My New Couch

Tuesday was so crazy that time flew by. I didn’t realize I had missed lunch time until my stomach start making noises around 1:30 p.m., which also happened to be the same time the delivery people arrived at my apartment. They were supposed to call before they were coming, but instead they called when they got to my apartment. Good thing I live close to work. I was so excited, I couldn’t get home fast enough. LOOK!

Because I was so caught off guard I didn’t end up sitting on my couch until after I got home from work. Don’t worry, it’s awesome! YAY! Now I just need a chair, a coffee table, and a t.v. stand.

I think all my energy from the day came from my workout. I’m officially 21 days into Insanity Asylum 1 (75% complete) and I feel amazing. Tuesday’s workout was “back to core”. Something I have learned over the last several months is to engage your core. I know it sounds simple, but when you really try to do it, it’s not the same. Try it!

No matter how may times I do the last move in the last photo above, I still start shaking around the minute and thirty second mark (you go for a total of three minutes). It’s a good shake and I know I’m getting stronger and stronger.

Another highlight of the day was my yummy meals. I had Shakeology for breakfast, Greek yogurt with blueberries for a snack, a nice salad for lunch, Rice cakes with peanut butter and banana, and yummy shrimp tacos for dinner (these were amazing!).

Make these yummy gluten free tacos tonight:

Ingredients
¼ cup squash
¼ cup zucchini
¼ cup sweet potato
¼ cup black beans
3 oz. shrimp (about 8)
¼ cup lite coconut milk
2 gluten free corn tortillas

Directions

Cut yellow squash, zucchini and sweet potatoes into cubes. Put them into a small pan on medium heat. Let them cook for about 5 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for about 2 minutes. Then, add coconut milk and let simmer for about 5 minutes on low-medium heat. Add black beans and let cook for 2 minutes.

Take tortillas, wrap a damp paper towel around them and heat for about 20 seconds. Remove tortillas and added ingredients from pan. Serve and enjoy!

Hope y’all had a wonderful Tuesday!

Question: Did you make tacos for taco Tuesday?

Lesson’s Learned Monday

Overall my Monday was boring. I had good intentions to go to a MeetUp event, but was too tired. I couldn’t even pry myself out of bed yesterday morning, so I had to get my workout in after work. Lessons learned: 1) there are too many people in the apartment gym after work/before dinner to do that again! In other words, workout in the morning. 2) I had too many sets of eyes staring at me and very little space. (You don’t need much in general, but when using a jump rope it’s nice to have a little more.) 3) I definitely prefer being there at 5:15/5:30 a.m. when fewer or no people are there.

Because I was so tired on Sunday, I waited to go to the grocery store yesterday. Lesson learned: shopping and prepping on Sunday is way better than on Monday night. I usually leave myself a couple hours for prep work on Sunday so that I’m not up late during the week making meals. Last night, Monday, I didn’t go to bed until 11 p.m. (I still got up at 5 a.m. today and worked out).

Yesterday was Insanity Asylum 1 – Speed and Agility. If you remember last week when I did it I was angry and frustrated by the end of the workout. I’m happy to report this week was better. I still have a few moves where the footwork still needs work, but all-in-all I felt much better when I completed the workout this week than I did last week. Lesson learned: don’t give up! Things will get easier the more you try. Be patient.

My final lesson learned for Monday: time management. It’s a skill that not everyone has, but everyone NEEDS to learn!

 

New adventures and new friends

I want to wish a VERY extra happy and special birthday to my good friend Emily! I hope you have THE best day. Can’t wait to celebrate real soon!!!

Another great weekend in this great city! This weekend was all about new adventures, new friends, and getting back on track! Friday night I ended up staying in because I knew the rest of the weekend was going to be jammed packed. So, glad I did.

Saturday I started my day off with a yummy breakfast (Shakeology and gluten free toast with turkey bacon and scrambled eggs) and sending off birthday wishes. For those of you who don’t know me I LOVE sending cards to my friends just because, but even more so on their birthday’s. I never can send just one card because I end up finding so many great ones. (Side note: Never leave me alone in an aisle with cards or Hallmark store; I’ll never leave!) I also love stickers, yet they’re so hard to find these days! My best friend’s dad Papa Hughes (shout out) calls me “the sticker lady.” (Side note: When he got injured last year the sticker lady sent him stickers for his helmet. 🙂 )

During the day on Saturday I joined some new friends at Wimberley Valley Winery for a wine tasting. We had a great time trying different wines and getting to know each other. Their sweet wines that they produces are delicious! I tried the plum and the blush; they would be good during the summer as sangria.

I’m still amazed how many people are looking to make new friends and branch out; it’s awesome! After the winery we went to Salt Lick BBQ, a staple here in Austin. While I wasn’t super impressed by the bbq, the cole slaw was yummy and the atmosphere was really cool. (Sorry all you Salt Lick BBQ lovers.) I’m glad I went, and would go again to try their spicy bbq sauce. My co-worker said it’s better than their regular bbq sauce. I had so much fun hanging with these ladies.

After a great day exploring more of Austin and making new friends, I went to a birthday party for a new friend that I met through MeetUp. I had a great time celebrating and meeting even more people. Talk about a small world, the girl whose place we were hanging at moved to Austin 8 months ago from Silver Spring, MD, AND she went to college with someone I know from Pittsburgh. Seriously such a small world.

Sunday Funday! The morning was spent planning meals for the week, going to the grocery store, and running other errands. I’m starting Insanity Asylum 1 this week and it is important that I get enough calories and nutrients to fuel my body. Planning what I eat for the week helps stay me on track.

The afternoon brought some fun in the sun with a walk around Town Lake. It seriously was a beautiful day. I think next week I’m going to prepare better so I can be outside ALL day! Please note that at 5:30 p.m. yesterday is was 88 degrees. I’ve been told by several people this is normal, and to prepare myself for when it’s 9 p.m. and 100 degrees during the summer. A-W-E-S-O-M-E-!

After a long fun weekend I spent a couple of hours prepping food for the week. I have found that it is so much easier to do this so that I can open the fridge, grab what I need and go. It cuts down on cooking and cleaning for the week too. What could be better?

Looking forward to this week. More adventures with new friends!

Question: Do you plan your meals out for the week, and do you prep food ahead of time?

For the love of grocery stores

My favorite part of the weekend was my trip to the grocery. No, really. I. love. the grocery store! I couldn’t wait to go so that I could start cooking and clean eating. I’ve gotten off track these last couple of weeks because of the move, but I was determined to change things.

I couldn’t contain my excitement to get inside the store. I was also the creeper taking pictures hoping that no one would notice. Look at all the fresh produce.

Got a lot of good stuff. Can’t wait to get cooking.

On Friday, I went to a work function. Aquasana, a Texas based company, recently moved closer to downtown Austin, and they had an open house to show off their new office space. I went to the event and brought our blondies and brownies. They were a hit!

I got this cool new water bottle, and got to try their sparkling water.

Saturday I got up and had breakfast of champions – 2 kind bars. They were tasty!

I spent all of Saturday running errands. And as much as I hate shopping, the weather helped to brighten the day. Who can complain about sunshine?

I stopped by Whole Foods for a good healthy lunch to keep me going. I had a side of kettle chips; they’re healthy too, right? 😉

I was determined to find items that would help me to better organize the kitchen, bathroom and closet. I had an idea of what I was looking for, but wasn’t really sure how much I would need or if the pieces would work for the spaces I had identified. So, I grabbed what I could find and kept in mind that I could return whatever I didn’t need or didn’t work.

I started at the Container Store. I really like the Container Store, but in general they are expensive. However, there is something about their products that just make sense. I mean they’re called the Container Store for a reason! Since they are having their Spring sale, I figured it was worth taking a look. I ended up grabbing several pieces to help me organize my bathroom. Here is the bathroom when I first started organizing.

And a few of the drawers after I was done

Nail polish anyone? 😉

I meant to take a picture of the 2 drawer shelves that I got for under my sink. Since the containers that I had didn’t fit under the sink, and the only other storage in my bathroom is open shelving, I needed a different organizing solution. I got two of these for under my sink

They work really well and hold a lot of product. I highly recommend these to anyone who has a bunch of stuff under their sink, but can’t easily access it. Being able to slide the shelves was a big selling point for me.

After a long day of shopping and organizing I got a good night sleep in preparation for more shopping the next day. I had things that needed to be returned and a few other things to pick up.

Sunday was another beautiful day

I made my way to Ikea because the shelving unit I got from Target didn’t work (poor quality). It’s okay, because I love any excuse to go to Ikea.

I had one of their tv consoles for 7 years, but finally threw it out because it became too much when moving. It’s definitely a piece that I could see myself buying again, just not right now. I did however, end up with a piece from that same line. I was looking for shelving that I could put in my closet to hold t-shirts, long sleeve t’s, sweatpants and jeans, and sweatshirts. I wanted something that was easily accessible and didn’t take up too much room. I immediately put this together when I got home and put my clothes away. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

All-in-all I had a great weekend filled with shopping, organizing, cleaning and cooking. Hands down my favorite part was going to the grocery store. It’s the only kind of shopping that I like. There are so many good, healthy (and gluten free) choices that get my wheels spinning on new dishes to make or recipes to try.

I normally go to the store with a list of what I need to get, but it’s always fun to go and pick out what’s super fresh and then determine later what you will make. Good rule of thumb, shop the perimeter of the store. This is where the better for you, less proceeded foods are located. Again, that’s not to say you can’t wander into the aisle. There are some good things you can eat, and some treats. Hey, everything in moderation.

One last thing, I’m happy to report I’m down to just two boxes.

Like my “couch” and “coffee table”? 🙂 Haha. One week down and only 7-9 more until my couch arrives!

Question: What was your favorite part of your weekend?