Eggcellent*

*I cannot say that word (or its less eggy counterpart) without picturing Mr. Burns from the Simpsons.

Pardon Mii

Okay, okay, no more job bitching..I mean talk ;) Things are already starting to pick up, and I'm excited about the future. I think they are going to keep me very busy once the kinks get worked out! Anyway, life goes on as usual. Today we went here. It was much, much bigger than our little local market, and there were lots of other foodstuffs that I wish I had brought enough cash to sample! Lots of spices, homemade spreads like hummus, and lots of artisanal breads and cheeses. Too bad I only brought like $15 in cash :( Well, we did come away with some gorgeous zucchini, cantelope,blueberries, mini portabellas (that J picked out over the really delicious looking brussel sprouts...she definately takes after her mama, we loooove our mushrooms!), and some other fruits. We also got a small tub of baba ganoush (a middle eastern eggplant spread), which is fantastic!

In other news, we got a Wii! Yay for Craigslist (I so love that site). Hubs managed to trade some PS3 games + $60 to someone in return for a Wii with two controllers and a bunch of games. The kids had a blast with Wii Ski last night. J&C played for almost 2 straight hours! I like the table tennis and running from the Olympics game. I look forward to spending a shit ton more money on this thing, as I am already coveting Wii Fit, Wii Gold's Gym, Wii Cheer, and Wii Disney DDR (none of which I will be buying for some time, mind you. I do have to try and maintain some kind of sanity in the face of Wi imadness!)

Kid Stuff:

Had to share some cute tidmits from the mind of J. Her vocabulary improves immensely day after day, but her grammatical errors are cause for much amusment on my part. Example:

J: Stop doing that, Mama! Stop doing that or I am annoying you!

What she meant to say was that my humming was annoying her, but I thought he comment was probably accurate even if it wasn't what she intended to say!

Things:

- Etsy - a dear friend clued me into this website. It's Ebay as it was truly meant to be!
- Joy of Baking - For some unknown reason I have had the baking itch since we arrived in St Pete. Not sure what is causing it since I am so not a baker, but I have been making cookies left and right for the last few weeks. Today we are making magic bars, yum!
- Memphis-style ribs - I don't have a link for this one, since I memorized the recipe out of my dad's copy of the Barbecue Bible, but I will post my version after Easter (since we are making it for our Easter dinner!)

Brief Update

Okay, so work...is going okay. My office recently was assigned a new mission; something that is pretty new to the DoD in general, so there's no book/checklist on how to do things. This is both good and bad. I'm really excited to get in at the ground floor and help build up capabilities that have never existed before. On the other hand, this is not an area I have any experience with and I am kind of being tossed into the ring with virtually no marching orders (not sure who the real end customers are, what their needs would be, what tools we have available, etc.) and asked to lead (although they haven't decided how they want to break up the office into teams yet). Oh yeah, and they haven't hired anyone else at my level yet either (there are supposed to be two others in the middle management chain), so even if they did decide how they want to organize everyone, there wouldn't be anyone else there to lead them! I know things will eventually fall into place, but I am feeling very antsy. I feel like the gov't is paying me a lot of $$ to basically sit on my ass and entertain myself all day (still no system access), and no one seems at all concerned. I also miss my coworkers a lot (don't tell them, though, as they are already a bunch of egomaniacs ;) One of the best things about my last job was the comraderie we had in the office. I get the feeling that no one in my new office quite knows what to do with me. All of the analysts seem rather wary of being too casual with me (probably because they're concerned that I might end up being their boss - depending on what team they're placed on), and I only rarely see my own boss (he's usually in the secure facility, but I don't have access to that yet since it's taking forever for my clearances to get passed on, grrr!). So I mostly just sit in my office (I have my own office!) and look at stuff on the shared drive to try and get an idea of what it is I might be doing in the near future. Kind of lonely right now :( But, at least they're paying me well! ;)

Things:
- Super Cook is an awesome resource for the frugal cook (especially when you are determined to use everything in your pantry before you go food shopping again!) Recently I have made the fried cabbage with bacon (just as yummy and un-clean as it sounds!) and Kathleen's Potatoes Pascal, which were also delicious and just as bad for you as the cabbage!

- Fried oysters! One of the best things about living near the beach is the abundance of fresh seafood, which is probably why I have developed an overwhelming craving for fried oysters! Hubs is not a seafood person in general (he doesn't even really like shrimp!), but he has taken comfort in the fact that Florida is mainly populated by people who have fled the cold of New York, so there is also an abundance of great Wing places. We have a small bar/restaurant just around the corner from our house which has excellent fried oysters and pretty darn good wings (the best he's had since he left NY, says Hubs, but they could use a bit more heat to be perfect!). Hopefully this new penchant I have for using Super Cook (it's like a new challange every day!) will keep me from trying to order oysters every night or I may not be seeing much of the beach (I refuse to buy a bigger bathing suit!)

- Hautelook.com - check it out, stylistas!

What We're Doing Right Now*

*Okay, maybe right not this second, but this sight can be seen in my backyard almost every day :)

In other news, I was trying to find a way to use up my cherry tomatoes and came across this recipe (and with a whole new foodie blog to enjoy!). I changed it up a bit since I didn't have kalamata olives by omitting those & adding in about 10-15 cloves of garlic. It was absolutely delish!

I promise a big, long post with news about the new job sometime this weekend, but until then, console yourself with the fact that you didn't have to get 5 shots today, as poor C did when Hubs took her to the doctor for her school enrollment physical (required by FL law). She was very brave, though, not even one tear (a sharp contrast to the flu shot debacle a few months ago!).

Ode to a Sweet Potato

Oh, sweet potato, how I love thee*
You are so bright, so delicious, so yummy

I can make you in so many ways,
Baked, mashed, fried or stewed
I can't believe there once were days
I thought you only holiday food

I bought you at the farmers market
(hooray for fresh and local!)
I wish your skin wasn't like carpet
'Cause through my skin I pokeled(?)

Okay, so I'm not much for rhyming, but I do enjoy mah sweet potatoes! Seriously, these are one of the best superfoods out there, rich in fiber and vitamins C & A, among others (wiki it, haters). Plus, they're really not all that sweet (especially if you don't make them with marshmallows and brown sugar!). Here's a recipe I made for dinner tonight (along with some delicious NY Strip Steaks*** and fresh asparagus over the fire, also from our local farmers market****):


Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces of relatively the same thickness**
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic power
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste


Whisk oil & spices in a large bowl until well mixed. Add potato pieces and mix with your hands until each piece is coasted equally. Spread potatoes on a baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes (turning them after ten minutes). You can also stick them under the broiler for a minute or two if you want them extra crispy.


In other news, here's some pics of the new house with our own personal touches:

*thou, thouest, thine...whatever

**I totally suck at this, but it actually doesn't turn out too bad b/c some fries are crispier than others, so there is a nice variety
***Which we got from the butcher, who is literally down the street from our house & teeming with resh, local seafood, too!

****I got a hankerin' for these after reading my dear cuzins blog post. Thanks, RM!

Finally Here!

Well, as you may have guessed, we are finally here in Florida and getting settled in. We arrived at the house on Saturday, and our household goods arrived on Tuesday..not too shabby! We've already put most everything away. The only things left are our bedroom and the garage, which promises to be a nightmare. We downsized quite a bit in square footage, so many things will have to be stored in the garage and we have yet to figure out where everything is going to go. The kids are already loving the pool, and C will have her first day of school tomorrow. I elected to put her into a small Montessori private school since the elementary school we are currently zoned for (considered one of the best in Florida) is due to be closed down this summer thanks to budget cuts. I didn't want to put her into yet another school only to have her switch again next year and be bussed into the city to what promises to be a school of much lesser quality. At her new school, C will only have six students in her entire class! Plus, this school goes from toddler to middle, so both A and J will attend with her next year. Nice to be able to keep them all in the same place! We've also visited our community center and gotten our rec center id cards so the kids can start using those resources. There is a year-round competetive swim team that meets at our local pool, so I've contacted the coach to see if we can get C signed up. The community center also offers a gym that Hubs can use and many childrens classes for a low fee. I'll probably hold off on those until I know what my new work schedule is going to look like. Speaking of which, I still have another 6 days before I start work. I don't think I've ever gone without working for so long, and I still feel like it's going to be a squeeze to get everything done that needs to get done! Sorry so short for now, I promise to write lots of updates as soon as I get more time!

Mexico II

First of Many Mexico Picture Posts

Okay, so you may have guessed by now that all the Bills postings are by a mysterious guest blogger ;0) But, I'm back now...back from Mexico! It was absolutely fabulous; we had an amazing time and it was very hard to come back to reality. Of course, now we're in the midst of packing everything up and getting ready to hit the road. My last day of work is tomorrow and then it's off to sunny Florida. We may be out of contact for a few days while we're in transit, so I'll leave you with some pictures of our long overdue vacation to tide you over:

Hotel Pics

El Cedral Mayan Ruins

Beach Pictures

Get Your Popcorn Ready!

Bills chief operating office Russ Brandon woke up sometime after midnight Friday morning and noticed there was a text message on his cell phone. So he reached over and looked. It was from Trent Edwards, the quarterback of the Bills. "T.O.'' That's all it said.Brandon shot back with this: "?'' "T.O. was released. Go get him,'' Edwards texted back.

Heck, at least were relevent now...and we don't have to wait until the 59th minute of a 60 minute sports program to see Bills highlights!!! However it plays out, it will make the 2009 season a lot of fun..

GO BILLS!

House in FL

Hubs got back from FL last night with keys in hand, (hooray) we have a house... and right on the beach too!!

Life's Little Bits

Gah, too distraught about the Hosea win to blog anything about Top Chef. I think this has been the worst season yet. Carla was the only one to root for, but I could have dealt with a Stefan win since at least he was talented (as evidenced my his many, many wins). Hosea only won by default since the other two screwed up (oh, Carla, why on earth would you listen to Casey of all people? She done fucked up her own chance, why did you let her bring you down, whhhhy!!??) Plus it seemed really obvious to me that Tom did not like Stefan and this may have had some influence on how they picked the winner, which is pretty crappy IMHO. Stefan might be pretentious, obnoxious, and full of himself, but Hosea is all those things too, plus a kiss-ass...oh yeah, and he cheated on his girlfriend on national television, which makes him a tool & a douchebag on top of all that. What a very dissatisfying season!

For those of you I haven't gotten a chance to call yet, I'll have a few days off this week so I promise I'll try and catch up wtih everyone to give you all the specifics on the upcoming move. I don't think I've posted a recipe for a while, so here's what I made for dinner tonight (with fair warning that this is one of my favorite meals to make and also is not all that clean...lots of yummy carbs & fat!). I love this recipe because I can add whatever protein I want since just about everything tastes good in the sauce. Tonight, for example, I used leftover sausage and chicken breast.

Pasta w/Tomato Cream Sauce

1 pkg pasta of your choice
6-7 roma tomatoes, seeded & diced
2 tsp garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1/2-3/4 cup heavy cream or half & half
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a pan and saute tomatoes & garlic until softened (about 5min). Add cream & heat until the sauce starts to reduce slightly, then add the cheese and cook for another minute or so...just until the sauce thickens. If you choose to add a protein, do so before you add the cheese to thicken the sauce.

Kids:
J is gets more and more amusing as she gets older and tries to explain the world in her own words. Today she was playing with her Thomas the Train pretend laptop (a gift from Grandma), so she told me, "I am the mommy because mommies use computers." Hubs replied, "Well, what about daddies." To which she replied, "No, daddies just sit there." Hah!

I am getting a little worried about A. He is already 20 months, but he still isn't talking...at all. I mean he says "mama" and "dada" every once in a blue moon, but that's about it. I seem to remember the girls talking much earlier than this. He seems to understand everything I'm saying. He follows simple directions, and he definately known what "no" means, lol! Am I overreacting here or do you think it's unusual that he's not talking yet?

Workout:
So, I've been keeping steady with my current workout schedule and working on cutting down my portion size and that seems to be working out quite well. I am just one pound shy of my goal weight now, and I am feeling happy with my workouts. I am still using Tracy Anderson (her Mat and Post-Preg workouts) and doing 2 days of high intensity interval training (HIIT) per week (usually P90X Intervals 1x and another interval workout on the other day). I also have added in some Squeeze (I have Squeeze and Squeeze Stronger) and I am loving(!!) Kelly Coffey-Meyer's new 30 Minutes to Fitness series (I have her Bootcamp and Kickbox workouts). I cannot recommend these workouts enough. They are fun, versatile (there are two-30min workouts and an option to combine the two for 1 hour-long workout), and easy to modify (you can go high or low), plus I just love Kelly's personality & music choice (which is essential for whether or not I like a workout). Here's a typical workout week for me right now:

Feb 22 - Squeeze Stronger (70min)
Feb 23 - rest
Feb 24 - KCM Bootcamp (55min)
Feb 25 - TA Mat Workout (60min)
Feb 26 - Turbo Jam Fat Blaster + CLX Intervals (45min)
Feb 27 - KCM Kickbox (55min)
Feb 28 - Cathe Friedrich DrillMax (75min)
Mar 1 - P90M Cardio Intervals + 20 Sara Ivanhoe Yoga (75min)

Things I'm Thankful For:
- Bear Naked granola - This stuff is freaking amazing. In case you didn't know, most granola is actually chock full of sugar and not very good for you. If you look on a box of even Kashi granola, it lists sgars as high as 16-19g! Bear naked granola has just 5g of sugar and it s really, really yummy! I use it on my yogurt all the time.
- DVRs - C can't wait to show her grandparents her tv triumph (they have been on a European jaunt and thus missed the original presentation)

Our Big News

'kay, I know you've all been waiting with bated breath, so here it is: we're moving to Florida! Yeah, I know, we're moving...again. ;) We can't help it. I think we're addicted! In truth, I had hoped that this move to Albuquerque would be our last for a long while, and while we have truly enjoyed every second we've been able to be near my parents, nothing else has lived up to what I thought it would be. My job, while interesting and satisfying in its own way, is not exactly what I was sold on coming out here for. There is no room for me to move up the corporate ladder here, no opportunity to manage, and there is little funding for an real increase in salary. Hubs has been working for his old CA company as an independant contractor; however, they're not doing so hot in this economy so the work has kind of dried up over the last few months and there is nothing out here for him to do. The one job that he found that was suitable would not even have paid enough to cover daycare (and was less than half of what he was making in LA). Anyway, my new position is a step up (I'll be managing a team of 7-8 analysts) both in position and in salary. I love the atmosphere, the work environment seems amazing and everyone I talked to there seems to really love it.

In fact, we've already got a house to rent. Hubs found us a gorgeous little place right on the beach...with a pool! :) I was hoping to push out our move date, but my new company wants us there by April 1st, so we'll be leaving in just a few weeks. Hubs will be flying out next week to make all the arrangements & sign the paperwork for our new house, so hopefully this move will go a little more smoothly than our transition to Albuquerque. Anyway, that's our news in a nutshell. Once we get settled in, you all are welcome to come by and visit any time! :)

Celebrity in our Midst

I may have some really exciting news in a day or two, but, for now, you'll have to content yourselves with C on tv! In case the link doesn't work, she was on KOAT Channel 7 here in Albuquerque. The story is called, "Pen Pal Soldier Sends Gift To Students." C is so proud to be a celebrity! ;)

Letting You All In On My Vidiocy...

Okay, so I've gotten a few questions about P90X, so I thought I would write a quick review of the system. P90X is a fitness DVD series led by Tony Horton and produced by Beachbody (the same people who produced Chalene Xtreme). It focuses on muscular strength and endurance, and it is definately advanced! I did a full rotation (90 days) a couple of years ago before I had my last two kids, another one after I had J, and Hubs and I did a rotation a few months back (Oct-Nov), although I only made it about 8 weeks before I threw in the towel. So here are some quick impressions...

Pros:
- These absolutely live up to their hype. If you are willing to put in the time and effort (and watch what you eat!), you will definately see the results you are looking for. I have never looked so buff in my life!
- I feel incredible when I do these workouts. It makes me feel awesome to know that I can lift that much weight or do dive bomber push-ups.
- This system has everything you need. You can sub in different cardio if you want, but it really has all the components you need for a well rounded rotation.

Cons:
- These workouts are looooong. I mean they're about an hour each (plus a 90min yoga DVD), which is fine on some days, but I am a working mom of 3 who has reserve commitments as well. I just don't have that much time.
- The music is awful. This can be easily countered, though. I generally wear my nano on my arm and listen to my own music. The workouts are insanely tough but not difficult to pick up, so you don't necessarily need to hear what Tony is saying.
- Tony is a wierdo. Okay he's not that bad, but he is a little overly enthusiastic. See the above comment for how I deal with that.
- You need heavy enough free weights to challenge yourself and to grow with the program. This wa snot an issue for me, as I have free weights ranging from 3lb-50lb (I have been obsessed with fitness videos for many years!), but if you don't have very many weights, it may be a bit of an investment.
- For the ladies: you will see muscle growth before you see fat loss, which means you will start to feel like your clothes are tighter since you are increasing your muscle mass without losing the layer of fat on top of it. You must keep clean with your diet to lose the fat!
- For me there wasn't enough cardio. Again, this may be a ladies only thing, as Hubs doesn't seem to need/crave the extra cardio. This also helps with the fat loss.

Okay, so it may look like there are more cons than pros, but I think the pros actually outweigh the cons. This is one workout system that really does everything it says it will, but you have to be commited and willing to stick with it. This is for truly dedicated people who want to take their fitness levels and physiques to the next level. My own personal goals right now do not include building more muscle mass (I feel like I have plenty thanks to P90X and my Cathe Friedrich obsession), and I am really enjoying the barre workouts I am doing right now. I am pretty happy with how my body looks/is shaped, I just want to lose a little extra fat on top which, unfortunately, means working on the diet and upping the cardio. My favorite P90X workout is Plyo X, which I still reach for about 1x a week. I am always on the lookout for true interval workouts like this one.* I also like the Core Synergistics one, and I reach for that sometimes. I really dislike Kenpo X and Cardio X** so I always substitute other cardio when I am doing a P90X rotation. Okay, now that I've totaly geeked out on you all, I hope you at least got something out of it!


*so if you know of any, please comment below!
** I just find them really boring and not all that difficult

Bloggin' Wit Luv

I know, it's been forever since I posted, but we are going through some family stuff right now, so I haven't had a whole lot of extra time lately. My extracurricular activites mainly consist of my fitness stuff, cooking, and, of course, Lost ;) Valentines ay came and went pretty uneventfully. My wonderful Hubs got me some Sees Chocolate (my absolute favorite!), and this really sweet card that he made on Shuterfly that has pictures of all the kids. I, on the other hand, got him a card that said "If our love were a garden, I would be your hoe." What can I say? I thought it was hilarious ;)

In addition to Lost, I have also been watching Top Chef, as I do every season. Can I just say that I freakin love Carla! Hootie Hoo! She has really grown on me. She and Fabio totally make the show (although it's pretty obvious that the win belongs to Stephan). And thank god they kicked Leah's nasty, skanky butt off this week. Who goes on national television and cheats on their boyfriend and expects to be taken seriously? It's hard enough for women to be taken seriously as chefs without her schoolgirl antics reinforcing stereotypes. And don't think Hosea escapes my realtiy-tv wrath. I think he is even worse than Leah since he seems to think he's better than everyone else despite the fact that he hasn't won anything in weeks and, oh yeah, he cheated on his girlfriend on national television! I hope he goes home next week with his tail between his legs and gets his pompous ass dumped.

Whew, got a little carried away there ;) Anyway, I made an Indian-inspired dinner tonight so here's some yummy recipes for ya:

Almond Chicken:

1 red onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 lb chicken breast, cubed
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt
1 tsp red curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp oil, any kind

Saute the onion and pepper in oil over medium heat until soft. Add chicken and the spices and cook until chicken is seared. Add the chicken broth and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add almond butter and plain yogurt to the sauce and simmer for another minute or two until the sauce thickens. Serve over basmati rice.

Curried Corn & Peppers:

1 bag frozen corn
1-2 red peppers
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 red onion, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 tbsp curry powder (I prefer red)
1 tbsp butter
salt & pepper to taste

Saute the onion and red pepper in butter over medium heat until softened. Add the curry powder and other veggies (except the avocad) and saute until heated through. Season to taste and remove from heat. After it has cooled a bit you can add the avocado if you want (it tastes just as good without it, but I love avocado!).

Workout:
I have been doing really well with my workouts. I've upped the intensity (I did Plyo X from P90X again today; I have been trying to do this at least 1x a week) and the length of my workouts and the scale is finally starting to budge! I've also started a fitness log. It's just an excel sheet with day and workout done, but at least now I can track what workouts I'm doing and when. I've also started adding in more core and flexibility work. I do at least two weekdays of Squeeze or Tracy Anderson, which include a lot of core work inherently. But on the weekends I've been adding on segments of Sara Ivanhoe's Yoga Makeover series, which are each about 20min long. So my weekend workouts are actually coming in at about 90min per session. The kids love when I do anything other than cardio because I let them come into the room with me and play around with my mat or swiss ball (when I do cardio it's just too dangerous to have them underfoot). They like doing somersaults on my yoga mat, and A and J like to push the kitchen chair around (I use this as a stand-in barre).

Things I'm Thankful For:
- Lost - truly the most cerebral show on television, and the only show that makes me want to tune in week after week
- School counselors who care - C is fortunate to have a school counselor who really cares and has been such a wonderful influence in her life. It is the one truly positive thing I can say about her current school.

Random Tidbits

Sometimes it pays to be a history nerd
So my office has several retired naval officers that like to swap sea stories during our morning meetings. Today they were joking around about the poor state of the Russian and Chinese navies, and how neither country had a history of seafaring. So I felt compelled to bring up the stories of Zheng He (thank you Chinese Studies degree) and Pyotr the Great (thank you History Channel ;) just so I could look smart, hee.

Food:
Went a whole week on SB, and I didn't lose a single pound! *sigh* I'm feeling really discouraged right now because I've actually gained since starting Chalean Xtreme 4 weeks ago. I know it can take 6 weeks or more to see results from a new routine but to gain weight!! WTF?? Also, trying to stick with the extreme Phase 1 is really difficult when no one else in your family is eating the way you are. I have to cook two separate meals, and the preparation is unbelievable. Anyway, that's my way of weasling out of it! ;) I'm just going to stick with eating less and trying to eat as clean as possible. Speaking of which, it's been a while since I posted a recipe, so here's a good one for some yummy & good for you muffins.

Apple Raisin Muffins:

1 cup low fat buttermilk
1/3 cup no sugar applesauce
2 egg whites
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup oat flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1 apple, chopped
1/2 cup raisins

Combine wet ingredients & oats in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another bowl. Then comine the two and add in the chopped apple and raisins and stir just until mixed (add some additional buttermilk if the batter is too thick). Bake for 20 min at 400 degrees or until you cna insert a toothpick and remove it cleanly.

Workout:
Today I dd Squeeze with Tracy Effinger. I love these barre type workouts. I broke down and bought Tracy Anderson's Mat Workout, and I got the new Exhale Core Fusions in a trade* so I'm going to try a rotation with barre workouts and maximum cardio effort. I plan on doing HIIT (high intensity interval training) at least 2x a week and some other form of cardio (probably kickboxing) 3x per week. Hopefully the extra instensity will help me sed these stubborn pounds before I head off to Mexico!

Things I'm Thankful For:
- Eb5 facial cream and eye cream. I got these as samples from Walgreens (samples which I have made last for over two weeks, so imagine how long the 4oz jar will last!), and I am in love! I have pretty oily skin, but I live in an extremely dry climate. Eb5 is the first facial cream I've found that makes my skin feel soft and smooth but doesn't clog my excessively oily pores. It is my best beauty find ever!
- VH1 realty shows...watch one of these things, seriously, you will feel so much better about yourself!
- Having a good, stable job that pays the bills...that means a lot these days

*I am such a nerd!!

Give Me Some Carbs!

Things are crazy busy at work right now, and the kids are maniacs (what's new!). So this will be a short entry (no complaining, just be glad you're getting one! ;)

Food:
Oh my god, I am dying for a piece of bread! Not much else to say, unfortunately. Hope these cravings pass soon because (as my Hubs will surely tell you) I am kinda bitchy right now ;)

Workout:
Took a rest day today. Tomorrow I am going to do some Turbo Jam because it is fun ya'll. There is nothing wrong with shaking your booty like a moron in the comfort of your own home at 430 in the morning when no one in your family will ever see you ;)

Things I am Thankful For:
- Children's tylenol
- sugar free chocolate pudding (seriously yummy)
- The restraint to not throw my laptop through the window when an application won't work!

Semi-Weekend Round-Up

I know, I know. I really suck at keeping up with this blog. In some positive bloggy news, I was reminded by my sis's blogoversary that I have been blogging for almost 4 years now. So, while I may sometimes go months between posts, at least I am semi-consistent.


Hubs and I actually went on a date this weekend. We went to see the Country Rat Pack Tour (with Tracy Lawrence, Tracy Bird, and Richie MacDonald) at the Sky City Casino in Acoma, NM (about 1 hr west of Abq). The concert itself was great since hte music was so good (one thing I love about country is that the singers always sound the same in concert as they do on the radio); however, much like our experience at the Stephen Marley concert, New Mexico is a seriously shitty place to catch music. I think about half the people who showed up had no idea who any of the performers were; they're probably just so damn bored living in Gallup that they go to see whoever comes regardless whether they're familiar with them or not. The girl next to was texting on her cell phone through the entire concert! I don't think she looked up once. Also, no one in our section seemed to know any of the words to the songs or even to be enjoying themselves. The other big negative was that that particular casino does not allow alchohol (I know, a casino that doesn't allow alchohol, we were not ready for that!). The good thing about going to a vneue that small, though, is that we were able to get up to the stage after the concert, and Hubs got to shake Tracy Lawrence's hand (he's really the whole reason we went) and get his ticket signed. So there was an upside. Plus, like I said, the music was great!



Food:

I have decided to stick myself on the South Beach Diet for a while to try and get my eating habits under control. It really does me no good to be upping my protein if I am consuming additional carbs and fat (I have a major sweet tooth!). I can't keep griping about these last couple of pounds if I'm not making a serious, concerted effort to lose them. Wish me luck because I am already going through serious sugar withdrawal! ;)



Workout:

Today I will finish out week 4 of Chalene Xtreme. Thank god the program moves on to some new workouts, as I will be entering Phase 2, because I was getting seriously bored! One of the things I like to do with my home workouts is, once I know the routine, I will just wear my Ipod Nano and play my own music mix to make the workouts seem different (plus workout DVD music is on the whole pretty crappy). My current favorite songs to work out to are:



Untouched by the Veronicas

Shut Up and Let Me Go by the Ting Tings

I Don't Care by Fallout Boy



Do you guys have suggestions for good workout music? I'm always looking to increase my library!



Things I'm Thankful For:

- Hello Kitty Bandaids

- That avocado is not only allowed but encouraged on the SB Diet!

So Much For Posting Every Day

In my defense, I've been in CO for the last week working my butt off and getting more and more fed up with my reservist job. I don't want to get into it now, but basically my immediate supervisor has some serious mental issues (she is sensitive to the point that it doesn't matter what I say or do, she seems to take everything the wrong way). I just have way too much on my plate to deal with someone so emotionally fragile, and I am seriously contemplating looking for another reservist position. I feel bad because I really like everyone else in the unit (my squadron CC and DO are both awesome) and the unit is about to undergo a UCI (remember that horrible inspection I went through when I was in LA; it's the same thing), and I fell like I'd be abandoning the rest of my unit. But, honestly, I can't take working for this girl any more. She said she felt like I didn't respect her and, truthfully, I don't.

Okay, enough about that. Glad to be home & back with my family. Hubs & the kids came up for the weekend but didn't make it past that ;) It's hard to cram a family of five into a hotel room for a week even though we upgraded to the 1 room suite. J&A kept each other (and everyone else) awake all night by playing with each other and getting out of bed every five seconds. Finally, Hubs gave up and abandoned me to return to a house where each maniac has their own bedroom, which limits their ability to get into trouble at night, lol :)

Food:
I'm going to make baked chicken & stuffing tonight w/some broccoli. So I'll pass along one of my favorite post-workout snack recipes instead:

Post-Workout Protein Pudding
Combine pudding (as described below), 3/4 cup fruit salad, and 1/2 cup kashi go-lean or slivered almonds & raisins, or granola. Yum!

For the Pudding:
1 pkg sugar-free instant jello pudding (I usually use vanilla, but you can try all kinds of combinations w/ different flavored puddings and protein powders)
2 cups non-fat milk
1 scoop whey protein powder, any flavor

Workout:
I have completed week 3 of Chalean Xtreme as of today. I think my eating last week realy threw my body off course, as I am not seeing any real results yet (as far as body definition). However, I have a really hard time sticking to my normal diet when I am traveling, and I ended up eating out a lot, so I'm going to chalk it up to poor eating and try to get back into the swing of things. I'l let you know what I'm seeing in another couple of weeks.

I know most of you think I am totally nuts when it comes to my obsession with fitness DVDs, but if you ever decide you'd like to give one a try I would like to highly recommend anything by Ellen Barrett. Her latest releases include the Yogini workout, but she has some earlier Crunch releases which are on sale at Amazon right now (I just picked up a couple that I had on VHS but not DVD) for like $6.99 a piece. Ellen's style is very fluid & graceful, and her cuing is amazing. She blends pilates, yoga, and dance so it is really wonderful for those days when I want to rest but feel like I shouldn't. Plus I always feel long, lean and graceful when I've done one of her workouts. And, best of all, they can be done by anybody at any level. You can just increase the movement and flexibility as you become more advanced.

Things I'm Thankful For:
-That I don't have to work at one of my particular jobs. Even if I decide to stick it out for a while, it just feels good knowing that I could say "shove it" any time I want :)
-7 more days in the BiL countdown ;) We do love Drew, but it is hard having another person around!
-We are going to Mexico in March for the 1st real vacation Hubs & I have had together since we went to San Luis Obispo two years ago when I was preggo w/A.I can't remember if I've blogged about it yet, but I am sooo excited!

Insert Clever Title Here

I know, I know, my intent was to try and post daily, but I just keep running out of time! Tonight was especially busy since I had to pack for my trip to CO (and pack all the kids). The fam is coming just through Monday then heading back while I finish out the week staying with L so we can get in some quality girl time. In positive work news, I got called in to brief a visitor unexpectedly (a product I hadn't looked at since last March no less!). Apparently he was impressed because the guy requested that my coworker and I come out to his site to brief the rest of his team. I don't know if it will actually happen (the gov't desn't really like to send contractors out as their reps, at least where I work), but it was nice kudos none the less :)

Food:
When you're low on time, believe it or not Lean Cuisine makes some pretty decent meals. Their sesame chicken is pretty fucking awesome!

Workout:
I am going strong with my Chalean Xtreme program. I am finishing up week 2 tomorrow, and I plan to take my bands with me on my trip tomorrow so I can continue the program. Hopefully L forgives me my craziness, but I am determined to stick with this program and finish it out (I am notoriously bad at seeing rotations through, so I am trying to make myself accountable here!)

Things I'm Thankful For:
-That we called the gas company to find out why our bill was so high this month & when they sent out a guy to re-read the meter he told us the swamp cooler guys forgot to put the damper back on so we've apparently been heating all of Albuquerque (greatful that we caught it now before it gets even colder and greatful that this doesn't represent what our bill will look like for the rest of the winter!)
-That my BIL will be out of my house in less than 3 weeks! (he's been here since Thanksgiving & I am just ready to have my house back!)
- A cat who somehow knows it is okay to attack adults but never uses his claws or teeth on the kids (unless it is absolutely necessary ;)

Work, Work, Work

Well, the holidays are definately over for me! I am working some serious overtime to try and get my current project done and in front of the big boss man before I head out the door on Friday back up to the Springs for a week. Let's just say the editing process is causing me an awful lot of headaches right now and leave it at that! I am hoping that the family will join me this time out (L, we may have to put off our girls only get-together :( ) but we'll have to see what the response is from C's school if we try pulling her for a whole week.

Food:
No recipe today (we had leftovers), but a tip for those looking to eat cleaner: take your time. You don't have to throw out everything in your pantry and replace it with cabbage and melba toast right away ;) Take it one step at a time. Replace whole or 2% milk with 1% milk and work your way down to skim (I am so used to skim milk now that I can't stand drinking anything fattier since it tastes too thick). Also, I, like my sis MR, am not crazy about artifical sweeteners. I don't mind them in baked goods, but I just can't have them in my coffee or tea (nor do I like diet soda). So I just drink water instead (or I have Propel or flavored water as a treat). I also allow myself one cup of coffee with a tsp of real sugar in the morning.

Workout:
Thanks to my current battle with insomnia, I didn't get much sleep last night. So I didn't feel as guilty taking my rest day today and staying in bed an extra hour (I say staying in bed since I never was able to fall back asleep and thus missed my workout for nothing :(

Things I'm Thankful For:
- Baby kisses
- Siblings who, on occasion, can be coerced into kissing and making up ;)
- Cousin Y's enthusiasm for celery (which has inspired a veggie revolution among the 3-year old set in our house)

New Typical Post (I hope)

Kids:
When my niece Y was here over the holidays, she and J bonded over pretending to be kitties together. This game has now evolved into J basically crawling everywhere (a behavior A loves to mimic) and imploring me to speak to her in "kitty talk." Kitty talk really means you just have to add "meow meow" after everything you say. For example, "Mommy, I'm going to poop in my litterbox now, meow meow." Try it. See, now you've learned a new language!

Food:
I ended up having to work late today, so wonderful Hubs made dinner for us. He specializes in Italian & Buffalo Wings, so let's just say that we didn't eat as cleanly as I would have liked tonight (Hubs was happy, though!). So here's one of my favorite dishes to tide you over until I cook again:

Chopped Salad

For the salad:
1 english cucumber, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1 bunch radishes, cut into quarters
1 avocado, diced
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 lg red onion, diced

For the dressing:
1/4 cup lime juice
1-1 1/2 tbsp thai fish sauce
1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp mirin
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar or honey
4 tbsp oil (I use canola)
2 tbsp (or to taste) Sriracha or other spicy chile sauce
salt & pepper, to taste

Whisk the ingrediants for the dressing together, chop the veggies & toss. Viola! Instant yummy :)

Workout:
I'm restarting the Chalean Xtreme system I got for X-mas since I ended up doing week 1 over a period of lmost 2 weeks thanks to the holidays (and my laziness ;) So today I did Burn Circuit 1, which is about 40 minutes of heavy lifting. The point is to lift a weight so heavy that you can only do between 10-12 reps before your muscle hits the point of exhaustion (i.e. you not only don't want to another rep, you really physically can't do another rep). I am interested to see what my results will be with this type of training. I did not log my weights today :( but I resolve to do so with the next circuit. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day, but I will probably do some cardio or yoga (depends on how tired I am) since I have taken it really easy the last few weeks and packed on some pounds (I gained almost 5 pounds over the holidays!)

Things I'm Thankful For:
- Parents that live close enough to cook for my children ;)
- Skype so cousins can stay in touch

Coyote Cween

My pops has been hiking in the Sandias since, well, probably just after fire was invented (I mean, he is old ;) and he has never seen a coyote except for the first time he took C out hiking with him (and after assuring her he had never seen a coyote yet, lol!). Well, today I took the kids on a nature hike (a walk, to be honest, but C insisted we call it a nature hike since we sere walking the low paths of the foothills*), and we saw another coyote! It wasn't all that close, but I did have all the kids with me and we were kind of spread out since C&J had wandered on ahead and I was meandering with A. Still, it was odd that one would venture down so low in broad daylight on a gorgeous day when there were lots of people present at the trail head. C said it must have come out just for her ;) Kind of crazy, eh?

I tried making this sweet potato-pumpkin soup recipe tonight that I got from a clean eating forum, but it wasn't exactly a hit (I wasn't crazy about it myself and probably won't make it again). So I'll spare you all the recipe for that and post the cookie recipe we made instead ;)

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup Splenda/Sugar baking mix or Stevia
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg white
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix batter well and chill in refridgerator. Once chilled, roll into balls using 2 tsp of batter per cookie and press into small rounds. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

----These are meant to be high protein cheats/snacks, but they are also high in fat. So eat sparingly and only if you are looking to build muscle ;)


*The ones that criss-cross the grassy area before you ever hit the mountains for those of you familiar with my neighborhood

Ba-Nay-Nay

In the spirit of my New Year's resolution to have the family eating better (and the feeling that since I actually have a day off, so I should use my extra time to post something!), here is the "clean eating" banana bread recipe A and I made today (the girls were off at the "cat store" picking up kitty food, which is always a treat since the owners have multiple pets that run free much to J's delight). To be truthful, I don't have any high dieting aspirations, but I have noticed that our house has become increasingly full of processed, whie-flour and sugra-laden foods. I would like us to eat as healthfully as possible with the potential for weight loss as a side benefit :) Anyway, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (sifted)
3/4 cup wheat flour (sifted)
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
2 slightly beaten egg whites
1 cup mashed bananas (3 medium or 2 large)
1/4 cup non-sweetened applesauce
1/4 cup + 3 tbps Splenda/Sugar baking blend or Stevia
1/4 cup Canola oil

Directions:
Coat an 8×4x2-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Mash bananas and set aside. In a medium bowl combine all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl coming egg whites, banana, applesace, sugar, and oil. Once mixed well, add flour mixture all at one time to banana mixture. Stir until moistened. The batter should be lumpy. Spoon mixture into pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. And, viola! Delicious banana bread that your kids do not know is good for them ;)

To be honest, this recipe is adapted from one of Tosca Reno's clean eating recipes from her blog. I believe she has a few cookbooks out as well, but I find google works just as well and doesn't cost me a penny.

ETA: The recipe is actually from JenniferM's blog. Sorry for the mix-up, but please go check out her site if you want more yummy, clean eating recipes!

Post of Many Pictures

Too exhausted to write much (guess I'm starting off the new year the same way I left the old ;) De-I has a great breakdown of all the food related stuff we did over the vacation, so I won't belabor the point. Suffice it to say, we all enjoyed a fabulous holiday with lots of family and food. Hope everyone else's were just as wonderful.

ETA: Apparently I suck at blogger because I cannot get these pictures to line up correctly. Sorry!