Happy Birthday Papa Bear! {and 5 things I’m looking forward to this weekend}

August 23, 2013August 22, 201310 Comments

Hey there! Happy, happy Friday! And a very special Happy Birthday to my dad, aka: Papa Bear! Thank you so much for all your recent help with moving me into my new apartment and always being there when I have a stupid little question to ask your or need someone to keep me company while I walk home. Also, since my dad is a twin, it’s only fair for me to wish a happy birthday to his twin, Uncle Joe! I hope you have a wonderful day with your family 🙂

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I don’t know about anyone else, but I have been waiting for this weekend to come ever since Monday morning rolled around. I feel like I have so many unfinished things on my to-do list that I’m really looking forward to having time to at least cross some things off! On top of that, while I was in the shower, I realized there are lots of things I’m looking forward to, so I thought I would share 5 of them with you 🙂

Cristina’s birthday get together at Tia’s on Saturday night. I always like having events like that on my calendar for the weekend because it’s a great excuse to get together with my girlfriends!

2. Working from home today. There’s something so great about knowing on Thursday night that I don’t have to pack up my lunch and other bags and make the trek into the office the next day. Today is also my much-deserved rest day so it’s nice to not have to schedule in a workout.

3. Starting my Saturday with a workout that doesn’t include teaching (not that I don’t love it, but when I don’t teach I can get up and get my workout done nice and early! Or, not nice and early and do it later in the day… it’s nice to be on my own schedule) and then tackling my “to-do” and “to-get” list. Don’t worry, my Saturday won’t be filled with only errands; it’s supposed to be nice out, so I’m going to take a few hours to relax and sit by the Somerville pool since I’ll be in the area!

4. Spending Sunday with my sister! We haven’t hung out since last weekend and I miss her (okay, and I need her styling advice with various apartment decisions I need to make).

5. Exploring my new neighborhood a little more. I found a lot of things during my run on Tuesday, but I know there’s lots more to see! I need to get in touch with some of my friends who live in the area, too… it’s going to be great having people around!

Your turn!! What are you looking forward to this weekend? Any fun plans? Do you have any twins in your family?

The Great Protein Debate- Need Your Help!!

August 3, 2013August 3, 201317 Comments

Hey friends! Boy was it nice having yesterday off! Even though I was busy with a car appointment, shopping, dealing with canceling cable, gas, and electricity only to set them back up in my new place, I did find time to relax in the sun for a little bit! I also talked to my friend, Jess about an exciting new opportunity that I will hopefully be sharing with you in the next few weeks AND picked up the keys to my new apartment!!! Eeek!

Luckily, my shopping trips were very successful! Not only did I get some super cute things for Emma’s birthday party tomorrow, I also got some great deals for myself, including a dress for Christy’s wedding next weekend (holy crap time is flying by!). Here’s the loot! It may look like I spent a lot, but I promise I didn’t! Stores are having incredible deals right now.

(The green thing on the back of my phone is a post-it “to do” note… I keep them there so that I won’t forget things! 🙂 )

While shopping, I meandered into GNC to check out the protein options. With the amount I work out and the fact that I’ve recently cut back dramatically on sweets, I feel like I really need to up the protein in my diet. Rather than filling myself up with unnecessary sweets and “filler” foods (don’t get me wrong- I love treats and snacks and certainly don’t deprive myself, I am just trying to nourish my body with more of what it NEEDS based on my activity levels), I want to keep myself satisfied with foods that will help keep me fuller for longer and help fuel me through my workouts.

But, here’s the problem- I have NO IDEA what type of protein to buy. I asked a friend and he said:

-Whey protein

-One that has 20 grams of protein per shake

-Chocolate is the best flavor

Helpful, but I still need more help! I haven’t done a lot of research, but after checking out a number of different websites, this one in particular, I do think that Whey protein is probably the best option for me as I am just trying to supplement my diet and help repair muscle after spending 1-2 hours in the gym at least 5-6 days a week. Plus, it’s not like I don’t eat any protein; I have Greek yogurt almost daily (usually about 13g/container), in addition to chicken and/or fish, but I definitely need more!

I did a little research and read that “recreational athletes” should be consuming anywhere from .4-.75 grams of protein for every pound of body weight (every site had a number within this range), which would mean on the low end, I need about 48-50 grams of protein daily. In order to get from the 30 or so grams of protein I likely eat in a day, to the 50 or so I SHOULD be consuming, I think a protein shake would be perfect!

But, that brings me back to the question: what type of protein powder do I buy?! I would love to be able to buy a few different kinds to try them out, but they all come in such big packages and are definitely not cheap, so that wouldn’t be a smart route for me to go. I also want to make sure it TASTES good, because there is no way I’m going to suffer through drinking something that tastes like garbage.

Here’s where you come in! Do you use protein powder? Do you have a brand you’ve found to be particularly “good” in terms of effects and taste? What would you suggest for a “newbie” protein powder user? Please help! Clearly, I need it 🙂

Sunday Dinner- Pinot Grigio Chicken with a Honey Citrus Glaze

April 8, 20133 Comments

Hey everyone! How was your Sunday? The weather- again- didn’t end up being what I thought it was going to be, but that’s ok. I mean, it has to get warmer soon, right?

Even when I try to make Sunday’s relaxed, a wide open schedule stresses me out and without even meaning to, I end up filling it with random things. Is anyone else like this? For instance, yesterday I got up, had breakfast, blogged, went grocery shopping, made a delicious lunch, went to the mall, prepped some blog posts, showered, made dinner, did my April Arms Challenge for the day… no wonder why I am tired! The thing is, I never once felt stressed or rushed or anxious. Yesterday was a great day and a great mix of being on my own schedule of things I WANTED to do and some things that I had to do.

After facing the masses and masses of people at Market Basket, Danielle and I got to making a nice lunch. This is kind of weird for a Sunday, but since we didn’t have any leftovers and had lots of groceries, it was a great idea. I cooked up a bunch of chicken and made a salad for lunch, as well as a few for lunches for the beginning of the week.

Danielle made her new favorite thing to make: homemade Mac N Cheese! She added broccoli and buffalo chicken (leftover from Friday night pizza night) and it was delicious! My mom had gotten me the cutest little pot thing and it was perfect for the Mac N Cheese.

I went to the Cambridgeside Galleria for a few things (got my birthday dress at the first store I went to- on sale- amazing!!), but wasn’t really in the mood to poke around so I didn’t stay long. When I got home, I prepped dinner and then got busy with the Sunday circuit for the April Arms Challenge. Since I was tired and sore from a tought week of workouts, I just did a 5 minute warm up and cool down and 2 rounds of the 3-2-1 circuit. I also switched up the 3 mins of cardio to a kickboxing cardio move that felt better for my shoulder and did the same with the reverse curls (something wasn’t working with them, which I was so bummed about because I love that move!).

Ok, ok, let’s get to dinner, shall we?

I usually make up my own recipes for the blog, but when I saw a recipe for Pinot Grigio Chicken over at Eat, Live, Run, I knew I wanted to make it soon. Another deciding factor was the fact that we just happened to have an open bottle of Pinot Grigio in the fridge:) I followed the recipe to a T (except for the fact that I had to use drumsticks since Market Basket was out of chicken breasts), so go on over to Eat, Live, Run and check it out!

On the side, I roasted some asparagus (all I did was spray them with Pam spray and give a few shakes of garlic crumbles, sea salt, pepper, and lemon juice) and cooked up some harvest grains blend quinoa. Since we had extra white sauce from the Mac N Cheese, we put a little of it on the asparagus, which was a great idea!

I absolutely loved this meal! It was very different from what I usually make and I only wish that I could’ve grilled the chicken instead of baking it! I was a little nervous that it would be TOO citrus-y (is that a word?), but it was not at all! I took the skin off of the drumsticks and poked some holes in them so that the marinade would be absorbed, which was perfect because we didn’t lose all the flavor when peeling off the skin before eating. I have just enough left over for dinner tomorrow night- score for me!

Questions for you: What’s your go-to blog for finding recipes? drumsticks/Thighs/Darker meat- fan or not? I used to hate it, but then I realized how much more flavorful dark meat is than white meat so now I eat it when I can!