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Super Goal Sunday and Big Easy Irony

February 7, 2010 by

Hey All!

This weekend, I planned to accomplish several things, including:

  1. Study for my CPT exam
  2. Run
  3. Shop for groceries
  4. Clean
  5. Study some more

It’s funny that I accomplished all of those things, and more, in just one day! So, I am calling today my personal, Super Goal Sunday! I started the morning with a sweaty run on the t-mill (I’ve got to get that heat turned down – ugh!). I am sooo looking forward to running outside in Orlando in a few weeks. The treadmill is really starting to get old.

Breakfast was a super energizing bowl of Trader Joe’s Greek yogurt with a dollop of all-natural peanut butter and a few walnuts…

Breakfast was followed by a little lot of grocery shopping! I can’t believe I spent more than $80 on groceries – guess that’s what happens when you have two growing kids and a husband who is training for the Chicago triathlon.

Lunch was a carbon copy of yesterday’s lunch…

A reduced fat salami sandwich – only this time I had three-cheese bakery bread. Wow – the bread made all the difference in the world. I swear I could have eaten the whole loaf by itself! Along with my sandwich, I also had a few carrots, some low-fat chips and a juicy naval orange. I have been craving citrus fruits so I bought a bag of oranges today. I just couldn’t wait to dig into them!

After lunch, I cleaned a good portion of the house, then headed off to Barnes and Noble to study. After about an hour of studying, I had a mocha frap, mostly to keep me from dozing (only had 6 hours of sleep last night). I only have about a week left to study before the big test! Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Dinner was Scott’s creation – chicken stir-fry…

Stir-fry is so easy to make and it is relatively healthy, as long as you don’t douse it with sodium-fill soy sauce. Plus, you can add all sorts of yummy and color veggies to it to make it even healthier. 

**Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints! On a side note, here’s a bit of irony – Big Easy style.**

The Year of the Big Easy

  • In December 2009, Disney released it’s Princess and the Frog movie, set in New Orleans
  • We will be in Disney World during Mardi Gras
  • We will be staying at the French Quarter
  • The New Orleans Saints win the Super Bowl

How’s that for coincidence? 

Ok, I’m off to study a little more before bed. Have a great night!

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Weekend Goals

February 5, 2010 by

Hey All – I’m gonna make this short and sweet, because I’m off doing what I should be doing – living life.

Goals for the weekend:

  1. Study for my upcoming CPT exam
  2. Run
  3. Clean
  4. Shop for groceries
  5. Study some more

Sounds like a fun weekend, doesn’t it? 🙂

See you all on Saturday.

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Like Being in College, Except You Get Paid

January 29, 2010 by

Happy Friday! Don’t know about you but I am really ready for the weekend. I stayed up until 12:30 AM last night to finish a project for work. I felt like I was in college/grad school again, playing beat the clock against a mid-term deadline. Back in college, I used to think that all that work and pulling all-nighters wouldn’t be so bad if we got paid for it. Well, now that I AM getting paid for it, I wish I was getting paid MORE! 

Despite only getting about 6 hours of sleep, I had a great run this morning on the treadmill. It really is too cold to run outside here in Chicago – at least in my opinion. Although I complain about running on the treadmill day after day, I really am thankful that I have one.

Breakfast was a hearty bowl of oatmeal, with a tad of brown sugar and a few chopped walnuts…

I had to make a Target and Costco run for things for the party tomorrow, which consumed most of my morning. But I did cash in my Starbucks giftcard for a tall mocha frap. Instead of drinking it right away, I put it in the fridge to stay cold until after lunch…

Since I’m trying to stick to 1,600 calories a day for the next few days, I’ve been really watching my portions. As you can see, I had a 1/2 sandwich made with reduced-fat salami and a 1/2 slice of Swiss, plus a few carrots and chips to balance it out.

While the kids napped, I savored my mocha frap and spent the better part of 2 hours perusing the menus at Disney World. We have been very strategic about our restaurant choices, trying to balance quality food with a fun atmosphere for the kids. You’re probably thinking that every restaurant at Disney provides a fun atmosphere for kids – well, not really. Some do a better job than others. This balancing act also includes trying to split our meals between a la carte menus and buffets. Here’s the catch, most character meals are buffets and most of these get pretty low ratings for food. But, when you have small children, you want to go to character meals to make it more fun for the kids and not just like going out to eat back home.

As I checked out the menus online, which are very accurate by the way, I was contemplating some of the healthier choices for both me and the kids. On the dining plan, the kids have to order off the kid’s menu. And wouldn’t you know it, nearly all of the menus include hot dogs, pizza, chicken fingers, burgers, and mac and cheese. Come on – I know kids are picky but couldn’t you be more original than that? That’s not to say that my kids won’t eat those things because they absolutely will – but twice a day for seven days?? Even my kids would get bored with that. And what is even more strange is that the appetizer for the kids (the kid’s meal includes an appetizer) they can choose from a salad or carrots sticks. I know that those are healthy choices, but how many kids do you know (especially those 5 and under) who eat salads or carrot sticks for an appetizer? It seems like it should be switched, give them something a little more “fun” for an appetizer and give them a healthier choice for the entree.

Anyway, dinner ended up being homemade chicken noodle soup, which tasted really good on a cold day. Before soup, we actually started with a little white cheddar and crackers…

Again, because I’m watching my portions, I had one small cup of soup – about 10 ounces. But it looked really good in my fancy smancy cup…

I’m off to go finish up a few party things before bed. See you all tomorrow!

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1,600 Calories in Two Days

January 26, 2010 by

The title of this post really says it all. In the last 24 hours, I have consumed about 1,600 calories, equaling about 800 calories per day. No, I’m not trying some crash diet. I have been very sick since Sunday night with both the stomach and respiratory flu. Not a good combination. 

As I mentioned last night, I was only able to make it though a 1/2 day of work yesterday. In all of my sick glory, I was only able to eat some jello, two cookies (later in the day), and sip a little Sprite. As you can imagine, I was so weak this morning that I was not even going to attempt running. I did make it through a whole day of work today and was able to keep down a piece of toast, followed by some chicken soup for lunch.

By dinner time, I was feeling much better and actually quite hungry, so I made myself a little sammie…

I had very high hopes for this salami and cheese sandwich, but after eating just 1/2 of the sandwich I was feeling very full and a little sick again. I tried to eat the apples as well…

But I guess when you’re sick, nothing tastes good, not even sweet, crunchy apples.

When I weighed myself this morning, I was sure I had lost 2-3 pounds, given how much I was sick and how much I did not eat. However, I was only one pound lighter. But, after I thought about it, I was in bed practically the whole day yesterday, so I was not exerting much energy – not enough to burn significant calories. 

I honestly don’t mind losing a pound here and there when I’m sick – it all balances out anyway. But what I don’t like is not being able to eat – due to loss of appetite or whatever. If you can’t eat, you can’t fuel your body with calories which help you engage in your daily activities – especially exercise, therefore you feel tired, weak, and just plain blah! And anytime I can’t exercise – well, let’s just say I’m not much fun to be around. Conclusion..being one pound lighter is not worth being sick – AT ALL!

OK, enough from me. I need to get some sleep so I don’t relapse 🙁

Have a good night.

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Surprise! It's A Boy…And A Girl

January 4, 2010 by

Hello out there! It has been nearly 6 months since I started Running With Cake. Like most of you, I don’t reveal all of my surprises right away, if at all. Some information needs to be kept close for security purposes or for other sensitive reasons.

What I’m getting to is this. Surprise! Scott and I are the parents of two young children! Our son, let’s call him Mr. C, is 4 and our daughter, we’ll call her Miss M, is 2 (very James Bond-esque names, don’t ya think ;-)). They, along with my husband, bring me so much happiness just by their presence.

IMG_4454

There they are, looking out onto the orchard where we went apple picking in September.

I chose not to mention my children for many reasons, but here are a few top ones:

  1. Safety/security reasons – too many crazies out there!
  2. I wanted this blog to be about my health habits and not a mommy blog (but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with mommy blogs)
  3. I didn’t want to be one of those people who talks about their kids all the time

So, as I’ve been writing the past 6 months, retelling my daily eating habits, health habits, and overall life events, my children have been with me 100% of the way. They have actually been a key part of my healthy lifestyle. I mean, how can you NOT be healthy chasing after two little ones?? I’m also a firm believer that our children will follow our lead, so I’m trying to not only be healthy for me, but also to set an example for them. I want them to grow up loving exercise and sports, while also knowing the importance of healthy and balanced eating. My son often says, “Mom, when I get bigger, I’m going to run with you.” For a mother and a runner, that is a sentence that brings me tears of joy.

Going forward, I don’t know how much I will mention Mr. C and Miss M, if at all, but know that they are still a huge part of my life and my heart.

By the way, if you think you have a crazy and stressful life, take a look at mine.

Jennifer (aka Running With Cake) is a…

  • Wife of a successful entrepreneur 
  • Mother of two
  • Career women with a full-time senior-level position
  • Author of two blogs
  • Aspiring Personal Trainer (studying for the exam!) 
  • An avid runner
  • A frequent traveler (for work mostly)
  • A neat freak

Whew! Can I have any more responsibility in my life! 🙂

Night all!

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