom when I got home from work. I changed into my Super Mom clothes (a.k.a. my workout clothes) and jumped onto the treadmill of death. I completed Day 3 of Week 3 of the C25K program.

Then I got an itching to bake something so I made Apple Almond Bread!! OMG, the house smelt amazing all night long. The kids were licking their lips waiting for the bread to come out of the oven. It was a beautiful site pulling that hot bread out and taking in the fresh baked smell. Oh, the goodness!!

While that was cooking I did some blogging and working on thank you cards for my Online Store orders shipping out this week. I didn’t make close to enough last time!

Next up was dinner time, nothing too fancy and then a couple loads of laundry. I planned on sitting out by the pool to enjoy some bread and thought a photo would be nice to share with you all, but Mazie quickly swooped in to check out the bread. I guess the dogs were licking their lips waiting for the bread to come out too!

This morning for breakfast I had some Greek Yogurt mixed with a little cinnamon, honey, Raw Oatmeal and almonds THEN threw in a chunk of the Apple Almond bread and mixed it together. AMAZING! I doubt their will be any bread left when I get home to do this again tomorrow morning for breakfast. I should have hid some.

Plans for the weekend – Would like to get a good hike in. Maybe hang out with Meg and my mom…do a little damage at the mall or something! We also have some kitchen appliance shopping to get done. We are need of a microwave and toaster. Poor Meghan is dying for toast to have her Vegemite on that Grandma brought back from Australia!! Ick. Then lots of kicking back and relaxing! I have a couple of good books I would love to dive into.

I have very special guest designer lined up for my next T-Shirt design on my 3-Day Online Store! She’s very close to my heart and can’t wait to share!!

Badass Friday

Can you guess who my guest designer is today? It's none other than the CEO of Badass Fitness - Shannon!! I have been a fan of her Badass blog for some time now and was thrilled to see my old scrapbook buddy Jenn working her amazing badass body! I am truly inspired by this blog and was thrilled when Shannon agreed to help out my fundraising cause! Thank you Shannon!!

You can find Shannon's design and more on sale now at my Online Store. Please stop by today!!

Tofu Thursday

I really looked forward to getting home yesterday and enjoying the evening with my family. I finally made the Tofu Parmesan that I had wanted make all week. We paired it up with some whole wheat pasta and it was beyond yummy! The husband really liked it, although as I had though the 10 year-old boy wanted nothing to do with it. I made a tofu dish way back and told him it was chicken, he ate it then…I should have tried that again. LOL! The rest of the family gave dinner two thumbs up! I am looking forward to my leftovers for lunch today. Would have saved them for dinner, but again we are microwaveless still.

Tonight I plan on running on the treadmill once I get home. Need to get day 2 of 3 in for the C25K program.

I still need a better way to track my distance when I walk/run outside. Really something like a watch/pedometer would work best since most of my routes I can track with an online map program. My Nike + still REALLY SUCKS. I hate that darn thing, why is it that mine won’t last more than a month?? Anyway, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!

Tofu Parmesan

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (12 ounce) package firm tofu
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon oregano, salt, and black pepper.
2. Slice tofu into 1/4 inch thick slices, and place in bowl of cold water. One at a time, press tofu slices into crumb mixture, turning to coat all sides.
3. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook tofu slices until crisp on one side. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil, turn, and brown on the other side.
4. Combine tomato sauce, basil, garlic, and remaining oregano. Place a thin layer of sauce in an 8 inch square baking pan. Arrange tofu slices in the pan. Spoon remaining sauce over tofu. Top with shredded mozzarella and remaining 3 tablespoons Parmesan.
5. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 357 Total Fat: 21.5g Cholesterol: 24mg

Have a happy and healthy Thursday....so much closer to Friday!!

Middle of the Week Food

I was a very good girl yesterday and ran on the treadmill of death! I knew I would be glad I did it once I was done, and sure enough I felt amazing when I was done. Nothing like that natural high! I keep laughing at the though of ME actually being able to run a 5K…really? I don’t have an athletic bone in my body!! I am on week 3 of the C25K, so I keep chugging through and staying positive. Still makes me giggle…yea, right.

I got a little creative with dinner last night and made a meatless/veggie tomato sauce thing with some garlic bread. I used my Morning Star Farm meatless stuff, black beans, red onion, spices, artichoke hearts and some organic tomato sauce. Heated it all up and enjoyed with some garlic bread! Yummy and easy! When the husband is working I try to keep it as easy as possible. Later in the evening while watching Glee my daughter and whipped up some of Caitlin’s Baked Banana Wonton Cookies. I seriously dream about these damn things!

Tonight I am going to try that Tofu Parmesan recipe I wanted to try on Monday, but opted for pizza and beer instead. Ugh. I need to find some recipes that call of use of my new food processor. I really want to “process” something. LOL!

Have a happy and healthy Wednesday!

Process This Baby!

My gift for Mother’s Day this year was a food processor!! My daughter actually came up with the idea and did research online to help dad pick one out. How sweet is that?!? Anyway, my family is not one well at waiting and gave it to me on Saturday afternoon. I finally had the opportunity to open it up and read through the directions on Sunday evening. Wow, I can actually “process” food now! No more killing the blender!! I made up some Garbanzo Bean burgers in seconds thanks to my new toy. At one point I am thinking, “I’ll cut up some carrots and throw in.” Duhh….chuck them in the processor!! Woo-Hoo!! Easy clean up, two thumbs up!! Now I had patties for lunch all week. When I make these I pretty much just throw stuff in and call it good. But here are the basics of my mixture -

Katherine’s Garbanzo Bean Burgers

1 can of Garbanzo Beans
1 slice of whole wheat bread
1 egg
1 egg white
1 Chipotle Pepper
½ Cup Black Beans
¼ Cup Carrots
¼ Cup Red Onion
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Garlic Powder

Using food processor mix until well blended, I like my mixture to still be a bit chucky. Heat olive oil in skillet, spoon mixture into skillet; cook about 5-7 minutes per side.

I eat mine on top of spinach with a little salsa. Very yummy!

So, I had absolute no courage to weigh myself yesterday morning. It was a very bad week and weekend. Excuse time – my allergies have been horrendous the last couple of weeks. I am so ready for the Arizona heat to get here and kill off all of this crap that is making me sneeze non-stop (I am one of those people that don’t sneeze just once – it’s about 5-7) and my poor eyes just ache. I also have extreme PMS right now. I keep reminding myself not to make any life changing decisions right now. LOL!

Because of all of this I left work yesterday just wanting to cry the whole way home. My wonderful husband came through and pulled me away from having to cook and took me out to our favorite hang out to enjoy some beer and pizza. It was much needed, but enough is enough and I am done pouting. Tonight – back on the treadmill of death!! I watched the runners out this morning while I was on my way into work and I want to do that!!

Another thank you to Gina and supporting my 3-Day Walk fundraising efforts!! I had orders rolling in all day yesterday. I couldn’t reach my goal of raising $2300 without the help from all of you!!

Have a happy and healthy Tuesday!

New Guest Designer!

A big thank you this morning to Gina at The Fitnessista blog! Gina is helping me raise the $2300 I need to walk in the 3-Day Walk for The Cure this November! All proceeds from the sales of these shirts go directly to my donations. I have been so blessed by the out poor of help by complete strangers, I had no idea just how much this would be impacting my life. Thank you, thank you for all of you that have helped me!

Mother's Day Weekend Recap

Warning - What you are about to read and see is nothing short of crap food ALL weekend!! Boy, was it enjoyable!! Remind me of that tomorrow when I hit the treadmill again. Ugh!!

Saturday morning Meghan and I were up once again at 5am to go hiking. We love starting our morning off with a breakfast cookie, however I only like mine warm. I just cannot do cold oatmeal, and since we are still living like animals (Meg thinks this - our microwave is just dead) I have to make the oatmeal in pie pans so we can heat them in the oven in the morning.

Anyway, we were on the trail by 6:10 am loving the peace and quiet. We did the trail that goes along the tops of all of the peaks, totally butt killer. Lots of little bunnies out this morning and one BIG coyote! I was afraid Meg's dog would start barking at it, but I don't think Jack saw him. Thank goodness. About 20 minutes into our hike I was feeling pretty tired, but we kept at it. Two hours later we start heading back to the car, thought I knew of a shortcut...yeah it added on ONE more hour!! After three hours I deserved a McDonald's ice coffee!!

Once home Meg and I cleaned up and ran out to do a few things. We bought dad new beer glasses and a bunch of beer to put into the new glasses for his birthday! We found a beer made by Avery Brewing Co. and had to buy it since it was named Avery...as in our dog. :) It was actually really good! We also had a few things to buy for Sunday and ran over to the scrapbook store.

I made thank you cards to put into the orders shipping out from my Online Store. Thought it would be a nice little personal touch. It has been a while since I have done ANY scrapbooking, but I think they turned out pretty cute!!

Before the boys got home from the dirt bike park I had fresh crackers made to enjoy with some hummus and John's beer chilling in the fridge.

We all spent the afternoon hanging out by the pool AND IN the pool!! Even me....that is shocking let me tell you! It was such a warm afternoon it was a great way to spend it.

Sunday morning I was up and enjoying coffee outside by the pool. We had a Breakfast Blueberry French Toast bake in the oven that I had put together the night before. Let me tell you, it was Mother's Day and I was eating as much as I wanted to!! Ugh, this really started about Wednesday. LOL!

I did some early baking for later in the day. Worked on thank you cards. Did laundry....what didn't I do today??

Today was the perfect Mother's Day, not only did I get a cool food processor that I wanted BUT my mom came home from Australia today!! She's been gone for three long months. Thank you Scott and Juliet for taking such great care of her!! The kids were excited to see her come through the gates and Matt had all kinds of questions to ask on the ride home.

My little sis, her boyfriend and his parents all came over to my mom's house for a nice little lunch. My mom had brought the kids back some really cool stuff. Shirts, candy, boomerang and the most adorable box of chocolate!! I am pretty sure my mother will be spending the next week in bed! LOL!