random to the max.

hola amigas (y amigos?)

wow! a lot of you guys are scared to shower at the gym!  while several of you do utilize the gym facilities.. the majority of you said that the thought of showering at the gym gives you the heebee jeebees. i don’t do it simply because i go straight home after the gym, so i can shower in my own bathroom. but i am sure if i worked out in the morning (never going to happen…) i would still not opt to shower at the gym. it sounds like a pain in the butt, hauling hair dryers and flat irons and makeup to the gym. i live so close to my gym that i would just drive home!

thanks to those of you who chimed in on what brand of food scale you prefer. it was interesting to read everyone’s take on measuring food.  several of you do measure your portions and others shy away from this method because it seems too obsessive. i say that you should just do whatever floats your boat and there is no right or wrong when it comes to using a food scale and measuring cups!

today has been ridiculously productive. let’s take it from the top!

woke up at 7:15 AM and remembered i had a seminar to be to at 8 AM.. hmmm.. had to scratch the wake up call challenge. i feel like i am letting myself down on the challenge. i hope to finish the month out strong.. hold me to it, k?!

since i was in a rush and wasn’t sure if the seminar would have anything appetizing (they said they’d have a “continental breakfast” but i am never sure what to expect with that.) i decided to grab an apricot heart thrive bar to eat in the car:

this is a new-to-me product i received in a care package from allie. thanks, lady! while they are high in carbs, they don’t have any crazy ingredients and they taste amazing. not a bad choice for a morning snack.

i had no time to make coffee OR stop for coffee, but there was half a pot leftover in the french press (that my roomie made last night) so i channeled my inner tina and went for an iced coffee (on the go!):

random fact: i like my hot coffee black but my iced coffee with almond (or soy) milk. i like my hot tea with milk & honey but my iced tea black and unsweetened. isn’t that weird? i thought long and hard about this on the drive to the seminar. i think it’s pretty odd that my preferences change depending on the temperature of the beverage, and that they are the exact opposite for coffee and tea!

turns out the continental breakfast didn’t have waffles. (SIGH.. another waffle-less wednesday!) actually, it was a spread of muffins, eggs, melon, hash browns, bacon, OJ and coffee.  i decided to have some eggs (for protein) and melon (for carbs) and water (to stay hydrated) and coffee (to stay awake!):

i don’t think i need to tell you that the seminar was boring. BUT.. lucky for me, it got out early! so i had time to go home and throw together some ingredients for crock pot wednesday:

oh yes. it’s back. crock pot wednesday is in full force! more on that in a moment.

i had a little extra time between throwing dinner together and the time i was supposed to be back at the office, so i took the opportunity to hit the gym!

wow.. it is pretty amazing to go to the gym at 10:40 AM on a wednesday. it was practically empty! i sure wish i could go at that time every day.

i busted out a 30 minute total body workout!

• 5 minute treadmill warmup / 0.5 miles

chest/hamstrings/triceps superset:

move	weight	reps	sets
dumbbell chest press on incline bench	25# ea	15	3
dumbbell stiff legged deadlift		15	3
seated overhead dumbbell tricep extension		15	3

• 100 upper ab crunches on decline bench

quads/shoulders/biceps superset:

move	weight	reps	sets
bulgarian split squat	15# ea	30 (15 each leg)	3
upright dumbbell row	12# ea	15	3
alternating dumbbell biceps curl	10# ea	15	3

• 100 oblique twists (w/ 10# weight) on decline bench

back/glutes/lunge superset:

move	weight	reps	sets
low cable row	50#	15	3
donkey kicks	body weight	30 (15 each leg)	3
alternating forward & reverse lunges	body weight	30 (15 each leg)	3

• 100 scissor kicks for lower abs

the end! total workout was 35 minutes (with the warmup), max HR was 167, average HR was 139, calories burned=200. not bad for a half hour of work! and i hit my chest, triceps, shoulders, back, biceps, hamstrings, quads, glutes, upper/lower abs & obliques! i was pretty stoked on the speedy workout that i made up on the fly :)

i didn’t take photos but i munched on about 7 mini bell peppers and a wasa cracker with sunbutter on top after my workout.

i went into the office and did some work before eating lunch. i probably should have eaten sooner, but i got wrapped up with some stuff and didn’t end up eating until nearly 2 PM!

lunch=salad:

in the mix:

• lettuce
• carrots
• about 2 oz low sodium herbed turkey breast
• 2 mini cucumbers, sliced
• 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
• hummustard dressing (hummus+spicy mustard+water)
• 2 wasa crackers

i have become ADDICTED to the big bag of mini cucumbers from costco! they are so cute.. and everyone knows that cute food is more fun to eat :)

since i was only at the office for about 4 hours, time really flew today! i felt like i was in and out in no time. too bad i don’t have early-out seminars every wednesday ;)

after work it was straight to the wedding venue!

we did a walk through so we  could map things out and finalize how many tables we need, where the photo booth would go, how we could manage to get a freezer on site (to hold all the vanilla bean ice cream!), how long the photo clothes line could be, what flowers we would need, yadda yadda yadda.. all things wedding!

not sure if you guys know this, but we are getting married at a retail store. yep. it is a tropical plant/cactus store! they have a huge greenhouse full of amazing plants and then an outdoor area with a koi pond and a gazebo. it is glorious! and the best part is we don’t have to spend $$$ on flowers~ they are already everywhere you look!

i took some photos for your viewing pleasure~

it’s gonna be awesome.

i feel really good about the wedding plans as of right now.

a week ago, i wouldn’t be caught dead typing that sentence. but the past few days have been ridiculously productive!

in the past week:

• we’ve almost finalized the guest list & added several addresses to the list (still have a handful to get, but not too stressed)
• the bridesmaid dresses came yesterday!
• i booked our engagement photo session (set for a week from today)
• i figured out what i want the centerpieces to look like
• i recruited my maid of honor’s sister to make the rehearsal dinner invitations
• we registered
• i’ve been working on the wedding website
• my dress came (and fits like a glove!)

…so things are coming together!

don’t get me wrong, there is still a ton to do.. at the top of the list is the music. we need to figure out a DJ and also a playlist of the songs we want at the ceremony and reception. this is a big deal, as marshall & i are both really into music. i hope we can figure this out soon! we also need to find an officiant that reflects our personalities. oh, and i need to purchase marshall’s ring! eep. so yes, there are still big things that need to get taken care of, but i feel confident that it will all get done before the big day.

which is now 51 short days away!

after the venue walk through, marshall & i went home to eat dinner. i LOVE crock pots.. i didn’t have to do a single thing to get dinner ready!

dinner=taco soup

you can check out my new recipe page to see how i make my taco soup!

not gonna lie.. this was my best batch of taco soup ever.

marshall agreed.

fierce.

yum.

it was pretty nice to go home and eat dinner and NOT have to go to the gym. i loved working out earlier in the day. i really, really, really want to become a morning workout person. but i also really, really, really don’t have the will power in the morning. i feel like i have more energy at night and i can give more of an effort to my workout if i do it at the end of the day.

plus, i suck at waking up on time for anything. i know kacy knows what i mean! every night i go to bed, thinking “yeah, i will get up and workout!” and then every morning i talk myself out of it. i just love sleep so dang much. sigh. one day? maybe?

oh! my BLT list for the day. for those of you just tuning in, i am going to tack a list on the end of every post that lists anything that passed my lips that wasn’t photographed. as a way to stay accountable before the wedding!

today’s list:

• 1 wasa cracker with ~1 tsp sunbutter
• ~ 7 mini bell peppers
• 1+ gallon water
• fish oil capsules x2
• CLA
• vitamin B
• multivitamin
• calcium chew
• 5 pieces tropical twist trident
• handful of shredded cheese

well this post has been all over the place! new products, coffee and tea preferences, seminars, salads, baby cucumbers, crock pot recipes, total body workouts, wedding shenanigans, workout time talk… ay ay ay, i can’t keep up with myself. random to the maxxxxx times infinity plus nine!

so i’ll call it good and hit publish :)

but not before some questions! because i know you love to answer them, right? ;)

Qs~

1. how do you take your coffee? and your tea? and your iced coffee? and your iced tea? in that order: black, with milk & honey, with almond milk, unsweetened & black.

2. latest new-to-you product that you enjoyed? the heart thrive bar was awesome, but i can’t buy them near me. i also am loving the mini cucumbers from costco!

guest post thursday tomorrow! talk to y’all friday!

xo. janetha b.