We’ve Just Been…

Hanging out.

Having fun.

DRINK, DRINK, DRINK!

And just saying “Pffffftttttt” to responsibility.

Our life is TOUGH.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

I’ve moved!

Update your reader, your browser or whatever it is people update and join me over at lovelaughterandlife.wordpress.com

It’s just a click away!  See you soon!

Sappy Saturday

You listen to my insane longwinded ramblings which make absolutely no sense.  And you listen with your whole heart.

I love you yesterday, today, and forever more.

Meal Plan

I really do love meal planning.  I love the start of a new week of fun foods, new recipes and cleaning out the fridge.

Starting fresh.

I love it.

I realize for some people it’s just way too much.  The schedule, the planning, the shopping, the whole deal.  Some people prefer a little more fly by the seat of their pants.  Sometimes, I envy them.  Occasionally I wish my OCD would lend itself to something like cleaning.  If only I was as obsessive about cleaning as I am about planning and cooking.  Then we’d never have weekend marathon cleaning sessions again.  We’d have weekend SVU marathons instead.  Oh wait..we do that now anyway.  

The thing that I love most about planning is the money we save.  No more trips to the store for a meal with ingredients I’ll never use again.  No more ordering food at the last minute (ok, sometimes) because we don’t know what to eat and haven’t planned anything.  We’ve saved oodles of money just by planning out our week and refraining from buying lunch and/or dinner.  The absolute best part though–spending time together.  Cooking together, being together in the kitchen is such a joyful part of my day.  In fact, when we don’t do it, I feel like something is missing.  About 40 minutes of my incessant chatting.  Being in the kitchen together, creating something to nourish our bodies is my absolute favorite time of day.

Now that’s something I can stand behind.

MEAL PLAN (January 27-February 2, 2012)

Dinner:

Friday: Linguine with Clam Sauce, Nachos (odd–but we have an odd schedule this Friday, so it’s a meal that suits both our needs!)

Saturday: Cowboy Casserole .  A little of that recipe and a little of this (minus the corn-blech!)  This is a crazy unhealthy recipe which I lighten up by using 98% FF Soup and much less cheese.  I make this once a year for Dan, and it’s finally time this weekend!

Sunday: Stuffed Shells and Eggplant Rollatini with Gravy, Broccoli and Salad.

Monday: Fish Packets with Roasted Vegetables (carrots and onions) and wild rice.

Tuesday: Biscuits and Gravy with Breakfast Sausage (for Dan) and Tempeh Bacon (for me).

Wednesday: Tempeh Tacos, Plantains and Corn Salsa

Thursday: Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Lunches:

Weekend: Veggie Sandwich, Grilled Cheese, Ham Pickles and Mustard, Turkey and Brie Panini (we like to mix and match sandwiches!)

Weekdays: I always eat soup and a salad.  I rarely deviate and it leaves me satisfied and full.  Since Dan is on the road all day, I try to pack him something easy to eat.  This week it’s sandwiches in full force!

Breakfast:

I’ve been LOVING this mixture (sounds gross, tastes great)

1 cup water

1/2 cup oats

1/3 cup low fat cottage cheese

1 egg white

Cook oatmeal according to package directions, add 1 egg white and stir until incorporated and scrambled.  Mix in cottage cheese.  I usually then add 1/2 tbs of nutritional yeast a little garlic powder (Dan says that is gross, but I’m sharing it with you anyway).   This is one of the few breakfasts that get me through the morning!

As far as breakfast for Dan, he’s not a big breakfast person, so he usually grabs a banana.  I’m going to experiment with some energy bars for him this weekend.  I want them to be moderate in calories with enough fiber and healthy fat to fuel him through the mornings.

Snacks:

Fruit (apples, oranges, bananas)

Vegetables (cucumbers, carrots)

Yogurt mixed with Jam

So that’s our plan for the week!  I promise, it’s not as exhausting as it looks.

Do you have a plan for the week?

Resolve

I will be back!

Sorry for the long hiatus.  I promise to tell you about it.

I imbibed.

I enjoyed.

I loved.

I laughed.

I ate.

I said goodbye to 2011 with quite a bang.

Here’s to 2012!!  I can’t wait to tell you what I’ve resolved to do.

It’s Here!

I begged, promises were made.

Promises were kept.

We now have a working honest to goodness treadmill!

Excuse the way I look.  There were some tense moments during the 2 hour assembly process.

Seeing that made me want to just walk right back down the stairs and hope that it was a 1 person project.

As promised, there were at least 3 fights and several tense moments.  Including a lot of sentences starting with “I don’t appreciate when you…”  About 1 hour in, I absolutely without a doubt sat on the floor and almost cried.  Dramatic, yes.  But the process was annoying, the directions were utterly painful and the screws were mislabeled.  Eventually I peeled myself up off the floor, stopped fake crying and continued to help.  I cannot believe Dan didn’t just leave, but he was also holding about 50 pounds of mechanics, so he had little choice.

By the by, these are the stairs we lugged a 3,000 pound treadmill up.

Oh, they’re super narrow too.

Don’t worry, I moved our “bar” into a safe place while we hauled the Titanic up the stairs.  I have priorities after all.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a 3.1 mile date in the morning and could use a little beauty sleep!

Helllllllllllo Wednesday

Breakfast, is served.

Drippy egg with avocado spread over a piece of whole grain toast and ketchup. 

Sweet wonderful coffee.

Happy Wednesday!!!

Excuse Me

Excuse me while I lay on the couch.  Horizontal seems fitting right about now.

Dan and I just moved what felt like a 3,000 pound treadmill up a narrow flight of stairs.

There were almost tears.

A lot of grunting.

One scream.

Plus oodles of gratitude for being able to have it in our home in the first place.

But my arms hurt.

And I’m eating Banana Cake right now.  (It needed to be done.)

Stay tuned for tomorrow when I, with absolutely no skills when it comes to building anything, boss Dan around and at least one argument about “where it goes” ensues.

Fun.

A Big Decision

I have written about my struggle with winter running.  December through mid-March prove to be a very difficult time for me when it comes to running.  I’m sluggish, I just want to sleep, snuggled on the couch while eating A LOT of carbohydrates. Dan and I spent over a week debating back and forth about the pros and cons of the gym vs. buying a treadmill, a debate I detailed here.

We spent many nights curled up in front of the computer reading reviews, debating prices and measuring room space. I kept wondering if we really should join the gym.  Since our gym has more to offer than “just” a treadmill, we had to then decide if we would actually use all they gym had to offer, or if we were only drawn to the fact that it was somewhere warm and light to workout in during the cold winter mornings.

Finally, we both looked at each other and realized we were never going to go to the gym.  For some reason, it was really difficult to admit that.  I felt like a failure.  As though committing to going to the gym made me a better person.  And that being honest and realistic was something to be ashamed of.  I don’t take my health and workouts any less seriously, I just know what will work for me right now.  And it’s this:

It arrives tomorrow and I am giddy with anticipation!!  Running over the Thanksgiving holiday has completely reaffirmed my love for the sport, and I am hopeful that this beauty will see me through some of the tougher dark and dreary mornings.  I’m even looking forward to getting a few in on the treadmill and then hopping outside during the week as often as time will allow.  I’ll still complete my “long” Saturday run outside, but it feels like a huge weight off my shoulders to have made a decision about how we’re going to stay in shape during the winter months.

I’m confident about our little home gym, and the fact that right now I don’t need much more than a small set of weights and some ambition.

We’re making genuine strides when it comes to our health, given that we’ve spent the better part of 2011 overindulging (to put it mildly).  I’m excited for this new exercise chapter and getting a head start of being fresh and healthy for the new year.

Have you made any purchases for your health lately? 

Stuffed

I ate.  A lot.

I drank.  A bit.

I loved. A ton.

I Ran.  Quite Often.

Most of all.  Most importantly above all else.  The number one thing I did, was give thanks.

I gave thanks for my family, for Daniel, for my friends.  For my triumphs and failures over the past year.

For those times I laughed until I thought I could laugh no more.  For those times I cried into the arms of those I love.

I gave thanks that I have helped people through difficult times in their lives.  And that those same people in return, have picked me up when I have fallen.

I gave thanks for a roof over my head and a home for those I love.  For new jobs and new beginnings.

I hope you had a wonderful, ever so thankful Thanksgiving.  Filled with love joy and laughter.