Breakfast x2

So I fell off the wagon a bit on posting what I'm been noshing on, here's a shot of yesterday's breakfast-- I don't think you want to know what I ate after that, we'll just call it a "free" day- it ended in peanut m&ms and licorice at the new Meryl Streep movie, It's Complicated (SO SO SO GOOD! Middle age crisis with middle age sex= so so funny!)

Back on track this morning though, I woke up well rested at 7:30, with homework on my mind. Obviously that has led me to blogging more then working on my books, but I'll take it. Brekkie was another pink-grey-green monster. I'm failing at making these, eventually I'll figure it out, until then, I'll take any advice you can give me on what I'm doing wrong (in making it green- I'm sure I'm doing all right things in making a yummy smoothie).

In it was 1.5C spinach, 1/2 banan, 1 scoop of brown rice vanilla protein, 1/2 C frozen blueberry/rasp combo, 1/4C soy milk and water. I blended it on up in my magic bullet, and it was nowhere near green. I tried though, failed, but tried and I will keep trying. As for the smoothness without the banana, it doesn't exist, I haven't found anything that will give it a velvety texture without a banana (and I haven't looked hard either).

I also enjoyed the other half of banana with some PB on a corn thin, pretty good brekkie, I love the spinach addition, I can't believe I never went there before!

Good Morning

Nothing to worry about here.

I got up this am super nervous for my first day at run club. It's like starting a new school program, or moving to a new city. Am I going to meet people? I hope they're not all losers.. I hope that I find someone cool to run with... I really don't want to be the slowest one there.. What if my legs give out and my leggings rip and I'm half naked lying on the side of the road as everyone tramples me (ok- far stretched, but what if?!)

Good news! There were cool people to run with, it was an easy pace and it was all over with in an hour and a half (the first half hour was getting organized then we ran for 63mins). I guess we're all in the same boat with our worries, but it's nice to have that first one done and out of the way, and know that I'm going to be ok. Last night I had started to question whether this was something I really wanted to do or not, then this morning our run coach, Mike, was telling me that we're on a 3day a week running program. How Brilliant is that?! Pretty Brilliant.

Obviously I will do more running then 3 days a week, but it's nice to know what my minimum commitment could be and how far I could go with that. So after I got home from my morning run, I was starving! I'd been up since 6:53 am (to be precise) making coffee and enjoying a half banana as my nerves were going nuts. Then by the time 8:30 rolled around, I was hungry and we were just starting to move. I came home and whipped up a bowl of oats (1/4C) with 1T AB, 1/2 banan, 1t Chia seeds, and 2T bran buds; served it up with green tea and now I'm getting ready to head to yoga (making the goals happen, just a little behind this week!)

Off I go, to take on my day! Happy Saturday!

Oh, Friday- How I love thee

Mmmmm coffee! I'm sitting here in my plaid pijamas and 9:05am on a Friday. Life is good, though I think I'll be getting out of the jammers and into workout gear soon. I have no excuse other then rain to take a PJ day- rain just isn't going to stop me from getting my to do list ticked off for the day!

As I've made monthly resolutions, one of which was having oatmeal 4x a week for breakfast and doing yoga twice a week, I've found myself with 2 days to eat oatmeal twice (not a problem since I've been enjoying it and how it makes me feel through the day) and yoga, which I think I may get to a Moksha class this evening. Something about sitting in a hot room while it's raining just makes me feel cozy- perhaps I'll lie on my mat the entire time and just nap.. probably not, but perhaps..

As I sit here watching the rain come down, I'm thankful. For so many things, for my health, my friends and family, to be able to live in a place where my biggest fear is whether I do well on a certain paper or not. I'm lucky, and thankful to say the least. I've been thinking a lot about those down in Haiti, as I'm sure the rest of the world has. It's kind of sad how other then writing a cheque or handing over my visa number, I don't feel like I can do anything (action oriented), but I can encourage others to goto Red Cross and make a donation, like I have done, it's not much, but I figure it helps. A lot of little donations are better then none at all.

Something that I've decided to do though, and have a meeting for today is to volunteer and help organize a Triathlon of Compassion in my local city to help raise money for the Women's Sexual Assault Centre. I'm doing a lot of things right now in my life between school, work, playing club field hockey and training for a marathon (apparently- tomorrow's day 1 at my clinic); but I'm not doing much for my community. I'm excited to become part of this and hopefully when the event comes to fruition I'll be participating in it as well as having helped organize it.

I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited about all that's been going on right now. I'm sad for those in Haiti (there's a school group from BC down there communicating through facebook to loved ones up here and just want to come home)- I can't imagine what that'd be like right now; while all at the same time I'm strangely content and happy. It's a weird mix of feelings, but that's just what I feel, can't fight it.

Hope everyone has a great friday, thinking good thoughts!

Big News!

I'm training for the Vancouver Marathon!!!!!

I just registered last night and am starting my run clinic on Saturday. I'm so excited! I did my last marathon in 2005 and thought to myself then that it would be cool to be able to do one every 5 years.

It just kind of worked out for me I guess. I needed a goal outside of my school and something to do with my body that will challenge me both physically and mentally. I'm going to switch up my weight training as well to be more yoga based and only do weights during light weeks. I have such a big mix of feelings this morning as I realize that: yes, I did register, and yes, I am telling lot's of people (in hopes that this actually happens).

In the spirit of training, I went out this morning and ran for 48 minutes, all hills baby! I did 4 short ones (about .5k) and two long hills (about 1k). My legs were so tired on the run home, but I guess that's the whole point of hills.

I'm so giddy and excited especially after reading Megan's (meganerdruns.com) final posts as she got ready to run her Disney Marathon. I know Vancouver is not nearly as exciting as Disney, but it's a close second, not to mention a little cheaper to get to..

Brekkie today was a 1/4C of oats, half scoop of protein powder, banana, 1Tb of organic PB (switched from Skippy this am!) and a sprinkling of bran buds.. I don't know what it is about this meal, but I'm starting to love it!

(the picture above is my snack from last night- Almonds, granola, goat yogurt and blueberries-- I also had 2 pieces of Denman Island Chocolate (70% cacao) and on corn thin AB sandwich)

Rainy Run with a side of yoga

Hello again, this morning I got up at 6am for what was a very wet and rainy run. I thought to myself as I was lying there deciding whether to get up or not that yes, today in fact was my day and I needed to get as much from it as I could. So- of I went, trotting along for about 13km again, this time it took me 57minutes. When I got home I had about 20minutes to spare before having to get in the shower and sort out my life for the day, so I did about 20minutes of sun salutations and warriors to get a nice little stretch in before I head to my class room and sit all day.

Once I got home, I was all excited to mix some chia seeds into my oats, so excited, I forgot! But, I did manage to change things up, I made 1/4C of oats with 1/2scoop of brown rice protein powder, 1Tb of peanut butter and a banana; and of course 1.5Tb of bran buds (luuurve the crunch).

I'm feeling pretty good about this combo, another thing I'm looking forward to is dabbling in the green monster world. I've got my spinach and magic bullet ready for later in the avo.

Until then..

Hey Clouds- Get Lost!

Another cloudy day here in Victoria. I'm about ready for them to get out of here and move onto the interior, we're supposed to be living in a tropical island (in my dreams) and this is just making reality even harder to bear.

So, I woke up this morning after a glorious 9.5 hour sleep. I think that may be too much, but I went lights out at 10:30 and woke up just before 8 with no alarm, so obviously that's what my body wanted.... and what my body wants, it gets. ha, unless it's cheap chocolate or chips, I try to maintain a standard.

After waking up, I got on my black leggings and chugged a liter of water. I actually made 2 breakfasts this morning. I only ate one, but I couldn't decide what I wanted until one was made and I wanted the other. I figure if I don't fix that craving right away it'll be a day of them.. So I made my second breakfast.

I slapped some almond butter and agave nectar onto some corn thins with a banana and as I was making them, I managed to scoop an extra scoop of almond butter into my mouth (it slipped- I swear).

While I was putting that together, I took my leftover salad from last night and some tofu, popped that into a container with some Little Creek dressing on it and peeled myself a grapefruit for later. I get a little munchy just having this, as it truly isn't that many cals, so I also made 2AB/J corn thin sammys to have in the afternoon before coming home for some bend and flex with Eoinn Finn, my best friend on DVD.

So there you have it, my relaxing, yet productive morning, of two breakfasts a lunch and a snack, all while consuming a pot of coffee, before I grab my tea and head out the door pretending I don't drink coffee the rest of the day!

Hungry Friday

I woke up this morning with a smile on my face for two reasons: it's Friday, which means I don't have class today week; and it's Friday which means I don't have class until Monday.

So what did I do next? Made a pot of coffee and got out the homework of course! I love the fact that I avoid papers and projects with more paper and projects. Next week alone I have a paper due Monday, Wednesday and a debate on Thursday (not to mention the paper that I handed in today). But fear not, Mondays paper has been completed and submitted, both of them! As was todays paper (that was handed in yesterday) which means, I'm free to relax until Sunday (then homework will have to be put back on the 'to do' list).

Something I've been obsessing over though the last couple of weeks is finding a job placement in China to go teach overseas and check out a new culture (making this blog far more entertaining I'm sure).. I'm looking for suggestions, have any?

Meals, Meals, Meals:

Breakfast was my oatmeal/banana combo that you know of

A mid morning snack was a chunk of a protein bar-- kind of gross tasting when you don't eat them on a regular basis (Think protein bars)

Then for a late lunch I had some pho (vietnamese soup- tofu and veg) and an apple

Pre dinner snack was a bit of goat yogurt with grapes and a Tb of granola

Dinner was going to be a salad with goat cheese and figs, but changed to 3egg whites and a whole egg scrambled with some goat cheese, 2 corn thins and ketchup-- yes, ketchup (it's Friday, so might as well 'go nuts')

And then my post dinner snack, you ask? ICECREAM and peanut butter with chocolate chips on top... I looooove Fridays! And then, because that wasn't enough, popcorn, hot air popped..

**I would normally leave this out, but let's be honest, we ALL do it, and I just did.. eat your hearts out! haha

Goat Yog and Eggs (yummm)

Fitness today, since I know you're probably dying to know was a 5km run (in 20mins) down to the studio and then a 50minute circuit class (where my abs just got murdered). It felt great to get out for another run kind of mid morning, but I do prefer getting out before I eat, it just feels better... unless I really plan it, but today wasn't one of those days.

There you have it, my friday, a hungry one, but a good one all the same, have fantastic evenings and I'll see you tomorrow!

TGIT

I would be saying that tomorrow, but as it turns out with my schedule, Thursdays are my Fridays. We have 3 day weekends in this "fast forward" program that I'm in.. Although the workload seems like a lot during the week, all is forgiven by the time Thursday evening rolls around.

Today, I was up with the run rise. I had called a friend last night in hopes of getting a partner keen for a 7am run, but I didn't hear anything back from her until 6:30am; it wasn't my alarm going, it was Deanne telling me about how she'd love to go for a run with me. What timing she has, I was about to roll over and turn off my alarm, because I'm getting used to my sleepy ways and starting to enjoy an 8am wake-up. The student life= life of luxury (or at least big sleeps).

So, as I went out this morning, I wasn't only greeted by the cold, but also by a friendly face. Conversation flowed and by the time we got down towards the water the sun was just coming over the horizon. We haven't seen the sun here in over a week, so it was as if we'd been given a second life at the site. It was amazing, it was orange and pink against the dark clouds and made every trees' silhouette pop against the bright early morning sky. It was just what I needed to keep me motivated through my day and get me out the door for next week on those early runs.

It's funny how fast you can forget that good feeling get on a 7am run..

For my food today, I had my oatmeal combo for breakfast; followed by a salad of greens with yellow pepper and cucumber (dressed in olive oil and balsamic), a mini can of tuna and 2 kiwis; my afternoon snack consisted of a couple corn thins with AB and jam (always 100% fruit); and then my second afternoon snack was blue corn tortilla nachos with goat cheese and salsa (apparently I needed salt-- and energy for teaching Bootcamp tonight- hills galore); and tonight's dinner will be a tofu broccoli combo- something fast and easy for after class so I can rush back out to meet up with friends.

That is all from me today, we'll chat tomorrow when the rest of you get on weekend time.

Wednesday: In a Nut Shell

If this was journalism, I would need a nut grab in my story to grab your attention. Lucky for me, I can leave the nut grab behind and just let what I feel flow out onto the screen.

I'm trying to decide whether or not I should be embarrassed that I find the term "nut grab" funny in my fourth year of university, I'm going to go with not for the sake of this post.

This morning I started my day waking up at 8am with a little more energy then earlier in the week, which was a bit of a relief; I can't wait to wake up in the morning with energy again, this head cold is putting me to bed early and making me sleep in late. All I seem to do right now is sip tea, sit, sleep and wait for my energy to return. I need to be more patient, but I'm not, maybe that will be one of next month's resolutions.

So for brekkie this morning I decided against the usual bowl of oats and mixed things up. I sliced up an apple and dumped some goat yogurt on it (yes- I'm slightly lactarded- I pretend I'm not some days though- you'll see) and topped that with organic granola and a couple frozen raspberries for style. It was pretty good, less filling then the oats, but a good change up from what was starting to be a creepy routine.

I followed up my brekkie with this lunch: leftovers from last night (recipe in previous post). Instead of dumping a bunch of brown rice on it, I just had a little bit and then filled it up with romaine hearts instead. I followed this, with 2 kiwis to feed my sweet tooth.

When I got home from school (my days go 10am-3pm) I was starving, so I snacked on corn thins with almond butter and also ate a piece of a chicken breast (apparently I didn' t want to wait for myself to finish making the corn thin/almond butter combo- patience that I lack).

After having a cup of ginger tea and working on a paper, I popped in my Eoin Finn Pursuit of Happy Hips dvd and got to bending and flexing. I love his yoga dvds because they're based on the concept of flow; uniting your breath with your body movement. I usually find it quite hard to do yoga at home with a dvd, but he offers them in different lengths so that I'm never bored enough to hit the skip button. So, I completed an hour of yoga before dinner, and I was feeling quite blissful by the time dinner rolled around.

For dinner I steamed up some broccoli and tofu (I do about 2 cups of broccoli--I'm obsessed) with some more brown rice on top. It was good, but not good enough, so I tossed back a corn thin sandwich (AB and real fruit jam) and 3 pieces of dark chocolate to tie it all together; needless to say I was goooood.

So now, I'm sitting at home with a cup of tea, listening to Kenny Chesney sing me sweet nothings (I'm Alive) and I think I may just retire for the evening.

Good night!

This is what I did this morning

Followed by a nice bowl of natures path oatmeal (with banana, peanut butter and bran buds to jazz it up), I headed on down to the gym that I work at for 1h15 class known as the drill. It's a continuous circuit that is guaranteed to kick even the fittest person's ass. It was a good time, felt good about it, but afterwards I came to the realization that my holidays are coming to a fast close. School starts tomorrow and with school comes papers, group assignments and deadlines. There's 7months left, 197 days and I can't wait for it to be over.

After the gym today I decided that I would cook up a bowl of broccoli with chicken and have that before tearing down the Christmas decorations. I had no idea, but it can be some serious work going up and down those stairs, all I wanted to eat was a Christmas cookie for energy, but I managed to stay away and stick to what I know: corn thins with almond butter, with a piece of dark chocolate (SUGAR!).

So that's been my day today, no fuss, no muss, the usual kind of happenings.