that is where i have been and what i have been doing.  too busy for my laptop, i don’t want to apologize because i don’t think that is a bad thing!  but now that this long weekend is finally coming to an end, i have managed to find the time to post :)

i also want to let you all know that i have been reading your posts!  i had my reader open yesterday during a football game AND a basketball game (what? two sports games in a day? not like me at all.. gross.) and i LOVED seeing all of your thanksgiving feast recaps!  i just was too lazy to click out of reader and comment.. don’t hate me!  i have actually found i can read a lot more blogs via my reader rather than clicking out to each post.. but on the down side i can’t comment so easily. i sure wish reader had a comment option!

so, what have i been up to?  lots.  i don’t even know where i left off but i just uploaded a slew of photos so i am going to look at them and take it from there, mmmkay?

friday night marshall and i went with my friend lindsay & her boyfriend brandon to the minus the bear show.  but first.. food!

we decided to grab some gourmet burgers at acme burger.. do you guys have these in your town?  we just have this one and this was my second time going there.  it is incredible!  i am such a burger lover so of course their cuisine is right up my ally.  it is really cool how they have a camera on the kitchen and that screen in the upper right of this photo is there so you can watch them prepare your food!

we were surprised to see one of our friends working there and he brought us an appetizer on the house.  it was spinach artichoke dip which was served with pita bread and tortilla chips~

not my favorite.  i had a few nibbles but saved my appetite for my entree…

turkey burger with a sweet potato bun topped with arugula, mushrooms and cranberry mustard~

baller. this was so good.  we also could not resist splitting some sweet potato fries.. my addiction!  these ones were unique because they were covered with a hint of sugar.  sweet and salty all in one!

after our meal we high tailed it to the concert which was epic, as expected.  minus the bear is my favorite band ever and i loved every minute of it! 

unfortunately, they did not play mine & marshall’s “song”.. it is a less popular song and they never play it in concert.  sigh, one day perhaps!

saturday was pretty uneventful now that i am looking back at the photos.. hmm.. not quite sure what i did with all my time.  i know i got up and eventually made my way to the gym for some HIIT!

HIIT on treadmill~

instead of gradually increasing the incline like i usually do, i decided to gradually increase the amount of speed between each minute of each interval.  for the first set i increased the speed by 0.5, then the next set by 0.6, then by 0.7 and finally by 0.8.  this is how it went (numbers are in MPH):

• 1 min @ 5.0<—warm up
• 1 min @ 5.5<—warm up
• 1 min @ 6.0
• 1 min @ 6.5
• 1 min @ 7.0
• 1 min @ 7.5
• 1 min @ 6.0
• 1 min @ 6.6
• 1 min @ 7.3
• 1 min @ 7.8
• 1 min @ 6.0
• 1 min @ 6.7
• 1 min @ 7.4
• 1 min @ 8.1
• 1 min @ 6.0
• 1 min @ 6.8
• 1 min @ 7.6
• 1 min @ 8.4
• 1 min @ 9.5<—high point
• 1 min @ 2.0<—cool down

this was rad! i can’t tell you the stats since i still can’t find my HRM watch (eek) but my heart was pumpin! and yes, i just typed “pumpkin” and had to backspace and type “pumpin” ;)

i finished my workout off with 7 minutes of ab work because you know i gotta whittle my middle!

i went home and cleaned up and marshall & i went to eat at millcreek cafe & eggworks, one of our favorite places to go for brunch. 

i ordered an egg white omelette with spinach, mushrooms & feta + dry wheat toast~

and coffee, naturally.  marshall got his regular smothered wrap but they put mushrooms in it and he ended up sending it back and getting one that had not been “tainted” with mushrooms~as he put it.  haha.  i LOVE mushrooms! that boy…

we spent saturday afternoon doing some shopping, i got a really cute scarf at urban and spotted another spotted scarf that immediately made me think of my snackface senorita!  i was going to text her about it but did not.. and ironically later in the day she text me about seeing a purple dress that made her think of me! i think we were surfing on the same wavelength saturday. just on opposite sides of the country…

it was a successful trip, i also got the dogs christmas collars (yay!) and a few stocking stuffers for my mom (can’t tell you what though! hi mom!)  and after a few hours at the mall we were done for.  we headed home and basically didn’t do much the rest of the day.. hmm.. nope, sure didn’t.  oh! but i did make some delish dinner!

shepherd’s pie!

so, this meal was super delicious but i realized that shepherd’s pie is really unphotogenic.. hmm..

we did take photos of the dinner-making process though.

first i browned the ground beef with shallots and some s&p and worcestershire sauce (the spelling of that word used to baffle me!) and then i stirred in some tomato sauce, tomato paste and diced tomatoes.. a tomato trifecta if you will.  this was the base layer of the pie~

topped that layer with some french cut green beans~

and then marshall was in charge of mashing the baby red potatoes!  he did a great job..

the potatoes were the third layer of marshall’s side of the pie.  my side’s third layer was mushrooms.. of course! 

and then the potatoes on top of the mushrooms.it is totally normal to wear your boyfriend’s puma ha backwards while making shepherd’s pie. ok? ok.

the last layer was a sprinkling of sharp cheddar~can you tell which side was marshall’s?  yeah, he finished off the bag of cheese.

this went into the oven at 350 degrees [f] for about a half hour.

and, like i said, really not photogenic at all!  but really tasty.. i had not had shepherd’s pie in ages! it was actually really comforting and really healthy.. not two things that usually go hand in hand.

my favorite part about this meal is that marshall and i made it together and it was a lot of fun goofing off in the kitchen while we cooked.  usually, i am the one that cooks and marshall just watches TV until dinner is ready.. or i am just cooking for myself.  it is nice to make an evening of cooking dinner!

marshall and i stayed up until 3 AM watching episodes of dexter season 4.

somewhere during this marathon i had a greek yogurt mess made with oikos 0%+bulgarian PB+shredded spoonfuls.

sunday.. i actually woke up at 9:30 AM which was strange considering my super late bedtime. whatevs!  i wanted to go snowboarding bright and early but none of my friends did~they were thinking more like noon.. so i hit the gym first thing!

after fueling up with some espresso + bowl of cereal i did a make-up-as-you-go upper body workout. so not like me.  i always plan my workouts before i do them.  not today! 

today i wanted to utilize the cables as well as the dumbbells and work my triceps, back, biceps, shoulders & chest while incorporating abs.  that is just what i did.  here is how it went:

triceps

• cable pulldowns : 3 sets x15
• overhead cable extensions: 3 sets x15
• oblique crunches on stability ball: 3 sets x30

back

• standing cable row w/ v rope set high: 3 sets x15
• bent over barbell row: 3 sets x15
• crunches: 3 sets x50

biceps

• cable biceps curl: 3 sets x15
• dumbbell hammer curl: 3 sets x15
• bicycle crunches: 3 sets x30

shoulders

• standing upright cable row: 3 sets x15
• dumbbell front raises: 3 sets x15
• oblique twists on decline bench w/ 10# plate: 3 sets x30

chest

• dumbbell chest press: 3 sets x15
• dumbbell flyes: 3 sets x15
• reverse crunches: 3 setx x15

not too bad for a make up as you go workout, eh?!  loved it. my arms felt like noodles afterward!!

and then it was straight home to change for snowboarding.. finally.  i feel like a slack ass because i hadn’t been up before today.. but honestly, there is NO SNOW and so i haven’t felt like it is really worth it.

i shoved my face with a turkey sandwich while getting changed.. this was made with leftover thanksgiving turkey+whole wheat roll+mustard.. easy peasy.

the dogs were all about trying to get my sandwich. see penny jumping up on me??

once we were at my local resort i picked up my season pass (don’t worry, i smiled big) and we headed up the lift.

ehhh..ok, i realize why i haven’t been up yet this season.  the snow sucked and it was really icy and there were rocks and twigs everywhere.

umm hello? is it not almost december? where is winter?!?!

so, after a cool 3 runs we called it a day and came back down the canyon.  the luxury of living in SLC is you can go snowboarding at noon and take just 3 runs and still have a good chunk of your day left.  it is only 15 miles up the canyon to the resort.

when i got home my roomie cooked me dinner!  mushroom risotto with chicken + salad~

for the record, no.. i am not a big hog, that is a little salad plate :P

and my lighting still sucks.. gotta figure this whole lighting sitch out soon.

soooo.. now i am typing this and working on my moves page which i will hopefully be done with by the end of the night.

hope you all had a GREAT weekend, i am sad that it is almost over.. but back to the grind tomorrow.  and the last day of november!! how crazy!  christmas will be here before we know it!!

Qs~

1. do you plan your workouts or make them up as you go? i always plan.. i don’t write them down but i have a plan in my head.  this is best for optimal workoutage when at the gym.. but today it was kind of nice just to not plan and go with whatever sounded fun!!

2. who does most of the cooking in your house? aside from yourself, who are you cooking for? do you do it all, do you take turns or do you cook together? like i said, i do most of the cooking most of the time.. it is for just me myself and i 70% of the time though. when marshall is over he usually will offer a hand now and again, which is nice!

xo. janetha b.

happy friday friends!  flashback friday is on hiatus as i do not have my laptop with all my archived photos with me.  sorry charlies, i might do it tomorrow :)

so, yesterday i did not open my laptop or look at a computer monitor once and guess what? it was glorious.  i just enjoyed time with my family, marshall & the dogs.. played games, worked out, ate SO much food and didn’t think about internet land.  but i DID think about all of you~who i am incredibly thankful for :)

SO i have a lot to post since i have not posted since tuesday—wow, i think that is the longest i have ever gone without a post!  but i went out with my ladies wednesday and that was of the utmost importance.

starting where i left off~wednesday!

i wanted to celebrate national parfait day and i even emailed the parfait queen herself about it.. but alas, i didn’t have the essential items at work to make a parfait, so i celebrated waffle wednesday instead!

two kashi golean blueberry waffles topped with oikos+chocolate PB2 & sprinkled with cinnamon~

lunch was enjoyed by my favorite experimentarian!  we went to whole foods and snagged some salad bar action~

i love emily and i love the chile coated tofu. the end.

i had a stellar lower body workout wednesday night.. i am not going to go into the deets because i have SO much to post, but know that i worked my calves SO hard that i literally am hobbling around today and cannot straighten my legs properly.  it is that part right below the back of my knee that has killer DOMS.  hurts so good!

wendesday dinner was not the healthiest but it was the quickest and cheapest!  did you guys know that chipotle offers kid’s meals?!  i did not.  but now i do.  for a mere $3,50 plus tax i got a chicken & cheese kid’s quesadilla which came with a small side of black beans, a small side of rice, a small bag of tortilla chips and a drink.  i opted to for go the drink and most of the rice. but i did clean up the quesadilla, beans and chips.

i spent the rest of the evening hanging out with friends at the REAL salt lake championship party.. i mean, salt lake city cannot say much for their sports teams but our soccer team did win the cup on sunday.. that’s pretty fun.

ok! moving on..

thursday! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

i woke up and made myself an americano and left for my parents’ house.  before any thanksgiving feasting went on, my mom and i completed a total body workout almost identical to the one i did last saturday.. with a little help from penelope jane!

as soon as i get done with this post i am going to start working on my moves section, we photographed every single move we did!  stay tuned :)

after our killer workout we cleaned ourselves up and worked on finishing up the feast my mom had started to prepare in the kitchen.

instead of making whole wheat rolls from scratch i took the easy way out and snagged these warm-and-serve all natural rolls from whole foods:

i also made some candied sweet potatoes as per my dad’s request.. although i would have been fine with cheetahs ;) here they are pre-baked..

i whipped up a quick batch of deviled eggs again..

my mom made some yummy white rolls which were served with her homemade raspberry jam (best jam ever!!)

also on the menu: corn, mashed potatoes, cauliflower & broccoli and mixed fresh fruit (pineapple, raspberries, grapes & pears)~

and my baked candied sweet potatoes~

my faaaavorite part.. stuffing!

two traditional items for a benson family thanksgiving: sweet pickles & black olives~

and we can’t forget the apple cranberry sauce~

and last, but certainly not least, turkey!  my mom did a spectacular job of roasting her second turkey of the week. 

my mom collects unique salt and pepper shakers and two cute sets were on the table for our feast~

it was a fantastic spread~not as extravagant as our sunday family feast~but still just as delicious!!

my plate~and my cute turkey napkin!

the only thing i went back for was more stuffing! i cannot get enough of that stuff.  and to think, marshall hates it! he’s crazy.

i officially stuffed myself again.  we spent some time lounging on the couches while enjoying the crackling wood burning stove and some game show network :)

after a couple hours i did managed to have some obligatory pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream~

and after this i was officially done for.  and so was everyone else.. especially randy the dog :)

we played our favorite game~boggle~ and GUESS WHAT? hell froze over and my mom beat me at boggle!!  good job mom, you are amazing!

we spent another hour or so on the couches, cuddling with the dogs and digesting all that FOOD.

marshall and i eventually managed to peel ourselves off the couch and pack up some leftovers (thanks mom!!) and go to his house for some more laying around.  i was going to blog but i decided to leave my laptop in my houndstooth bag and just enjoy the evening hanging out with those i love.  i hope you all had the chance to do the same.

i am going to minus the bear tonight.. which happens to be my favorite band EVER.. so i am really excited! i am actually taking today off from exercise because i wasn’t kidding when i said i can’t walk right.  the DOMS in my calves is ridiculous!  but i will be back at it tomorrow with some HIIT and on sunday i will be doing an upper body workout and finally go snowboarding!  i haven’t gone yet this weekend because 1- there is no new snow which makes it really not worth it and 2- fighting the crowds for sub par snow conditions is a waste of my time.  the crowds are also the reason i do not participate in black friday shopping!

anyway, enough rambling from me! hope you are all enjoying your friday and check back later for some total body workout tips and a possible delayed flashback friday saturday post!

Qs~

1. did you exercise yesterday or take the day off from working out?  i felt really good after my workout yesterday and i am really glad i took the time to complete it.  in years past, i would not be caught dead working out on thanksgiving.. i am so glad my habits are different now days!

2. did you participate in black friday shopping? any gnarly stories about crazy shopper encounters?? i hope nobody got trampled to death this year..

xo. janetha b.

heyo!  so, it is almost midnight  and that means this one is going to be a quickie!

thanks for all your props on my thanksgiving feast creations!  i still have visions of sugar plum fairies sweet potato galette dancing around in my head!  thursday will be a lot more mellow when it comes to dinner~and probably a lot more traditional.  but i do want to make some whole wheat rolls and was wondering if anyone has a good recipe? eh? eh?

oh yeah, i am trying to be speedy.  that’s right. here goes!

meal 1: mighty maple protein oatmeal+oat bran

i found some bob’s red mill oat bran in my work kitchen today and so i decided to go halfsies with the rolled oats and oat bran.  i love the volume and texture oat bran creates!

meal 2: pesto + ww linguine + ground turkey + mushsrooms + steamfresh veggies

so this pasta was leftover from saturday.. i toss in about 1/3 bag of steamfresh mixed veggies to up the serving size.

p.s. i am addicted to houndstooth, as you can see with the bowl my pasta was in.

no.. not that kind of houndstooth!  although randy the basset hound has some nice tooth(s) ;)

i mean the kind that is on my mouse pad.

and multiple notebooks.

and my postits & postit holder.

and my recipe box.

you get the idea.

my boss offered me his season tickets to tonight’s jazz game so i checked with marshall and we decided to go.  marshall’s grandpa’s birthday is tomorrow so it actually worked out perfect.

that mean it had to race home from work so i could still sneak in a workout.  it was lower body strength training today but since i was short on time i swapped my weight workout for some HIIT on the treadmill!

• incline=0
• 1 min 5.0
• 1 min 5.5
• 1 min 6.0
• 1 min 6.5
• 1 min 7.0
• 1 min 7.5
• incline=0.5
• 1 min 6.0
• 1 min 6.5
• 1 min 7.0
• 1 min 7.5
• incline=1.0
• 1 min 6.0
• 1 min 6.5
• 1 min 7.0
• 1 min 7.5
• incline=1.5
• 1 min 6.0
• 1 min 6.5
• 1 min 7.0
• 1 min 7.5
• 1 min 9.0
• incline=0
• 1 min 3.0

the end. hot mess.

went home, showered my mess of a self off and hurried and got ready!

i was out the door but not before whipping up something to eat..

meal 3: turkey & LCL sandwich on nature’s pride whole wheat with yellow mustard

all wrapped up for the road!  i took a pear with me and i also made marshall a sandwich~i was picking him up and knew he was hungry.

the game was fun! my boss has pretty great season ticket seats.

it was really random, i looked to my left and spotted my 3 friends!  if you can see a girl in a red beanie then you win. instead of “where’s waldo?” it is “where’s amber?”  and if you do spot her.. tell her she is crazy for not liking pumpkin pie and whipped cream ;)

i promise i am not stoned and that is marshall, his grandpa and his dad!

side note: the dude sitting next to me ate a whole thing of nachoes, a pretzel with nacho cheese, a tub of popcorn AND a slice of pizza. and soda. i am not one to judge but that was a little ridiculous if you ask me.  not to mention it probably cost him over $50 for it all!

after the game i was super hungry..came home and had part of this, the other part marshall stole..

peach chobani!

my favorite!!

my room is SO cold so i decided it was time to bust out the flannel sheets!  what do you know..

they are houndstooth!

i decided to take a few more photos around my room and bathroom of other random houndstooth stuff i have…

clearly i have a problem. i didn’t even bother photographing the houndstooth shoes.. flats, heels, wedges..sigh.

i am going to bed now.

before i go.. did you know that if a costco employee cuts his/her thumb off in the meat chopping department, they get $5 million.. and also get fired? interesting, no?

my roomie, marshall and i got into a deep discussion about how much each finger would be worth losing. their pinkies are worth $50,000 but i told them i would need half a million to part with a pinkie.

Qs~

1. are you obsessed with anything? houndstooth for me. if it is houndstooth and i see it, you can bet i will buy it. even if i don’t need it! when i broke my arm, my sister made me a houndstooth sling!!

2. how much money would you need to chop off and sell your pinkie? or is it pinky?

one more work day for me!

xo. janetha b.

it is 5:43 PM monday night.  guess what? i am still full. i don’t know how that is humanly possible, but i am.  the only things that have entered my mouth today (TWSS) are a few bites of an egg scramble, 1 slice of whole wheat toast and an apple. oh, and some wasabi peas.  i am still so, so full from yesterday’s feast!!

how about i take it from the top?  the top of sunday, that is. sure, ok.

sunday morning i woke up bright and early at 8 AM and then went back to bed until 11.  after some house cleaning and coffee drinking, marshall and i decided to go to einsteins.. after all, it was my free day (which, on body for life, is a day off from exercise & by-the-book clean eating).

i got an asiago bagel, toasted, with sun dried tomato cream cheese..

is it just me or do you guys always find that eintsteins puts WAY too much cream cheese on their bagels? i usually ask for just a skiff but i forgot this time. i ended up scraping it all off into a pile on the side…

anyway, snowboarding did not happen yesterday because, well, the lack of snow is making me think the gasolina it takes to drive to the resort is just not worth it. side note: it finally DID snow so i will be going up thursday, friday, saturday, sunday.. :D

so i think i mentioned it, yesterday my family celebrated thanksgiving because it was the only time we could ALL be together (minus my sister & her fam in cali).. so we celebrated the holiday early and my mom, dad, grandma, marshall & i will be celebrating it AGAIN on thursday.. just not quite as extravagant as yesterday was.

i got to mi madre’s around 2:30 and started cooking up a storm!!

aren’t we so adorable in our aprons??

the next 3 hours were basically non stop cooking. i, of course, was in heaven.  my mom and sister and sister in law all helped and it was so much fun!!

momma b stayed hydrated with a mason jar of grape juice as we cooked

on the menu?

*i have linked to the recipes if they were available online!*

shredded roasted brussels sprouts with toasted almonds & parmesan

sorry about the smear. i must have had a smudge on my lens!

these were good, but not as great as i had hoped they would be. i even quadrupled (yes, you read that right) the amount of balsamic.. still, not the greatest. BUT, yummy still.

deviled eggs

for my deviled eggs i simply mix the yolks with a little bit of each: mayo, mustard, salt & pepper. sprinkle with paprika. my mom got me that cute orange deviled egg pan when she was on a trip somewhere! i think new mexico?

pear & gorgonzola green salad with homemade pear vinaigrette

this salad was SUCH a winner! one that i will make again and again.  my sister in law lindsay did a fantastic job at whipping up the vinaigrette.  the only thing i left out of the salad was the hazelnuts, i didn’t have any on hand.

i loved this recipe and i found it by googling “green salad with pear”~turns out the website the recipe is on has a ton of delicious looking recipes. can’t wait to try some out!

savory mushroom bread pudding

pre-baked:

post-baked:

ever since seeing angharad make this on her blog i have been wanting to whip it up!  umm. yum. it was a hit! the only problem was it made quite a bit, and since we had SO many dishes.. i wish i had halved the recipe.  also, it was baking at my sister’s house and so i wasn’t there to keep an eye on it. the top got a tad toasty but it was still fantastic once i dug below the charred layer ;)

sweet potato parmesan & goat cheese galette

pre-baked~

post-baked~ 

i can’t decide if my favorite dish was this one or the salad.  it was incredible! everyone else loved it too.  it was very simple to make, it was just thiin layers of sweet potatoes layered with parmesan and goat cheese.  the flavors all combined fabulously.  definitely one for the books.

cauliflower & broccoli with a gruyere, emmental & swiss cheese sauce

this was simple yet sophisticated.  originally, i was going to make a broccoli & gruyere gratin that i saw in real simple magazine, but we were short on time and oven space so we ended up just steaming the veggies and melting the cheeses over top.  easy and elegant!

caramelized onions with thyme

i pulled this recipe from real simple magazine.  in addition to the onions & thyme, the recipe called for white wine, white wine vinegar and salt & pepper.  it was really good on top of the turkey!

cranberry apple sauce

look at that color!  this was another recipe from real simple magazine.  and it was just that: real simple.  my mom was in charge of this one and she did a great job.  it was 1 lb cranberries, 1 cup apple cider, 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar.  sooo much better than the canned stuff!

well there you have it, the eight dishes i planned.  in addition to these, my mom made regular mashed potatoes & gravy, the absolute BEST stuffing in the world (my favorite part of thanksgiving, hands down), fruit salad (as per marshall’s request) and a glorious 22 lb turkey!!

my sister also made some really cute knot rolls which were delicious.

time to feast!!

once we sat down to eat, i was exhausted.. and actually not as hungry as i wanted to be.  with all the running around, tasting, bites here and there.. i just lost my appetite! but, of course, that did not stop me from eating!! my plate~

i ate most of what you see and went back for more stuffing ;)

i am not quite sure how i managed to eat pumpkin pie only a short time after dinner.. but i did.. and it was fabulous.  thanksgiving is not thanksgiving without pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream (with lots of vanilla extract)!!  can you believe one of my best friends hates both pumpkin pie AND whipped cream? i know, she’s clinically insane.

the evening was spent hanging out together and just enjoying the company of our fam all together.  PLUS it was snowing! glorious, glorious snowwwww :)

we had a few rousing rounds of boggle and i won.. again.. haha. maybe one day someone will dominate me at the word game.  but the two things i know best are cooking and word games!  well, and workouts.. but that was not on yesterday’s agenda.

i am happy to report that my full body workout i did saturday left me with some killer DOMS yesterday. 

well i am not even going to recap today~i already told you i have not eaten much as i had no appetite!  i just got home from the gym where i busted out 20 minutes of HIIT on the treadmill, 5 minutes of high resistance on the crosstrainer elliptical & 10 minutes of ab work… gotta whittle my middle!!

i am going to spend the rest of the night unpacking (yes, MORE unpacking!) and catching up on my reader and hopefully hanging some artwork/photos on my bare walls. once i am all done with my room i will show it to you guys! maybe i could do a video tour of my house?

anyway, hope you all had a great monday. mine was not that great, in case you are wondering..  i am a tad irritated.  there was a snow storm and i slid/crashed into a retaining wall and my car’s front bumper is all sorts of scratched up. i am ok though!  i just don’t want to dwell on it so i didn’t write about it but i did want to mention it!

hope everyone has a short work and school week this week! i know i am excited about tomorrow being the second to last day of my work week!

Qs~

1. hands down, what is your favorite dish (not dessert) to eat on thanksgiving? like i said up there, my favorite is my mom’s stuffing. it is out of this world delicious! but i think the sweet potato galette was second place this year…

2. favorite kind of pie? i may have asked this one before, but oh well. fresh peach pie with homemade whipped cream is mine. but daaang.. pumpkin pie is so good!

xo. janetha b.

ugh. SO. just had a big scare! i had a whole post typed up.. just had to insert my photos~ and i get some black screen on my laptop saying there is some sort of error and something or other is corrupt.

eek.

i was sure all my files and photos were long gone. history.  i spent an hour recovering my system…

we all crossed our fingers (and paws) that everything would be safe and sound.

well.. lucky for me, it was! now i am going to go grab my portable hard drive and do some surrrious backing up!

the bad news? well, i lost my whole post.. grumble. it was so long!

i am afraid to say.. you are going to get the shortened version via a list. sorry charlies, i just don’t have it in me tonight.

1. thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all the incredible comments, insight and wise words left on my last post. that is why i love blogging so much.. the feedback i get from all of you really impresses me and i feel so fortunate to be acquainted with all of you smart ladies! so yes, thanks much. xo

2. yesterday i mentioned that i got a new gadget! here it is:

meet “the baby computer” (as my mom and i call them) aka a netbook. this will make blogging away from home so much easier.. and if my laptop ever DOES bite the dust (as i was afraid it might tonight).. i have backup now ;)

3. yesterday’s workout was rad. 12 minutes on the treadmill @ 15% incline at 4 MPH, 20 minutes HIIT on the treadmill ranging from 6.0 to 7.5 MPH and maxing out at 9 MPH on the final minute. 22 minutes on the bike while reading my new mags: oxygen and real simple. hooray for them FINALLY finding their way to my new address!

4. yesterday’s dinner was whole foods salad bar with a little added protein from the seafood counter~6 ounces of shrimp.. doused in TJ’s sesame ginger dressing of amazingness.

5. today has been an incredibly productive day! i got all but one box unpacked in my room! yesss. confession: i still have 5 or 6 boxes in the garage to unpack, but hey.. out of sight, out of mind, right? right. ;)

6. i had not one but two almond milk lattes today. in a snowman mug. and there is no snow outside. i’m sad about that.

7. i had a fanfreakingtastic workout today! i did some research online and with some tips from susan’s blog and the oxygen website and a few ideas of my own, i put together a fun total body workout. here is how it went down:

i completed each exercise block 3 times through and then moved onto the next. in bold, after the move, i am going to list the main muscles the move worked.. of course, there were other muscles working (such as glutes during a step up) but i am just going to list the targeted muscles.

5 minutes/0.5 mile warm up on treadmill

block A:

• romanian deadlift to bent over row 15 reps hamstrings & upper/lower back
• step up with knee raise and dumbbell bicep curl (8# dbs) 24 reps (12 each leg) quads & biceps
• split squat with forward reach (8# dbs) 24 reps (12 each leg) quads, hamstrings, glutes & upper back

block B:

• dumbbell pullover to crunch 15 reps upper back & abs
• single leg bench dips 24 reps (12 each leg) triceps & quads + hip stabilization & core
• bridge with dumbbell chest press 15 reps chest, hamstrings & glutes

block C:

• oblique twists w/ 10# plate on decline bench 50 reps obliques
• lower abdominal crunches on decline bench 50 reps lower abs
• wide stance squat with front raise (8# dbs) 15 reps quads & shoulders

block D:

• seated calf raises @ 30# 15 reps calves
• walking lunge with 10# plate oblique twist 20 reps

10 minutes on stairmill

this workout took an hour including the warmup and stairmill. it was so awesome! i am going to do the same routine next saturday but try to up some of the weights to make it more challenging.  i loved combining the muscle groups during my workout. it was lots of fun :D it was a little rough as i have DOMS in my hamstrings (from last tuesday!) and my chest/triceps.

8. i made a yummy dinner tonight using some of my foodbuzz fest swag!!

i used some whole wheat linguine, 93% lean ground turkey, basil & oregano diced tomatoes & sliced mushrooms and tossed it all with the pesto.  served the pasta alongside some steamed broccoli with a side of bad lighting..

9. instead of doing anything exciting.. i spent the evening recovering my computer. bah. so happy it worked!

10. deb posted a really fantastic flashback friday post and you all need to go read it. now. please and thanks :)

11. tay also posted a fun disney flashback friday post, check it out!

12. i need to tell you guys about a little somethanggg called operation chocolate-covered kindness…

katie is raising money through page view compensation to donate to charity!  i have copied and pasted this from her post~

What can you do to help?

• Spread the word!  If you have a blog, please help me (Katie) get the word out by blogging about, or even just mentioning, the “Operation Chocolate-Covered Kindness” page view charity drive on your blog.  (Feel free to use the logo as well.)

• Throughout the month, blog about, and link to, ANY chocolatecoveredkatie.com post (such as a Chocolate-Covered Recipe).  Each time someone clicks on any link to my (Katie’s) blog, more money will be earned for the cause.  Good time to make Fudge Babies or Peanut Butter Babies, perhaps?  Or Banana Butter… or Melted Banana Trick oats?

• During the month, click on as many pages/links on my blog as you can.  Each post you click on, and each link you follow, earns more money for the charity drive.  Or, when you see my (Katie’s) posts in Google Reader, simply click on the posts instead of reading them in Google Reader format (which doesn’t translate to any page views).

• Browse the Chocolate-Covered Recipes, read up on processed foods or veganism for omnivores in the FAQ section, find every flavor oatmeal imaginable in All-things-Oatmeal, see “My Life in Cupcakes” in the About Me section, check out the Most Popular, or just peruse old posts. 

so please spread the word and click for some chocolate-covered fundraising love!

13. the incredible and beautiful quinn posted a RAD tidbit the other day.. there is actually a recipe analyzer that you can simply type the ingredients of a recipe into a post and it will quickly calculate the recipe stats and display a nutrition label AND give the recipe a letter grade! check quinn’s post out here and you can find the recipe analyzer here. thanks quinn!

14. my family is having thanksgiving dinner tomorrow!my sister and brother have off years as far as being at my parents’ house goes.. so we are celebrating early so we can all be together :) i am attempting six different recipes! including angharad’s savory mushroom bread pudding and a sweet potato & goat cheese galette. mmmm. can’t wait!

okay. soo.. that is the shortened version (can you even imagine what the original one was like?!) i hope you are all enjoying your weekend! i know i still have emails and blog posts to get to.. but for now, i have HAD IT with laptop land :P see you tomorrow!!

Qs~

1. where will you be spending thanksgiving this year? and with who? my fam is celebrating tomorrow but on actual thanksgiving i will be at my mom’s for round two turkey dinner! it will just be my mom, dad, grandma, marshall & me.

2. do you back up your files? what is your method? and how often? tonight’s debacle was a wake up call.. i need to back up my photos riiiight now! i have a portable hard drive that i use.

sorry this was not very entertaining! i was a little discouraged after losing post #1.. better luck next time ;)

xo. janetha b.

friday! finally.  i know i tend to say “this week was really long” a lot of times.. but this time i really mean it when i say this week was reeeaalllly long! i logged all my hours for the pay period by the end of my day wednesday.. too bad i couldn’t take thursday and today off, eh? ;)

well i didn’t post last night~keeping up with my schedule to skip thursday nights and post earlier in the day friday. i like it, hope you do too.

in addition to flashback friday, i have a few other things i want to talk about so i will give you a brief rundown of thursday’s meals & moves and also what i have shoved my face with today!

thursday.

meal 1: protein oatmeal @ 9:30 AM

wow, i hadn’t had oatmeal in ages.  i have been relying on greek yogurt messes every morning lately so it was nice to have a warm breakfast for a change.  i made it my usual way.. on the stovetop and then added a scoop of vanilla protein powder and ridiculous amounts of cinnamon in at the end.. topped with a spoonful of mighty maple.

meal 2: leftovers! @ 1:00 PM

pumpkin chili & golden corn vitatop. what is it about chili that makes the leftovers taste even better than the first time?  maybe all the flavors have more time to meld together.. this was incredible.  i made a lot in my slow cooker the other day, but my roomie and boyf have been eating it so this is the only leftovers i got from the batch! i will have to make another soon. i am thinking a white bean chili would win at life.

meal 3: protein mocha @ 5:00 PM

i drank this protein shake as i was leaving work and heading to the gym for my weight sesh.

upper body workout!

• 5 min warmup on elliptical
• incline dumbbell chest press: 12 @ 25#, 10 @ 30#, 8 @ 35#, 6 @ 40# (50 ball crunches between sets~total 200 crunches), 12 @ 30# no rest:
• incline dumbbell flyes: 12 @ 20#
• overhead cable tricep extension: 12 @ 30#, 10 @ 35#, 8 @ 40#, 6 @ 45# (30 seconds of jumping jacks between sets~total 2 minutes), 12 @ 35# no rest:
• tricep cable pulldowns: 12 @ 20#
• single arm dumbbell rows: (each arm): 12 @ 17.5# 10 @ 20#, 8 @ 22.5#, 6 @ 25# (20 bench tuck crunches between sets~total 80 tuck crunches), 12 @ 17.5# no rest:
• reverse flyes w/ dumbbells: 12 @ 20#
• seated overhead dumbbell press: 12 @ 20#, 10 @ 30#, 8 @ 35#, 6 @ 40#<—hard! (20 10# weighted oblique twist crunches on ball between sets~total 80 crunches), 12 @ 20# no rest:
• standing upright dumbbell rows: 12 @ 20#
• bicep cable curls: 12 @ 25#, 10 @ 30#, 8 @ 35#, 6 @ 40# (10 dumbbell butterflies w/ 16# between sets, total 40 reps), 12 @ 30# no rest:
• dumbbell hammer curls: 12 @ 16#
• YTWLs: 5 sets of each letter holding 3# dumbbell in each hand

the end!

i wasn’t too hungry last night for some reason so i kept dinner on the lighter side.

meal 4: TJ’s nut mix & greek yogurt mess @ 8:30 PM

i am i love with this nut mix. danica was the first to send it to me and now i purchase it every time i am in california at a TJs!

for my yogurt mess i used some swag from the foodbuzz fest~ frog hollow farm granola, and some oikos.. my very favorite brand of greek yogurt!

i also drizzled some of the bulgarian peanut butter that tina sent me on top… this peanut butter is DELICIOUS! thanks again tina <3

crappy photo, my apologies!

mmmmk so moving on.. to today!

friday.

breakfast was on the go because my boss had errands to run and needed me to tag along.. i did manage to get a REALLY fantastic new gadget.. i am picking it up tomorrow, stay tuned! i am so excited!!

meal 1: protein shake @ 9:00 AM

we were running around for a few hours and this did NOT hold me over long enough. by the time i was back to the office i immediately made lunch!

meal 2: egg+turkey+laughing cow sandwich @ 12:30 PM

don’t let the looks fool you. this was delectable.  on the left i had 2 cage free egg whites+1 whole egg scrambled with 1 wedge of laughing cow cheese atop a slice of nature’s path 100% whole wheat bread.  on the right i had another slice of the whole wheat bread with 3 slices of all natural turkey and annie’s organic ketchup. yep, yum.

have NOT drank enough water today.. hold please, while i go fill up the old water bottle!

**************************************************************

ok i am back! time for flashback friday! soo.. a year ago (tomorrow) my mom and i went to have our final photos taken for our body for life challenge~i actually have a whole page about this, you can see it here.

a friend of mine was gracious enough to offer to do some professional photos for us in his home.  penelope was brand new and so i took her along and she ended up posing for a few photos with us as well :)

i have mixed feelings about this flashback friday.  on one hand i am thrilled and proud of my mom and i for kicking so much butt this time last year.  on the other hand, i am mad at myself for letting myself go at the beginning of 2009.  so, while i feel a sense of accomplishment when looking back at these photos, i still feel a tinge of disappointment when i see them.

BUT.. for the most part, i am proud.  if you asked me that a few months ago, i would say the photos just made me miserable to look at.  since then, i have gotten back on track and am close to looking like i do in these photos.  that makes me smile.

what else makes me smile is realizing the lesson i’ve learned this past year.  maintaining takes work.

here is what happened.. august 2008 my mom and i started body for life. we got our body fat tested and were a tad discouraged with the results.

we were strict, by the book, only one or two cheats maybe.. if that. we checked out body fat again halfway through the challenge.  the numbers were changing.  the fat was going down and the lean muscle was going up. it was working :)

november 2008 we couldn’t believe our success when we got our final body fat composition testing done.  like.. WOW.. we did it! and it was not hard.  we ate 6 times a day.. were ALWAYS full, never hungry, we were happy and healthy.. loved every day of the challenge and loved every bit of success.

it is safe to say i had never felt better about myself than i did in these photos. ever. i was finally comfortable in my own skin.

then the holidays hit. “we will take the holidays off and start a new challenge january 5th”  we said. hmm.. yeah, we did start a new challenge, but we were definitely not as hell bent or hardcore about it.  we had already achieved our “goal weight” and so we were lenient—maybe TOO lenient—with the second body for life challenge.

well, then i got food poisoning. then i got sick. then i went to california. then i got sick again. then i went to mexico. then i got my tonsils out. then summer came. then this, then that.. point being, i was not watching what i ate close enough.. sure, i was eating healthy.  but i was taking too many free meals and eating too large of portions.. sure, healthy food is good for you, but too much of a good thing WILL lead to weight gain.  and so will lack of working out.

if you’ve been a long time reader you will remember when i had a few breakdowns about my weight gain. why could i not just FOCUS?  why could i not have the diligence and determination that i had the first time around?  i still cannot answer that question.

but i will say this: you can either slowly work toward your goal or you can slowly work away from it. sometime around august of this year i put my foot down and reversed my direction.  for nearly nine months i was getting further and further from my goal weight.. and i was getting heavier and more unhappy as time ticked by.  since august, i have slowly worked toward becoming comfortable in my own skin once again.  no, it has not happened in 12 short weeks like it did in 2008.  but i have been gaining muscle and losing fat at a steady pace.  my “skinny” jeans fit again and i am almost to the point where i can wear a bikini and feel confident.

i have a little over two months before i hit the beaches in jamaica.  and i can promise you this: i will be back to my happy weight.

i now use these photos as motivators.. i know i can do it, ive been there before. all it takes is some self control and hard work.  i am my own worst enemy but i am also my own biggest fan.  i just am glad i have the right mind set and am not criticizing myself when i see these photos now.. instead, i am reassuring myself that this will be me again come february!

aside from the whole body weight issue talk above, i also think of something else every time i see these photos. i love my mom.  she is my hero and my best friend.  she is a busy lady and she stuck to the challenge day in and day out. she was by my side the whole time, we were constantly on the phone supporting each other.  i know i could not have done this without her.

side note: my mom posted a really rad guest post HERE. she did not fall off the wagon like i did.. and kept her weight down the whole time.. and now does not have the same issues as i do. good job mom!

looking at these photos reminds me of how much fun i had with my mom while doing this challenge.  we always have fun together but this time we were getting healthier and doing ourselves a favor~it made it so fantastic!!

i know i rave about my mom a lot.. but i am not exaggerating when i say i would die without her!!!

we got a little goofy in these ones.. but it was a lot of fun and we felt so happy to be done with our challenge.. we were all smiles!

here are a few more randoms, sorry if it is photo overload but there were like 200 to pick from!~

it is strange.. some people get motivation from looking at other people. at actresses or fitness models. maybe from other women at the gym.  not me.

i get motivation from where i once was.. because i know it is physically possible for me to be there again.  no reason for me to pull motivation from the superstar bods i see in oxygen magazine because everyone is different and i will never have long, lean legs.  i will always have a bumpy abdomen. i won’t ever be able to achieve certain features because it is just not in the cards for my body type.  and i have realized this and i don’t get envious or jealous of other women like i used to.  i have come to terms with my body type and now i just strive to be the best janetha i can be.  and so, obviously, my motivation comes from looking at photos of me when i was at my best.

i highly suggest this method.  it helped me with jealousy issues i once had when i was younger.  i now know there is no point in jealousy, it only makes you miserable.  and when you get motivation from your former self instead of from looking at other people, you definitely do NOT feel jealous (how can you be jealous of yourself? you can’t.) instead, you feel empowered.. motivated.. inspired.

so there you have it. my motivation. and my two cents. thanks for reading!

did you participate in flashback friday? let me know and i will link back to your post!

**************************************************************

so.. that ended up a lot longer than i expected! i will save my other cool stuff to talk about for my next post.  right now, i have to go meet the exterminator! he is going to tell those spiders in my bedroom who is boss :D

i hope you all have a glorious weekend.  relax, eat some yummy food and pray for snow!!!!

Qs~

1. what foods do you think taste better as leftovers? in addition to my chili, i also think any italian, thai and chinese foods taste really good leftover!! hmm basically any type of noodle dish come to think of it…

2. what is on your agenda this weekend? tell me, i really want to hear your plans! i am going to attempt a compound workout saturday and go snowboarding sunday :)

xo. janetha b.

hey guys! wow, my last post generated a lot of great comments.  it seems that several of you do compound exercises when strength training, some of you alternated between compound and isolated, and a few of you are like me: isolation all the time.

many of you mentioned jillian michaels and her use of compound exercises.  i did do the shred for about 20 days.. i did like the way the compound exercises elevated my heart rate.  if i can possibly find the dvd in my piles of boxes somewhere, i might give it a shot again.  or just make up my own routine at the gym.  currently, i strength train 3 times a week, alternating between upper and lower.  one week i have 2 upper days/1 lower day and the next week it is vice versa.  i think my game plan is to change to one upper, one lower and one combined day each week.

okay, good talk, moving on!

i woke up this morning and threw some ingredients into my crock pot.. which i have had for years and have never used.  may as well start now, right?  more on that in a bit.. first, waffle wednesday!

i finally made it to the store last night and snagged some kashi waffles.

meal 1: wafflewich @ 8:00 AM

for this sweet and savory sandwich i used two kashi golean blueberry waffles..

and cooked up 3 egg whites+1 whole egg using cage free eggs.  then i sandwiched the eggs between the waffles and drizzled a little sf syrup on top.

i have always loved pairing syrup with savory breakfast items such as eggs, bacon and sausage.

the blueberries in the waffles were a nice touch.

right after breakfast i went into my boss’ office for a meeting.  i came back to my desk and i was drinking my coffee and working away when i noticed this:

a note from marshall.. pointing to my camera. he must have come to my office to say goodbye while i was in my meeting (we work together.. but he works out and about, not in the office).

i turned my camera on, as the note instructed..

a kiss! haha. he’s cute. and needs to shave ;)

i worked lots and lots today. not a second for blog reading. what can ya do?

when my computer was all messed up and semi-frozen (i NEED a new computer at work) i got real frustrated and took a time out for lunch.

meal 2: turkey sandwich + veggies @ 1:00 PM

the sandwich was on nature’s pride 100% whole wheat bread and i layered it with local red pepper hummus, sprouts, all natural roasted turkey slices & annie’s dijon mustard~

bueno!

the veggies were just some steamfresh dudes.

good lunch!

guess what?? i left work at a decent time today!  i only worked 20 minutes of overtime.  then it was straight to the gym.

i decided to get a little creative with my HIIT today and did something totally new.

10-10-10 triple machine HIIT.

10 minutes on treadmill:

i did two sets of 5 minute intervals, the numbers are in MPH:

• 1 min 6.0
• 1 min 6.5
• 1 min 7.0
• 1 min 7.5
• 1 min 8.0
• 1 min 6.0
• 1 min 6.5
• 1 min 7.5
• 1 min 8.5
• 1 min 9.5

10 minutes on elliptical:

i did two sets of 5 minute intervals.  the first 5 minutes i went forward on the elliptical and averaged a 9.0 MPH pace:

• 1 min level 2
• 1 min level 4
• 1 min level 6
• 1 min level 8
• 1 min level 10

the next 5 minutes i decided to go backward.  wowww.. it is hard to go backward.. well, at least when you have DOMS in your whole lower half!  this is because you kind of have to squat/hover to go backward.  i never go backward on the elliptical, come to think of it.  it was really different and i liked the challenge!  it was a little harder so i only averaged a 7.0 MPH pace:

• 1 min level 2
• 1 min level 4
• 1 min level 6
• 1 min level 8
• 1 min level 10

10 minutes stairmill:

i finished off this workout with two 5 minute sets of intervals:

• 1 min level 4
• 1 min level 6
• 1 min level 8
• 1 min level 10
• 1 min level 12
• 1 min level 4
• 1 min level 6
• 1 min level 8
• 1 min level 10
• 1 min level 12

i ended up going 1.19 miles on the treadmill, 1.26 miles on the elliptical and 0.97 mile on the stairmill.  this workout was fanfreakingtastic!

i came home and was happy that i did not have to do much for dinner!  i had put ingredients for pumpkin chili in my crock pot so all i did when i got home was stir in the beans and corn and let it warm through!

marshall baked himself some heat & serve rhodes rolls.  professional baker ;)

he had an audience!

no rolls for me.. instead i toasted a golden corn vitatop~

meal 3: homemade pumpkin chili+2% cheddar+dollup 0% oikos & golden corn vita @ 7:00 PM

such a comforting, healthy meal for this time of year!!  now if only we would get some more snow!

for the chili i just made it up in my head.. but this is what i used:

• 1 lb 93% lean ground beef
• 1 can peeled & diced tomatoes
• tomato sauce
• frank’s
• chopped green pepper
• chopped red onion
• lots of cumin
• lots of chili powder
• about 3/4 cup-1 cup pure pumpkin (canned)

i let this cook all day in the crock pot and when i got home i stirred in:

• can of organic black beans
• can of organic kidney beans
• can of organic corn

i can proudly say my first crock pot experiment was a huge success! i can’t wait to make something else!!  the chili was super good with the golden corn vita top broken up and sprinkled on top.

marshall ate 750 calories worth of rolls..only 300+a bite are pictured here..

and then we assembled an ikea bookshelf for my room!

we decided to reward ourselves for the extra hard work (yeah, right..) with frozen yogurt!

i had been craving fro yo since last friday.. sooo, whatever, i went for it.

meal 4: small frozen yogurt + pom arils + raspberries + strawberries @ 9:30 PM

we got it to go and took it back to my house so i could blog & marshall and the poochies watched tv :)

and now we are current!

sooo.. the local radio station morning show does something every wednesday called “things that must go”.. i got to thinking about things that would be on my list regarding my trip to the gym today.

things that must go.

• people who spit their gum out into the drinking fountain at the gym.. really? are you nine?
• dudes on the treadmill next to me who not only talk on their cell phone while jogging on the treadmill.. but talk on it on speaker phone.. get a grip buddy, nobody wants to hear your conversation
• creepy old men who come up to me while i am filling my water bottle and say, “better fill ‘er up since the drinks here are on the house!”  uhhh.. no comment.

well i am going to call it a night.. two more work days until the weekend.. hope you all hang in there!

Qs~

1. favorite slow cooker recipes?? ready, go! i want ideeeeas.

2. what would be on YOUR list of “things that must go”?

xo. janetha b.

hi guys! how was your tuesday?? hopefully all you hoped for and maybe more.

i just finished a very late dinner (it is 9:45 pm!) and now i am going to pound out this post so i can possibly unpack a box or two in my room.. still slowly unpacking it all.. sigh. the one nice thing is my new room is a ton bigger than my last one so i have lots of space for everything!

first of all it was really fun to hear about your phobias!  several of you are also arachnaphobic but what i really enjoyed was the unique phobias such as the fear of dirty bathrooms, the fear of sharp objects, the fear of smashing your teeth, the fear of squeaky glasses and the fear of frogs.  loved all the answers but those ones i really got a kick out of!

second, sorry about the false alarm and making some of you think i was engaged! haha.. no, not so much. maybe eventually ;)  it was awesome to see the creative old/new/borrowed/blue answers you all came up with!

onto today!

meal 1: greek yogurt+shredded spoonfuls+mighty maple & coffee @ 10:00 AM

yes. at ten AM.  i OVERSLEPT!  i got to work at 9:30, brewed some java and threw together this mess. i hate the feeling i get when i oversleep. not to mention the rushed getting-ready business that follows. i felt like a trainwreck all day! at least this was delicious..

i worked my tail off all day long, once again, i am not sure when i am not going to be busy! really looking forward to the four day weekend next weekend. i was craving a salad for lunch but whole foods was too far of a drive.  i decided to give new york subs a chance…

meal 2: chef salad minus ham plus chicken minus croutons plus my own garbanzos @ 2:15 PM

meh. not the greatest. but it worked. i drizzled it with balsamic.. always makes things taste better!

lalala.. work work work.. i did sneak in a little blog reading! yay! missed that. hopefully i can squeeze some more in tomorrow. slowly catching up with you all!

right before leaving work i knew i needed something to power me through my weight sesh i had planned..

meal 3: protein mocha @ 5:30 PM

drank it at my mess of a desk. i make my protein mocha with 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder (i use EAS brand), 1/2 cup almond millk, 1/2 cup cold coffee and a lot of ice.. all mixed in the magic bullet. yum! but seriously not impressed with working late again.

after work i raced home and changed for the gym. yessss!

i was craving a really good lower body workout so that is exactly what i did. this is going to be long, feel free to skip over the deets.

• 5 min warmup on bike
• bulgarian split squats
• 12 each leg @ 25#
• 15 reverse crunches
• 10 each leg @ 30#
• 20 bench tuck crunches
• 8 each leg @ 35#
• 50 ball crunches
• 6 each leg @ 40#
• 20 oblique crunches on ball w/ 12.5# weight on chest
• 12 each leg @ 25#
• ball-against-wall squats
• 12 reps w/ 25#
• 12 second hold
• laying hip raises w/ feet on bench & 10# plate on hips
• 2 sets of 25
• plank
• 2 sets of 30 second hold
• single leg dead lifts
• 12 each leg @ 16#
• 15 reverse crunches
• 10 each leg @20#
• 20 bench tuck crunches
• 8 each leg @ 25#
• 50 ball crunches
• 6 each leg @ 30#
• 20 oblique crunches on ball w/ 12.5# weight on chest
• 12 each leg @ 16#
• stability ball hamstring curls
• 20 reps
• standing calf raises
• 12 @ 20#
• 20 walking lunges: holding 10# plate with twist (when in lunge) and leg raise (with opposite leg when coming out of lunge)
• 10 @ 40#
• 20 walking lunges
• 8 @ 60#
• 20 walking lunges
• 6 @ 80#
• 20 walking lunges
• 12 @ 20#
• single leg calf raises
• 12 each leg @ body weight
• 10 minutes of ab work: bicycle crunches, leg throw downs, ball-to–hand passes, legs up against wall lower ab crunches
• hyperextension bench
• holding 10# plate:
• 10 reps straight up
• 10 reps up and twist left
• 10 reps up and twist right
• 15 side reps left
• 15 side reps right

the end! sure wish i knew where my HRM watch was so i could track my stats. no can do.

dinner was random to the max.

meal 4: chicken + hummus + sprouts + romaine + dijon sandwich & steamed veggies @ 9:15 PM

this is the chicken i have been using:

great stats and happy chickens!

in addition to this chicken, i used nature’s path 100% whole wheat bread, annie’s dijon and some local red pepper hummus. this sandwich was A+!

the veggies on the side balanced the meal out perfectly.

well.. that about sums up my day! oh yeah, i also managed to get over a gallon of water down the hatch today.  i am really loving being back on track with my eating, workouts and water consumption.  i just need to get back on track with my vitamins and supplements!

you may wonder what my title is all about!  well, i wanted to take a moment and talk about an article i read in oxygen magazine that was written by jamie eason (love her!!).  the article included tips to get into great shape before a specific event, ie: fancy party, wedding, vacation.  well, with jamaica on my mind (i know, still a bit far away!) i decided to see what she had to say.  the one thing that struck out most to me was her tip to do compound exercises instead of isolating one muscle when weight training.

the way i lift weights has always been using isolation.  for instance, i will work out quads, hamstrings, calves and abs.. all separately.  i will also work biceps, triceps, back, shoulders and chest separately.  i never do compound exercises.

oh, for those of you who are not aware, compound exercises are exercises that require exertion from more than one muscle group.  for example: squat while holding dumbbells and complete a bicep curl when in “squat down” position.

it left me with a lot to ponder.  are compound exercises better than isolation exercises?  sure, isolation is great for strengthening each muscle group individually.. but i think for all-over muscle tone, compound exercises may be a bright idea.

i am going to be looking more into compound exercises and i will probably be adjusting my workouts.  i usually strictly split up my upper body and lower body workout days.. so that may be changing.  i will talk about it again after i research it more!

in other news!!~~

• i have been working on my moves page.. let me know if  you would like me to take photos of any specific exercises and i will post them there.
• holly the healthy everythingtarian is raising money to build a well in cambodia! PLEASE, PLEASE go check out her post and donate to the cause!!! every little bit helps.
• don’t forget tomorrow is waffle wednesday!
• tomorrow is also national vichyssoise day.. without googling it, do you know what that is???

okay, hope you all are doing well! sorry i have been so busy lately <3

Qs~

1. when strength training, do you practice compound exercises or do you stick to isolation? how do you break your strength training days up throughout the week? like i said, i do isolation.  i alternate between upper and lower body workouts, doing strength training every other day (with cardio on the off days).. i have thought about splitting things up into more specific muscle groups (like a chest/shoulders/triceps day and a back/biceps day) does anyone do this? i would also love to hear what you guys think about compound exercises.

2. so.. do you know what vichyssoise day is? without googling it! and can you even pronounce it?? i must be a culinary failure. i don’t know what it is nor can i pronounce it. :P

xo. janetha b.

no.. i am not getting hitched.  but i am using this little wedding rhyme for the theme of today’s post!  but FIRST i would like to reflect back on some of the motivational tips you guys left on yesterday’s post.. because daaaang i have some clever readers!

sharing time:

• deb: “I think it’s about re-committing and just mother f-ing DOING it!”
• jenna:”I motivate myself by thinking of how exciting it will be to see how proper eating and training will postitively affect my body.”
• nicci: “I motivate myself with a reward at the end of the month. Not food related but a nice pedi or a new shirt. Sometimes going and buying 3 magazines or a new book.”
• lizzy:”i do what you did and just list out the things i know i need to work on. having that list out in front of me is what helps”
• allison: “I need to dive right back into it, otherwise ‘vacation mode’ lasts for weeks”
• tay: “It’s super hard to get BOT, but I go day by day and it gets easier! I think about how much better I’ll feel once I feel clean and on track again.”
• ildie: “Try setting mini goals. Things you want to accomplish at the end of every week instead of at the end of the 7 weeks. Might be easier to meet them and then feeling good about succeeding should motivate you to keep at it. I find that this works the best for me. I try and set a mini goal for every week.”
• susan: “Part of the reason why I’m tracking calories again. Maybe it will be helpful to tighten things up just to get me through the holiday season. At least Christmas is full of turkey, which is the best lean protein there is ;) I guess just realizing that you’re doing it and changing it is the first step in the right direction…”
• naomi: “I always get motivated when I go to the gym, this is why i never workout at home…even if I am not in the mood, once I get there I always have a great workout, seeing everyone else work so hard motivates me to work even HARDER than them!”
• paige: “I just do it. I don’t have any real words of wisdom here. I just…do it. Coercion I guess? lol”
• kristin: “when I need to get back on track- list, list, list! And I’ll write down what I’m eating (NOT kcals, just the food) for a couple weeks to make sure I am balanced. But no more- getting obsessive is no good!
  I also like to switch up the exercise, which is always a fun way to kick it up.”
• andrea: “I remind myself of how much better I feel when I work out right and eat clean. I also write my meals and workouts into my day planner. That way they are an appointment I can’t miss…”
• holly: “i think just continuing on with healthy habits – everytime i try to compensate for overeating/not exercising but doing the opposite, it never ends up well. just resume healthy habits and all shall be fine.”
• low: “make a list of attainable things I can do to help. Maybe it’s not everything I’d ideally like to be doing, but it’s the stuff I know I can accomplish and that will take me closer to my goal.”
• kailey: “I assess the situation when I’m in it. Am I really hungry, or is this just a habit I’ve created? Is that what I really want? Do I feel like feeling like crap after I eat this whole box of crackers? Nah. That normally helps, but then again I try not to be stringent or too hard on myself.”
• katie: “I have started trying on my bathing suit more than once a week to motivate myself. I sometimes disgust myself, but it sure motivates my butt into gear.” <—this was my favorite tip!
• erika: “I am in that mode myself and have resorted to counting some cals. I know, bad, but I am at the point where I am viewing any amount of almond butter as ok bc it is good for you. I like to leave out the fact that 6 TBS is NOT good for you. So counting works for me to get on track…”
• dorothy: “think about how great i feel after i eat super healthy all day and how stupid it would be to ruin it for a piece of cake or (hehe) vanilla bean ice cream”
• taysa: “I usually keep around inspirational pictures, either of myself at a healthy weight or celebrities, etc and put them in front of me wherever I am. Seeing my end-goal helps me feel remotivated.”
• angharad: “I tend to just make sure I do lots of exercise (running, yoga and weights for me!) and eat as much fruit/veggies as possible!”
• tiffany: “I get motivated by reading about you getting motivated.” ;)
• kristi: “When I know I have the support of someone else, I tend to be more motivated and make better choices.”

whew. that was long but SO worth it.. it helped me to go over all the tips again and i hope you all can pull something motivating from this list the next time you need a little nudge!

okay, now onto my day! 

something new.

okay, no, i am not going in the order of the classic wedding rhyme.. so deal with it :P

meal 1: egg whites+feta+spinach+chicken+onions & dry wheat toast & black coffee @ 8:00 AM

so.. the original pancake house has been getting old.  for those of you who are new to reading my rambles.. i go to the original pancake house EVERY monday for a sales meeting.. and the meals get OLD.. FAST.  and then for some reason today i decided to try a totally new combo.. and it. was. incredible.  why did i never utilize the chicken option before? no idea. but you can bet the farm (if you have one) that i will be having chicken in my eggs for many a monday to come!

work was busy again today! i managed to break just a bit past when i would normally eat. i chugged lots of water in between meals to tide me over.

something old.

ohhh.. an oldie but a goodie!

meal 2: cottage cheese + garbanzos + hidden valley ranch seasoning @ 1:00 PM

it had been way too long since i had this combo.  i didn’t have any add ins today but it was perfectly delicious just as it was.

around 5 o’clock i had half of an unphotographed clif bar.. we will call it meal 3 just because. and then i was at work until 6:15. that is an 11 hour and 15 minute monday at work. bah. i did manage to finish my gallon of water before leaving the office though.

i did not go home and lay around like i wanted to. i went to the gym. go me.

something blue.

my workout outfit had a whole slew of blue. blue tshirt. blue hoodie. blue socks. blue on my shoes.

don’t mind the huge mess behind me.. i am still working on unpacking! it never ends!

my workout~

20 min HIIT on treadmill

• incline=0
• 2 min @ 6.0
• incline=0.5
• 1 min @ 6.5
• 1 min @ 7.0
• 1 min @ 7.5
• 1 min @ 8.0
• incline=1.0
• 1 min @ 6.5
• 1 min @ 7.0
• 1 min @ 7.5
• 1 min @ 8.0
• incline=1.5
• 1 min @ 6.5
• 1 min @ 7.0
• 1 min @ 7.5
• 1 min @ 8.0
• incline=2.0
• 1 min @ 6.5
• 1 min @ 7.0
• 1 min @ 7.5
• 1 min @ 8.0
• incline=0
• 1 min @ 9.0 (high point)
• 1 min @ 2.0 (cool down)

not gonna lie.. i am surprised i could still run so fast after slacking for so long. i ended up going 2.25 miles in the 20 minutes.  then i rode the bike for 10 minutes just for fun.

something borrowed.

well.. i guess my dinner could count for something borrowed AND something blue.. but i wanted to tie my workout in somewhere so that is where the blue went ;)

meal 4: amazing salad @ 8:00 PM

still working on good lighting at the new house. ha. this salad had..

• romaine
• sprouts
• grilled chicken
• braeburn apple (half)
• avocado
• blue cheese

and something borrowed..

artichoke hearts from the roomie!

i topped it all with the balsamic dressing i snagged at trader joe’s while in cali.

i don’t know what it is about the pairing of blue cheese with apples.. IT. IS. SO. DANG. TASTY.

pre dressing drizzle..

post dressing drizzle..

i may or may not have licked the plate.

after dinner i worked on unpacking my room a bit.  i was folding a heap of clothes and i found another spider in my room. good thing my brave roommate drew came to the rescue and did away with the creepy crawly.  i think he may have been surprised at how much i freaked out over the spider.  i HATE spiders.  i am definitely arachnophobic. to the max. i am ridiculous when i see spiders. i squeal and make a huge fuss. and it is not an act. i hate spiders. even the ones who can’t hurt me. hfewjkhfcdjkflhew. i have to stop talking about them now. oh yeah, and this should go without saying, but after i found the spider i stopped unpacking. better luck tomorrow, eh?

well i feel like i haven’t had a second to breathe today. wake up, work nearly 12 hours, work out, come home, make dinner, eat, clean, blog. guess i will go to bed and do it all again tomorrow :)  and maybe have a moment to tackle my google reader which is up to almost 300. sorry lovies!

this girl has got to get some sleep.

Qs~

1. what is something old, something new, something borrowed OR something blue in relation to your monday? i already told you all 4 of mine!

2. what phobias do you have? in addiction to arachnophobia, i am also VERY claustrophobic.

xo. janetha b.

sweet potato that is. i think i am turning into one. i ate sweet potatoes thursday, friday and saturday. and i am craving one today but i think i will refrain. oh and today i spotted a recipe for sweet potato cupcakes.. mmm.. those may have to be whipped up in my kitchen soon.

oh! first off do you want to know the winner of the oikos relaxation prize pack?  i bet you do…

number one! which was julia! she said: “My favorite way to rewind and relax is being outdoors, like in the woods or at the beach. When I can’t be outdoors, I like sitting in my chair and reading.”

congrats honey pie! send me your info and i will pass it along to the folks at stonyfield farms so you can get your loot!

okay. so.. long weekend. i can’t really recap everythang because this would turn into a novel but i will show you eighteen pounds of sweet potato fries the highlights!

friday night i met up with the ladies!  first off a few of us met up at the bohemian brewery for some food and drink action.

they serve bread alongside this incredible spread which is, from what i can decipher, just cream cheese mixed with green olives.  it’s super tasty.

my friend and i split the chicken pesto pizza~

this, times 3. delish.

after our meal we headed to the bayou to meet up with seven other lovely ladies.

we hung out while waiting for a table, which turned into an hour and a half long wait.. so glad i ate beforehand or i would have been staaarving.

once we finally sat down everyone was ordering food and i didn’t since i already ate i blurted out “sweet potato fries” to the waitress. gah, trust me.. they are so worth it :)

don’t worry, i had help.

i realized that i am old when the main topic of conversation all night was wedding details (no, not of MY wedding) and talk of buying houses and other adult related whatnot. ugh. can i please just go back to being 22? i also realized that i am old when we finished up at a bit past midnight and i was ready to go home. hah. it was super fun to hang out with everyone though.. i have been so busy with the move and then went straight to san fran, i have missed my ladies!

saturday i woke up to GLORIOUS, GLORIOUS SNOW!!!!!

snowgasm.

i made myself a latte with espresso+almond milk~

in a very weather-appropriate mug:

and whipped up a greek yogurt mess using some ingredients from a couple of my favorite gals..

i started with a bowl of oikos and added chocolate almond macaroons from deb and bulgarian nut butter from tina:

throw a little shredded spoonfuls into the mix and breakfast was served!

i spotted something on the back of the shredded spoonfuls box that reconfirmed the fact that it is indeed my favorite cereal..

they said “stellar” :) it was meant to be.

after devouring this amazing yogurt bowl, i spent the next 5 hours at ikea, bed bath & beyond and target. whew. i got a lot of good stuff which i will probably show y’all sometime or another!

at least my new subaru can hang with the winter conditions. i was so dang happy the whole time i was driving. I LOVE THE SNOW!

saturday night we went to mccool’s for a birthday dinner celebration.

i was going to get some black bean soup but the waiter basically told me that it was disgusting so i went with the turkey burger + sweet potato fries..

‘

the sweet potato fries were served with some sort of curry mustard and it was fabulous.  and i ate fries two days in a row. and i didn’t even care. but i probably should have.. i have been so lenient with my eating lately. bah.

today marshall & i made egg sandwiches for breakfast.  i served mine up on a winter wonderland plate.. still so excited about the snow :D

2 slices of nature’s path all natural 100% whole wheat bread, 1 slice tillamook cheddar, 1 egg+1 egg white (cage free eggs)~i felt better about this meal than i do about all the others over the weekend.

this afternoon i went to a baby shower for my beautiful friend katie.  she is having a girl in february!  so exciting.

i made fruit pizza..

‘

always a hit.

and my friend sabrina made strawberry cupcakes which were super cute!

i had a little bit of fruit pizza but not a cupcake. i also had some of the other food that was at the shower~

mayjuh lackage of protein.  but not too horrible i suppose.

SO..honestly.. i have got to get off the crappy eating wagon. there. i said it.

the way i feel tonight after this weekend reconfirms the fact that i need to get my butt back in gear.  i was really lax with my eating at the foodbuzz festival and the whole time i was in cali,  once i got back to utah i was SO busy at work that i didn’t make the best choices for lunch.. nothing horrible, just not enough protein and probably way too many carbs.  when i am stressed out and exhausted i eat lots of carbs. and then i feel like garbage. grumble.

i have also been a slack ass at working out.  i have only worked out 3 times in the past week.. all cardio, no weights.  well, i did do 20 squats while holding marshall today. hah. but i can feel my body telling me to stop being so lazy and get back into the weight room. i have not been gaining weight or getting fat or anything.. but i KNOW i am losing muscle, i can feel it, i don’t like it.

i also have not been eating enough veggies or protein and have not been drinking enough water. it is crazy that i have been so lenient with myself because i know what i should be doing.. and i am just not doing it. duhhh janetha.

i counted.. 81 days until i leave for jamaica.  that is a little over 11 weeks. plenty of time to get my body bikini ready :)  it will be hard since the holidays are just around the corner.. but i am bound and determined to be happy in my own skin come february 5th (the date we leave for jamaica).

SO.. for the next 81 days i have a few goals:

• at least 1 gallon of water a day
• 3 cardio workouts a week
• 3 weight training workouts a week
• abs 3 to 4 times a week
• focus on lots of veggies
• body for life style meals (balanced protein/carb ratio plus healthy fat)
• cut waaaay back on sugar.. only eat a treat if i REALLY want it, not just because it is there (this is big during the holidays.. so many treats are everywhere!)
• try to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night
• no fried foods. no excuses.

i think that this is a good list to start with.  it is important for me to have specific goals and not just tell myself to “do better”.. if i lay it out then i am better at sticking to it. lists are this girl’s best friend!

okkkkay so yeah, sorry to ramble on there for a bit. just had to reassess my situation and talking it out helps me stay accountable!

hope you all had a great weekend, i am going to try to catch up on some blogs but i think cuddle time with the pups+marshall just might make me end up closing the laptop ;)

Qs~

1. how do you get motivated/get back on track after a lapse in regular exercise/clean eating (aka “vacation mode”)? let’s hear it people! i need a kick in the butt!

2. what is the best thing you ate this weekend? i love asking this question and hearing about all the deliciousness!

xo. janetha b.