A Little Behind

I hate being one day behind in blogging, so here’s a recap of my FRIDAY

I slept in yesterday and by sleeping in I mean I slept until 7:30!  I felt well-rested so while Bill slept, I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom and then did the kitchen and living room floors… threw in and folded two loads of laundry, and got caught up on some blogs!  Pretty productive morning!  When Bill got up, we had a quick breakfast together… I made a delicious bowl of PB & Jelly oatmeal

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Bill and I got a great workout in at the gym… Generally we don’t really workout together because of timing (he rarely does cardio and I ALWAYS do cardio), but I told him that we need to start working out together because he REALLY pushes me esp with ab-work – since I dreaaaaaaaaaad it.  I did 3 miles on the treadmill and then headed down to meet him for abs.  We did:

  • lovehandle machine:  3 sets of 12 on each side using 50lb. weights
  • crunch machine:  3 sets of 20 using 60lbs.
    • for the first 10 of each set, i held each crunch for 3 full seconds and squeezed
  • incline bench:
    • 2 sets of 15 crunches on incline
    • 3 sets of 12 crunches while having a 4lb. medicine ball thrown at me (lol)

When we got back, I had a Strawberry Chobani topped with my homemade granola, pom seeds, and a spoonful of chunky peanut butter… This Chobani, again, did not disappoint.  Although there weren’t as many chunks of strawberries as I would have liked (they are one of my fave fruits ever), it was super creamy, not overly-sweet and again protein-packed.  The thing I like most about Chobani is the protein content.  After I eat one of these, it keeps me full for hours, which is unusual because  most yogurt does not fill me up.

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I had to go food shopping because my parents and brother were coming over for a game night, so right before I left I had a small bowl of fiber one, skim milk, and raisins.  Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

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We ordered square upside down pizza for dinner and it was a huge hit with my fam… They gobbled it all up :)   I had one slice to start with (the cheese is on the bottom as an FYI), but wound up going back for a second.  I made up a salad for us to have alongside of the pizza.  It contained a spring mix, chopped tomatoes, and sliced almonds and pecans.

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After we ate, my mom, dad, Chris, Bill, and I started to play a VERY INTENSE game of Monopoly.  We started playing around 7 and didn’t finish until after 11!!!  Bill and my mom wound up being the final 2 at the end of the game and although it was close, Bill wound up winning after they counted up their money!  Both of them LOVE Monopoly so it was a very competitive game, but a LOT of fun!

Before we went to bed, Bill got the idea to have a slice of his aunt Sandie’s homemade apple pie.  Aunt Sandie reads the blog too – Hi Aunt Sandie!  I couldn’t resist a slice of it either… We warmed it up in the microwave for a few seconds and it was amazing – a sweet way to end the night.

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Then it was off to sleep!

SATURDAY

I started out today up at 7:15 and headed to the gym for my 8am spin class with my friend.  I got there in enough time to do a half hour of upper body weight training… On my drive there, I had the other half of a Clif bar.

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Spinning was great – I got a nice sweaty workout and burned about 450 calories!

Now I’m off to run some errands with Bill… back in a bit!

What A Wonderful Christmas

OOPS – I thought i posted this yesterday but I actually just wound up saving it as a draft!

Merry Belated Christmas, once again everyone. Like so many of you, I can’t believe that Christmas is over – it literally came and went. However, we had an amazing day filled with memories spent with both of our families and we couldn’t have asked for anything better than that!

In the morning, Bill and I opened up our gifts. We both decided to have an inexpensive Christmas gift-wise, so we did stockings and a small gift… My husband surely knows me well – he got my all my favorite things and then some things that I’ve had my “eye” on over the last few months…

Tide Stick & Burt’s Bees chapstick – because I go through these things like I go through water

Clif Crunchy Peanut Butter bars – best flavor ever

Pink & Gray Weightlifting Gloves – can’t wait to use these!

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For my “main present”, I received Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill cookbook (!!!!!!!!!) and a Corelle Teapot that matches our dishes :)

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While Bill got ready for the day, I set to work on making a banana baked oatmeal to bring with us to Bill’s parents’ Christmas brunch. I snacked on a few lone banana slices :)

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Our brunch with Bill’s family was a lot of fun. We had LOTS of yummy food there… Here’s my plate full of an American Cheese omelet that Bill’s dad made for everyone, a slice of my baked oatmeal (I baked it in a pie pan), and some really delicious and big green grapes!

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Despite the fact that I was full, I couldn’t pass up a cinnamon bun that Bill’s Nana made – they were delicious!

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We left Bill’s parents house and headed to my parents house in the afternoon, luckily they only live 15 minutes apart :) I had a few pretzels with this spicy mustard that my brother got for my Dad – doesn’t it look yummy?

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After we opened up all our presents with my family, we enjoyed a perfect dinner! My dad grilled up filet mignon for us outside, despite the fact that it was 30-40 degrees outside! I brought homemade applesauce that I made (with Bill’s slicing & peeling assistance), which was a big hit with everyone. I also had a sweet potato, a biscuit, corn, broccoli, string beans, and some of my mom’s delish broccoli casserole…

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Here are some close-ups…

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After we cleaned up dinner and let our food digest a bit, it was time for dessert – my favorite part of Christmas dinner! My aunt brought treats from a local bakery so I sampled some of the butter cake & had a slice of the Lemon Meringue – one of my all-time favorite pies!

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I also had a cup of coffee which did nothing to wake me up – if anything, after I drank it, I felt even more tired :) It was a long, busy day!

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I had mentioned that I was busy baking on Tues & Wednesday, so now I can reveal what I made!

All of my chocolate covered treats… white chocolate covered nutter butters, chocolate covered mint oreos, chocolate covered gingersnaps, chocolate covered graham cracker sandwiches filled with melted marshmallows…

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Reindeer Nutter Butters

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Chocolate Covered PB Ritz

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Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

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My assembled chocolate covered treat tray… I assembled 5 of these for our families…

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My attempt at homemade pumpkin pie for my dad since he made a comment he hasn’t had any all year :)

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Homemade applesauce using 10 lbs. of Red Delicious apples, water, cinnamon, vanilla, and a touch of brown sugar…

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Brunch tray with pumpkin muffins, cranberry muffins, banana chocolate chip bread, blueberry bread, and cinnamon crumb cake…

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Homemade granola using oats, cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, and raisins.

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I hope you all had as good of a Christmas as I did!