Blackberry Martini – Sort of…

I have had this urge to purge all things unnecessary in my house. I seriously want to get rid of anything that does not have a purpose. As a result, Tuesday and Wednesday became huge cleaning days for me. I cleaned out drawers, cabinets, sorted through clothes, etc.  I contemplated giving away a good portion of our glassware that we received from our wedding. In the 9 years that we’ve been married, I think I’ve used our margarita glass once! I’ve kept them around all these years, just in case we had a margarita emergency, but that never happened. Now, all they do is take up space. So, I am donating them to a good home to someone at work.

As for the dozen Martini glasses –  I’m keeping them around to – what else? – hold my blackberries! Hmm, somehow everything looks and tastes better when it’s served in a Martini glass – don’t you think? Classy and healthy – just my style.

Now, on to more purposeful things….

Tea Forte for Breakfast

Morning everyone! I missed yoga this morning. I literally walked in the door 5 minutes before class and the guy at the front desk told me they were full – blah! Come on people, it’s a Wednesday! Oh well, I’m on vacation. Relax and breathe.

Lack of yoga allowed me to get a jump on the home cleaning I need to do today. But first…breakfast! I had an awesome almond croissant that I picked up from fresh market last night – super light and fluffy. I also tried a new bagged tea – Tea Forte’s Forte Breakfast – good but not as good as Tazo Awake – but is anything? And, just because they filled with fiber and they taste good – I had a full cup of fresh blackberries – holy 8g of fiber!

I’m off to do more cleaning then trimming the trees and bushes.

Lumberjack Jen

Growing Your Own Vegetable Garden

Late last night, I started watching the last episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on Hulu. I enjoyed the episode as always, but something toward the end of the show really hit home. The episode showed school children and families working in their gardens, harvesting their own vegetables. Scott and I have talked about planting our own vegetable garden for years, but have never really made an attempt. Then, last night, around 11 PM, I declared that we would start our own garden.

(Photo courtesy of Flickr)

There are many reasons why I want to have our own vegetable garden:

  1. Convenient, fresh produce – A vegetable garden, if it is appropriately tended, can yield an abundance of fresh produce, right outside your back door. So, if you’re lucky enough, you won’t have to make those last-minute trips to the market to pick up peppers or tomatoes, you can just meander into your backyard.
  2. Cost Savings – We all know that most fruits and veggies are very expensive these days. By planting some of the more expensive veggies – like bell peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce, you may end up saving quite a bit of money by the end of the summer.
  3. Life Lessons – Although my two children eat many vegetables, I would love for them to eat more. By getting them involved in the planting and care of the garden (and picking the veggies!), I’m hoping that they will be more excited about eating them.

So, after my garden declaration, Scott and I discussed where we’d like to plant a garden, what we’d like to plant, and when.

  • Where – The most obvious place to plant the garden is in our current raised garden which, before today, was home to a few flowers, weeds, and a ton of rocks that we had from a small pond we drained a few years back. The raised platform can help with water drainage and keep a few pests away.
  • What – Everything we’ve read about starting your first vegetable garden says to not take on too much your first year. We decided to pick a few of our favorites, particularly those veggies which are expensive at the store. These include tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, romaine or spinach, jalapeno, possibly melon, and a few herbs like cilantro and basil. We also intend to grow strawberries using one of these hanging planters. I really hope it works because we love strawberries and they are so expensive at the store.
  • When – Well, there’s no time like the present! We decided that we would start today! Our first step was to get the garden ready to plant, which meant, taking most of the rocks away, digging up weeds and other plants, and turning over the soil. Little did we know that this first step would take nearly 6 hours – and we still have more to do!

Next week, we’ll tackle the potting soil and maybe even plant our first vegetables! Stay tuned…

Gettin' Tarty in Austin

Hey Y’all – I’m blogging live from Austin, TX! Hence, the Y’all. One thing I will say about Texas is that it’s HOT! It was 86 degrees today, which is so hot for me coming from 55 degrees in Chicago.

(Photo courtesy of Flickr)

The warm weather made me temporarily lose my head and walk right into a Tart frozen yogurt cafe. Why do we not have one of these cafes in Chicago! This is a made-to-order “yogurt bar” where you can portion out as much yogurt as you like and top it with whatever you fancy. Then, you take your creation up to be weighed and voila! $5.00 later, you are enjoying your very own frozen yogurt creation!

Unfortunately, I did not have my camera on me at the time of the yogurt purchase, but I had a mixture of the following:

  • Tart yogurt
  • Blueberry yogurt
  • Strawberry banana yogurt
  • Chocolate yogurt
  • Mini M&M’s
  • Walnuts
  • Butterfinger crumbs

Now before you jump to conclusions, I took very small portions of each yogurt and less than a teaspoon of each of the toppings. It ended up being a small-medium size yogurt – and I enjoyed every bite! I am so glad that frozen yogurt is low in calories (please tell me it is!!!)

Gotta run, my meetings start very early tomorrow! Have a great night – y’all 🙂

Social Media-Free Birthday

Happy Birthday to ME!! Yes, today was my (add number here) birthday. For the last few years, I have spent my birthday away from home – in Orlando, San Diego, Key West, etc. But, because I’ve been traveling so much for work, I’m really glad I was able to spend this one at home.

Cupcake with colorful sprinkles

This morning, the kids woke up around 6AM and Scott so nicely got up with them, leaving me to “sleep in” until 7 AM. When I finally jumped out of bed, I was greeted by birthday wishes and homemade birthday cards – including one from Scott. Very sweet.

Birthday Run

Even though today was my birthday, I still went out for my normal Sunday morning run – this time, it was a 7-miler. For nearly an hour, it was just me and the road – which is precisely how I like it. The last time I ran 7 miles (I think on Wednesday), my legs were so heavy on the last mile. I really had to push myself to finish. Today, I felt much stronger, like I could have run another mile or two. I’ll soon see how I do with added mileage since I’m scheduled to run an 8-miler this week.

Birthday Treats

By the time I arrived home from my run, at least an hour had passed. When I walked through the door, the kids yelled “surprise” and presented me with an assortment of treats from our local bakery. Not the healthiest, but it’s ok once in a while, plus, it’s the thought that counts. The kids were so excited that they had picked out a chocolate coffee cake, a cherry danish, and a lemon bar for all of us to share. I have to admit, they all tasted really good, but I really can’t let myself get used to that type of breakfast. To offset the starch and sugar, I had some Dannon Strawberry Greek yogurt – high in protein, which is great for post-run fueling.

Birthday Fun

The rest of the day was spent with family – lunch, soccer practice, then onto the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Although the whole day could be considered a wonderful birthday, I think my favorite part was seeing the kids “dance” in their car seats to Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants the way home from the zoo. Mr. C even declared, “This is the best song in the whole world!” Not sure how much weight that statement has coming from a 5-year old who has only heard the song a couple times!

Because I was away from home most of the day, I had nearly a social media-free birthday, which felt SO good! Having a computer/Internet/Social Media-free day every once in a while can feel so liberating. When I do have the chance to do this, I have to admit, it’s hard to come back.

Ok, I’m off to get ready for work tomorrow. Have a great night!

My 15 Seconds of Fame – Kind of

As most of you know, I attended a conference last week in Orlando. During one of the evening social events, which took place at Disney World (yeah!) there was a live feed filming all of the attendees as they arrived to the event. The live feed was projected on a giant screen for all to see, complete with the Black Eyed Peas blaring in the background (just a recording, Fergie was no where in sight). Take a look at my 15 seconds of fame…

Yep, that’s me in the light blue shirt with the scarf around my neck. A colleague of mine happened to snap this photo just as he saw me come up on the screen. How cool is that? I gotta feelin’….yes it was a good night. I should have been in pictures.

That’s about all I have time for today. I’m scheduled to run at least 5 miles tomorrow (possibly in the rain) so must get to bed.

Have a great night everyone!

Business Travel Fitness

Often times, people use business travel as an excuse to avoid or postpone their workouts. They’re too busy, too tired, or too stressed to workout. Well, I’m just the opposite. I see business travel as a prime opportunity to enhance my workout – I get to run in a new city, with new sites, new routes, etc. No matter how tired or busy I am, I always find time for a run when I’m traveling for business.

Upward dog yoga pose

For instance, I just returned from Disney World where I was on 4-day business trip. Each day, the conference lasted from about 8 AM to 5:30 PM, followed by an evening reception or dinner with my team. This schedule included longer hours than I was used to in a normal workweek. Yet, 3 of the 4 days I managed to run. I would get up by 6 AM and be out the door by 6:15/6:30 AM. I would head out in the dark toward the Magic Kingdom, taking in all of the morning sounds – including early-rising families anxious to get to the park upon its opening, birds and other wildlife, workers spraying the sidewalks and vegetation, and, most importantly, the music and magic that illuminated from the Magic Kingdom itself. The path leading from the resort past the Magic Kingdom was about 1.75 miles round trip. This was not the best distance, but the path repetition was much better than vying for a treadmill in the resort. My runs would last anywhere from 30-45 minutes, which brought me back in time to meet my group at the 8 AM session. I loved knowing that I was finished with my workout even before most people were having breakfast.

I admit, getting just 6 hours of sleep 4 nights in a row, coupled with early morning runs really takes a toll on the body. But to me, it’s all worth it in the end. If you are like me and travel quite a bit for work or even for fun, remember that you don’t have to neglect your exercise routine while you’re away. Even if you can’t put in your full/regular workout, doing a partial workout can reenergize you and keep you from feeling guilty about all the food and martinis you may be consuming.

Just like jello, no matter where you are, there’s always room for a workout! Here are a few ideas on how to burn a few calories on your next trip:

  • Run or walk around the resort/hotel or city, provided you feel safe.
  • Utilize the hotel gym. If your hotel doesn’t have its own gym, ask if they partner with a local gym that hotel guests can use.
  • Do yoga or stretching in your room. Try yoga download for great yoga routines on the go.
  • Arrange to take a bike or hiking tour with a local company or borrow a bike and a map from the hotel.
  • Swim in the hotel pool.
  • Pack a jump rope and jump in your room (if on the ground floor) or outside in a garden area.

Here’s to more safe, healthy, and happy travels!

Dessert at Disney World

Hello all! Well, despite only getting about 6 hours of sleep, I woke up at 6:15 AM for my morning run at Disney World! Believe me, if there’s anywhere you’re motivated to run that early, it’s Disney World. Besides, I wanted to get my run in before the conference started at 8 AM. I ended up going only about 4 miles, due to time constraints.

I won’t bog you down with details of the conference, but I will say that Disney puts on an awesome “show” for business professionals. And, the food is amazing!!! Seriously, I’ve wanted to take pictures of everything, but it does really seem strange to take photos of food when everyone is standing around me. I’m going to attempt to take a few photos on the sly tomorrow.

However, I did get some pics of my fabulous dessert at Citrico’s, a Mediterranean-themed restaurant in the Grand Floridian resort…

This was a banana chocolate lava cake – sooo good, but definitely pushed me from the “I’m slightly full” stage to the “I’m stuffed” stage – totally regretting eating it now. And yes, that dark swirly, crown looking thing was made out of chocolate – and I did try a bite or two! Our server also gave us each a little bag of biscotti to take home as a “gift”. I scored two – yeah!

Heading to bed now. Have to be up and at ’em by 6:15 Am again for that brisk morning run to the Magic Kingdom!

Have a great night!

Back in the World

Hey all! Well I’m here in sunny Florida again on a business trip. It’s so hard being at Disney World without Scott and the kids – it’s like  a part of me is missing. I tried to overcome my sadness by indulging in a flaky French pastry from Epcot…

Note to self – do not drown sorrows in high-calorie French pastries. The pastry didn’t really improve my mood, but it sure tasted good! After my treat, I walked around the world for over 2 hours! I really needed that too since I did not have time to run this morning. Too bad I forgot my Gruve 🙁

That’s all I have time for tonight. My meeting starts bright and early tomorrow morning (7:30 AM!) and I’m hoping to get up and run around the world (Disney World of course) before the day starts.

Speaking of running, check out my very first blog post on Bookieboo, where you can learn about the ongoing debate of running vs. walking.

Have a great night!

POM Wonderful Care Package

Hey All! As you may have noticed, I’ve been slightly increasing the distance of my early morning runs. On Friday and Sunday, I did a 10K on each day – Friday in 50 minutes and Sunday in 48 minutes! This morning, I ran 5.5 miles in 42 minutes. I just can’t seem to slow down – he he! I’m trying to recruit some of my friends to run the Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon – so far, no takers 🙁

Although I’ve been loving these fast and furious runs, my legs are not very happy. My hips and calves are very sore. It’s been ages since I’ve been sore from running – I almost forgot what it felt like!

When I arrived home from work today, I had two surprises waiting for me. Surprise #1 – a care package from POM, special delivery from Fitbloggin – yeah!

The great folks at POM sent Scott and I 8 bottles of pure pomegranate juice. I never really tried pomegranate juice until Fitbloggin, but I’m so glad that I did (mmm…memories of POM martinis!). After Baltimore, I ended up getting the flavored POM juices at the store and loved them – so did the kids. Just wish they didn’t have so many calories in them 🙁

Surprise #2 – Scott stopped off at a bakery on his way home from class and bought me French macarons…

I have honestly never had macarons that were so huge! They were easily 4 inches in diameter, which is very uncharacteristic of a French macaron. But they were delicious!

Tonight is a packing night because I’m headed out to Orlando early Wednesday morning. I’m going to have 4 days of sun and warm weather – kind of. I will mostly be attending a conference indoors, but will have a day or so to roam around Disney. If you all remember, my last trip to Disney in early March ended up being a very cold trip. It only got above 70 degrees on one day while we were there. At least this time, I can pack lighter clothes because the weather is supposed to be in the 80s!

Alright, must get to bed. I’m hoping to do an easy 3-4 miles tomorrow to give my legs a break. Night all.