T.G.I.F.

Photo credit: Dear Musketeer

Happy Friday!  Any fun plans for the weekend?

I will be participating in my second half marathon, the Brewers Mini, on Saturday.  I'm excited, but of course nervous.  No matter how many races I do, I still get the pre-race jitters.  I'll be sure to post pics!

Enjoy the weekend everyone :)

Words of encouragement

It's been a stressful week so far to say the least.  But that's what happens in college, right?  Even though I hardly feel like the typical college student.

Stress factor #1: This nasty cold/sinus infection I've been fighting knowing that my half marathon is in three short days.  In cold, possibly rainy, weather.  And the fact that, because I've been sick, I have done zero workouts this week.
Stress factor #2:  A pharmaceutical drug presentation in Chemistry, but as of today, that is DONE!  Hooray!
Stress factor #3:  My first Microboiology exam of the semester coming up tomorrow.

Stress factor #4:  The fast-approaching deadline for my UW application.

For some, this might not seem like a lot.  But when it comes to schoolwork, I get anxious quite easily.  I'm truly afraid of giving myself an ulcer.  I know I need to relax some, so in times of need, I give myself little pep talks.  Normally, just little phrases to keep myself going and ensure myself that I will make it through!  

Some of my favorites...

• Take it one step at a time.  Or one day.  Or one assignment.  Or one class.  You get the gist.
• Just keep swimming, Just keep swimming. :)
• I also like to remind myself that I'm not the only one in this boat.  And actually, compared to some others, my boat is pretty darn awesome.  So many other students are working three jobs, plus going to school full time.  Or have kids at home to take care of.  I have me.  (And David, but he's pretty self-reliant.)  If those people can do it, I can do it.

It's kind of nice seeing my personal "cheers" written down, I recommend making a list of your own for when things get hectic.

My favorite blue tang, Dory.

One thing helping me out this week, besides my Chem-class friend, are big, make-ahead meals.  I stayed home from class on Monday in case my face exploded from the sinus pressure, and I was surprisingly productive.  I made a big batch of this veggie quinoa salad I found in my Women's Health magazine.  They used wheat berries but I couldn't find them at the grocery store.  So instead, I substituted quinoa because I've cooked with it before and like the taste.  It says it makes four servings, but those would be some big servings.  I figure I can get about seven out of it.  I brought this salad with an apple for lunch yesterday and was plenty full!

The other life-saving recipe I made this week was found over at Taste of Home.  It's a Greek pasta bake and is full of vegetables!  Plus they are huge portions so you definitely won't go hungry.  David really liked it too, it was hard to keep him away from it even after we were finished eating.

If you have a favorite (healthy) casserole dish, crock-pot recipe or other make-ahead meal I'd love to hear it!  I only have time for cooking about two nights a week so I need all the help I can get.

Back to the homework I go!

Boot camp ain't for babies.

It's Thursday-- the weekend is almost here!  I must say it's been a pretty good week, especially work-out-wise.

It started with a long run on Sunday.  I had to make up for last week's long run because my running buddy and I didn't make it as far as we had planned.  So Sunday rolled around and I told myself I would do 11 miles.  I was dreading it.  Big time.  But I knew I'd feel better once I did it, so I forced myself out the door.  I  had a nice walking warm-up to get to my starting point and off I went.  And I kept going, and going, and going.  And I felt good.  Really good.  I think it's safe to say that that was one of my best runs ever.  The weather was gorgeous and I stayed steady at a 10 minute/mile pace.  You hear people talk about "runner's high" and even though I've been running for several years now, I think that was the first time I actually experienced.  I know why they call it a high!

Monday I gave myself the day off because for one, I had to work, and two, I wanted to rest my legs after that run.  Oh yea, and boot camp was coming up on Tuesday.  I don't really know what I was expecting it to be like, but whatever it was, I had it wrong.  By the end, I was dripping, and I mean dripping, sweat.  We did burpees (yuck), blast-offs (ouch), lunges (ehh) and much, much more.  Needless to say, my legs were a'burning!

I think I was surprised because of the fact that I'm training for a half marathon.  I thought I'd be good to go.  Definitely not the case.  Lesson learned though, just because you can run, doesn't mean you're in shape.  But I'm excited to keep going and keep improving.

I'm still sore today but I'm going to Zumba tonight in hopes of loosening up my muscles again.  Isn't it odd how you can overcome the soreness by doing another workout?  The human body sure is fascinating.

I must say that with the balanced eating and consistent workouts lately, I've been feeling really good.  I feel strong.  I feel lean.  I feel like I can keep going.  I'm really showing myself that when you eat with a purpose (to fuel, nourish, etc.) your body will operate so much more efficiently.  Now that  might sound like common sense, but as I sit in the school common's writing this, I see a lot of mindless eating.  I could go on and on about this, I guess it's the (future) dietician in me, but I'll stop here.  Instead I'd like to know what are your favorite foods to fuel with?  Lately, one of mine is trail mix.  Nuts for protein to keep me full, raisins for energy and the chocolate for my sweet tooth.  :)

I suppose I better get back to work.  Unfortunately, chemistry homework does not do itself.
Until next time!

Did someone say salmon?

One of our local grocery store's had 5 oz salmon fillets on sale this week that I just couldn't pass up.  I picked them up today and  began contemplating what exactly I'd do with them.  Leave it plain and pair it with spicy broccoli?  Maybe some red potatoes?  Nah.  Add it to some left over pasta?  Boring.  Give it some Asian flavor and saute some veggies?  Yes, please!

I don't know about you, but I love Eating Well.  I really should subscribe to their magazine.  After doing a few Google searches, I was led to a "Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon" dish.  This summer I've been on somewhat of a (reduced sodium) soy sauce kick so this totally tripped my trigger.  Like the website suggested, I cooked up some zucchini and red bell peppers as a side.  Delish!

I followed the recipe almost exactly, but I did improvise for a few things.

I started with two, 5 oz salmon fillets.  I love getting individual portions because then I don't have to worry about over-doing it. 

Next I mixed up the marinade.  I used:

• 1 Tbs reduced sodium soy sauce  
• 1/2 Tbs honey 
• 1/2 Tbs white wine vinegar
• a fresh garlic clove, minced
• a few shakes of ground ginger  

I mixed up the marinade and put everything in a big ziploc bag then let it sit for about 15 minutes.  In the meantime I cut up the veggies.  Love the colors!

The salmon is ready to broil.  Not the prettiest fish to photograph, but it sure is tasty!

While the salmon was in the oven (smelled delicious, by the way), I finished up the veggies.  I didn't want to use any oil so I started with just the zucchini in a hot pan.  After a few minutes I gave one half of a lemon a good squeeze and continuously moved the zucchini around in the pan.  Once I could tell it was softened up some, I added the red pepper and a bit more lemon juice.  I kept stirring and let them cook a few more minutes.  I never really looked at the clock, just eye-balled everything.  I thought about adding seasoning but I just wanted to enjoy them as they are.  The seasoning possibilities are endless...

And dinner is served.  I scarfed that down like nobody's business.

Overall, it was a really easy dinner.  I will definitely be saving this recipe for one of the next time salmon goes on sale.  Hopefully soon!  (You can find the exact recipe here.)

I'm glad I was finally able to include some pictures in a post.  I really love using my camera so I hope to do that more often :)  Perhaps tomorrow?  I'm meeting up with a friend for breakfast for her birthday and then we're heading off to the city's farmer's market.  Can't wait to see what goodies we will find!

Hooray for the weekend!

School is in session!

I'm only a week in and I'm already exhausted!  This blog is all about balance though, so I will find a way to make everything work :)

I only have one class tomorrow so I just have one tiny piece of homework to worry about.  Which means I had time to cook!  David even got home in time to help.  It's always fun to cook together, the extra set of hands makes it seem like less of a chore.  We had extremely ripe tomatoes so we made some spaghetti with homemade meatballs and homemade sauce.  

yum. yUM.  YUM!


I had read over some old blog posts and found a cookie recipe I made back in April.  (You can find that post here.)  We have strong sweet "tooths" in this house so I decided to make them tonight for dessert.  Glad I did!  Except now they won't stop calling my name...Just say no, Ellen.  Just say no.

Earlier this week I decided to embark on a "veggie project" and so far it's going quite well.  We finally got our new batch of CSA vegetables so we're all stocked up.  In the meantime though, I had to get creative.  I've had fresh pumpkin in the freezer for almost a year now so I think it's about time that gets used up, huh?  Yesterday I had pumpkin oatmeal, which needs to be tweaked, it turned out pretty bland.  And today I made a pumpkin pie protein shake- which had a little too much flavor (I got a little cinnamon-happy).  So once I get those fixed I'll be sure to share recipes. :)

My second half marathon is coming up in just two short weeks!  I was feeling really confident up until last night when a friend and I tried an eleven mile run.  My stomach was upset and her knee was crippled.  We still made it a little over nine, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed.  Training is just so time consuming it can be hard to manage everything AND stay motivated.  That's why I have to just take one day at a time.
I realize this isn't the most exciting post, but as I've mentioned, I want to keep up with this blog.  Even if it means boring posts once in a while.  I promise, they won't always be like this.

Happy Friday Eve!

Back in the game

Apparently I'm a terrible blogger.  I've gone months without a word but it's time to get back at it! 

David's a teacher and last night a bunch of his colleages and several of their spouses got together for Labor Day, one last summer hoorah!  It was actually one of the wives there that I was talking to that "re-inspired" me to get back to this blog.  I'm hoping to really stick to it this time. 

Overall, David and I had a really nice summer.  I can't say that it was necessarily a quiet, relaxing one, but it was fun.  I started out with two weeks of break while he finished his last two weeks of his school year.  Once he was done, I started my summer Chemistry class.  That certainly kept me busy!  But we found time for a trip to St. Louis, a couple camping trips and a few baseball games.  We stayed active with an Ultimate Frisbee team and rewarded ourselves with free pitchers of beer. 

It was a hot summer too!  Wisconsin had record temps and weeks without rain.  Our usual green grass was was crisp and brown.  It was not a pretty sight, but slowly things have turned around!

Anyways, that was our summer in a nutshell.  Now I'm already back in school and we have our second half marathon coming up in three short weeks!  I haven't been as good about training, I think because now that I've done one I know what to expect and I'm not as worried.  As long as I beat my time I'll be happy :)

I've mentioned before how healthy living has become such a big priority of my life.  It's not that I want to be the skinniest (hate that word) person out there, I just want to feel good.  I want to wake up with energy and have it last throughout the day so I'm able to get the things done I not only need to, but want to accomplish.  Now, Rome wasn't built in a day, so I have to look at the changes I want to make as baby steps. 

Back before my hiatus, I wrote how I went without added sugar for two weeks.  I'd like to work on that again at some point but I first I think I want to work on my veggie intake.  I was never a veggie lover growing up.  But slowly, I'm finding more and more that I really do like.  Over the summer we participated in a CSA which forced me to find new recipes for these vegetables that I had never tried, sometimes never even heard of.  One of my favorites was kohlrabi.  I made the most delicious vegetarian stir-fry... sooo good!!  So now that I have more ways to incorporate vegetables I want to work on the regular intake of them.  My challenge for the next month is to get the recommended 4 1/2 cups of fruits and vegetables (2 cups fruit, 2 1/2 cups veggies) for women my age.  Every day.  Feel free to take the challenge with me, or just cheer me on!

Well I think this post is long enough...Until next time!