Hibernation Time

Tonight we are expecting a low of 22 with flurries! I can't believe it's going to snow. I know it's December, but I am not sure I'm ready for it. Looks like I don't have a choice. I have decided that this winter I am going to hibernate. The plan will be gym, work, home. Of course I will make exceptions, but I hate being cold and I hate being outside in the cold. Luckily Lindsay lives in the building and we both love wine. :).

In other news...I skipped my gym session last night. I felt over tired and my head was pounding all day. I had a little bit of a sore throat too. I feel better today after medicating myself with Tylenol and OJ. I think its the change of weather that is getting to me. Also it could be all of the running around we did while I was home in Des Moines last week.

After a good night's rest, I got up and hit the gym. It wasn't an easy work out, but I did 40 minutes of cardio and abs. I felt weak for some reason. I think it's maybe getting back into it after a few days off.

My meal plan for the day:
Pre- gym - cereal bar
Breakfast - multi-grain bagel
Snack - Island Snacks Gummy Bears - about 12. I had a craving and we have a ton of single serving bags from one of our Kmart vendors I work with, Island Snacks. I like that some of the bears are purple in this package too.
Lunch - Soup and buffalo nuggets from Morningstar
Snack - 1 point WW pretzel bar
Dinner - TBD

We are going to see Ryan, Kristin and baby RJ tonight. I am so excited to meet him! He is going to be such a small peanut. Only 1.5 weeks old! I am not sure I am going to leave their condo ever. :).

Have a good day and stay warm!
PK

Much needed break, but loving being home!

Oh Chicago how I have missed you. It was a wonderful week at home, but there is nothing better than stepping into your house after a week of living out of your suitcase and just feeling that Ahh moment. I haven't spent this much time at home since Summer break back in college :). Unfortuately there were a few hiccups at home, but everyone is happy, healthy and well fed.

It was a busy busy week. I did my best to see all of my friends and family as much as I could. Here is a quick recap of the events:
Saturday - Iowa City for the game and then back to Des Moines.
Sunday - Lunch with my Dad and dinner with a few friends at Wellmans. We also had a 90210 moment at Jordan Creek mall with my family and Monster's family. Very Peach Pit :)
Monday - Gym, grocery shopping (awesome T Joes in Des Moines!) Sam's tae kwondo (hilarious!) mall and dinner.
Tuesday - Gym, finished grocery shopping, Coach's pizza with Lindsay and Darren. I learned how to play Buck Hunter at Coach's. I would give myself a 2 out of 10. Big time fail!
Wednesday - Gym, prep for Thursday's lunch, lunch with Paige, hair cut, surprise party at Gino's for James! Wellmans for drinks.
Thursday - Cooked all morning, quick lunch at Mom's, lunch at Monster's, back to my Mom's to hang with Maggie Lane. SO FULL ALL DAY!
Friday - Headed to Mo-town for Thanksgiving at my Dad's, quality time with about 20 fam members, Dinner with Monster's fam, card night at Monster's.
Saturday - QT with my mom before she felt sick, Wellman's for the Iowa Game, Mercy West to see my Mom, dinner at Boston's with my siblings, Shannon and Courtney's for a final night out.
Sunday - Trek back home and relaxing all night.

Gosh it was tough to remember all of that! It really was a great time. I love Thanksgiving and what it's all about - Family. We will make a few adjustments next year so we are spacing out meals better.

I would say I did about average while I was home. I got to the gym, ate well Saturday - Wednesday. Thursday I didn't do too bad either. I just think my portions were off from Friday - Sunday. As my stomach grew from all of the meals, I felt like I was always hungry. I also didn't have time to make it to WW while I was home. This gives me a solid week to be strict on my diet and work out plan. I need to get a move on this 30 x 30! September will be here before we know it. Yikes!

My meal plan for the day:
Breakfast - Starbucks english muffin sammy
Snack - 1 point pretzel bar from WW
Lunch - Pockets! I went with my standard pocket order.
Snack - cereal bar before the gym
Dinner - TBD

I need to get to the grocery store this week. I need fresh veggies, fruit and lunch/dinner options.

I have a serious cardio seshy at the gym tonight planned. 50 minutes of sweat.

Have a good Monday.
PK

Go Away Cold!

Of course I get sick right before I go home for Thanksgiving. I think I can kick the cold with some meds, OJ and rest. Not sure what type of rest I will get with Iowa City tomorrow, but it's fine. I can rest next week :).

I'm so complainy when I'm sick...

Dinner last night was great! Always nice to catch up with a great pal and old roommate. Kristi was as shocked as I was to hear about the new Forever 21 opening up in our old neighborhood. WTF? Still annoyed about this. Why did North and Clybourn get so cool after we left!?!? I mean 5 years people, I lived their for 5 years!!!

We went to Kirkwood which is always tasty. I went with the homemade garden burger on multi-grain toast. YUM! I also skipped the fries(I pondered getting sweet potato fries) and went with a cup of their soup sans chedder cheese. After din, I came home and tried to pack my suitcase, but my big chair looked much more comfy. I parked their for the night.

I managed to set my alarm for 7:20pm instead of 7:20am last night. Thank God Paige called and woke me up around 8am! That would have been interesting to walk in at 10am in a cold coma. I rushed to get ready and got to work a tad late.

I don't really have a taste for anything so eating today has been interesting...

My meal plan for the day:
Breakfast - Yogurt with granola
Lunch - All of my groceries at work are basically done except for a few random items. Going out in the cold sounded miz so I made a random lunch. Soy nuggets, a babybel cheese wedge and a just for one Green Giant brocoli with cheese sauce single serve deally. Haha. How random is that?
Snack - TBD
Dinner - I want soup or something light. Maybe toast :). If the appetite is back, I will change it up.

So as you know I am heading home tomorrow until the 28th. I will do my best to keep up with my blog, but no matter what I am dedicated this week to stay on track with my diet and working out.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
PK

And down we go...

My sushi date was awesome last night! Marty and CP were both wonderful company. We had an awesome selection of sushi. All the rolls were healthy and my dates were fine cutting out the spicy mayo from a few of the rolls. Such a great support system. I drank a lot of water and skipped the wine. I was preparing for my weigh in this am.

I sort of dread getting out of bed these days when it's so cold outside. I have been sleeping with the window cracked a bit in the other room, because my apartment gets pretty warm, but this morning I was shivering! I had to hit up WW, so I couldn't stay in bed all morning :). I am glad I went though, because I lost 2.2!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so excited! I have been bummed this past week thinking about the gain from last weekend and trying my best to get back on track, eat well, work out, count points, etc. Well, it paid off! It really made me think about the upcoming week too. I know it will be hard, especially with possibly 3 Thanksgiving meals, but I am going to do it. I am going to lose weight next week :). I don't care if its .2, but I want to lose.

I unfortunately can't make it to the gym today, but I plan on eating well all day. I have dinner plans tonight with Kristi, so I will make sure I make good decisions while dining out.

My meal plan of the day:
Breakfast - Egg beater wrap
Snack - 1 point choco pretzel bar from WW. These were on sale today!
Lunch - Lean Cuisine bbq chicken pizza and red grapes
Snack - Babybel cheese
Dinner - I probably will get a salad or the veggie burger at Kirkwood.

After dinner, I will be packing up my suitcase and prepping for home. I can't believe it's Thanksgiving!!!

PK

Sushi Date

Happy Hump Day! My hump day started with a serious weights session at the gym. I focused about 30 minutes on my arms and back and then 20 minutes on my legs and tush. Already feeling a tad wobbly, but I love this feeling.

I was in the suburbs earlier today and have been home this afternoon working. This allowed me to organize for my upcoming trip to D Town. I started setting things aside. On the list are work out clothes for almost every day while I'm home. I am hoping to work out at a gym with just a one week guest pass. Taking a week off will be a bust considering I know what holiday eating is like...I really think that I will be fine though. It's all about portions :). It will be good to change up the gym routine for a week too. Makes things fun.

I am meeting my good pal Marty for sushi tonight at Cafe Sushi. CP will be with us too. This seems to be my go to sushi place these days. It's yummy and cheap!

My meal plan for the day:
Pre-work out - Cereal bar
Breakfast - Low fat turkey sausage/egg white english muffin from Bucks
Lunch - Bowl of gumbo and salad from J. Alexanders. I went with the rotisserie chicken cobb salad. I only had a bit of it since the soup was filling, but it was pretty good. The bacon made it salty so I shoved that on another plate. Also, the blue cheese crumbles were overwhelming so I got rid of that as well. I should just stick with my veggie burger at J's. If it ain't broke...
Dinner - My standard sushi meal is usually a veggie roll, tuna and avocado or mexican roll and miso soup. Not sure what I am feeling yet for tonight.

I am debating weighing in tomorrow. I went last Thursday so I should probably go. I feel good about my week. Let's hope for a loss :).

PK

Countdown is on for Des Moines

I am so antsy to get home to Des Moines for the holidays. Thanksgiving has always been my Mom's favorite holiday and in the past few years, it has become my fave as well. I love having all of my family members in town and just hanging out and relaxing while in a food coma. I can't wait to see the little kiddos too.

We leave Saturday morning to head home with a quick pit stop in Iowa City for the Iowa vs Ohio State game. I hope it's a better game than this past Saturday. Cross your fingers!

Well last night I skipped the gym, but walked home from work. Since it's still somewhat nice out, I would much rather be outside. I also haven't bought a new book to read which makes cardio seem so much longer than what it is. The walk is a little over 3 miles.

I made a cheddar cheese, baked potato and brocoli Lean Cuisine meal with a salad for dinner. This LC may be one of my faves! I recently picked it up because it was on sale for $1.99 and now look for it when I am at the store. I sometimes add additional veggies to it which I did last night to make it a tad more filling.

I planned to hit the gym this am, but hit snooze a few too many times. :). I have my gym bag, my Real Simple magazine and headphones packed, so I will be hitting the gym tonight for a good cardio session.

I have done great on my diet today and have plans to have a light meal for dinner as well.

My meal plan for the day:
Breakfast - Egg beaters with laughing cow and giardinera in a wheat wrap from Aldi - YUM!
Snack - nada
Lunch - Lean Cuisine chicken ranch flatbread, carrots with hummus and fat free vanilla yogurt from Aldi
Snack - Grapes
Dinner - Fit and Active lasagna with cooked spinach

My week is getting booked up with plans. I have dinner plans with my old pal Marty tomorrow night. CP will be joining us and I know those 2 are going to be insta-friends. I have lunch plans with KT on Thursday and dinner plans with Kristi Thurs night. Not really helping my stict budget, but sometimes you just have to forgetta about it.

Have a great day!
PK

Whirlwind Weekend

Another crazy weekend down. We had so much going on, but it was a ton of fun.

On Friday we had the 3rd Annual Autism Speaks Heroes Ball for my work. Saturday we went to the Iowa/Northwestern Game at 8am until about 4pm. On Sunday we had Friendsgiving in the afternoon. It was non-stop, but one for the books. We had a great time.

I need to start tracking my food during the weekends b/c I can never remember!! I do know that we didn't eat anything except breakfast on Saturday which made me very unpleasant to be around. When I got home I had some pita chips and hummus and then Monster made me dinner which included a Lean Cuisine mac and cheese meal with soy crumbles and veggies.

Yesterday I made my standard breakfast wrap with my egg beaters and laughing cow cheese.

I ran a bunch of errands and made some soy crumble tacos for lunch. I knew we had a big dinner planned so I did my best to save points.

Our Friendsgiving Feast included the following:
Stuffed mushrooms
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Puppy Chow
Dip with carrots and fritos

Deep fried turkey
Smoked chicken
Pulled pork
GB casserole
Mac and cheese
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potates
Rolls
Stuffing
Cranberry sauce
Etc...

It was awesome! I did my best to watch my portions and eat healthy stuff. I was able to have a taste of everything I wanted. I also had a few glasses of wine :).

I plan on doing my best all week to stay on track! I am going to hit the gym as much as I can and also track my points.

My plan for the day:
Breakfast - Egg beater wrap
Snack - 90 calorie cereal bar
Lunch - Spin/Artichoke WW sandwich with baked lays and carrots
Snack - Grapes
Dinner - WW meal

I am going to hit the gym tonight for 20/15/10 of cardio.

Happy Monday and talk to you soon!

PK

Nothing Tastes As Good As Being Thin Feels

I wish I had better news for ya'll, but today was not a success at WW. It ruined my mood for most of the day, but then I decided to pick my head up, get back on that horse (as Paige called it) and stay strong.

I was researching some great movitational quotes and came across one of my faves. "Nothing Tastes As Good As Being Thin Feels!" I heard this in college from my old WW leader who I loved! I went every week b/c we had a special bond and she kept me motivated. When she said this quote, I believed it and I thought about it almost every day.

The lady at the front counter today looked much younger than me which I thought was interesting. I was nervous stepping on the scale and when I noticed the gain she said: "Just keep it up! Make good decisions. Drink more water, eat filling foods and keep up the work outs. Today was not your day, but next Thursday will be your day. If not next Thursday, the following Thursday." She motivated me and gave me a pat on the back for going in this morning and not giving up.

So I came to work and have made great decisions all day! Take a look. I unfortunately didn't get to the gym, but will be walking home from work tonight which to me is something. It's about 3 miles and I can't wait to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Breakfast: Soy sausage and 1 hard boiled egg
Snack: Light Babybel cheese
Lunch: WW rice and beans meal and an apple with laughing cow
Snack - Wheat pretzels with hummus
Dinner - We have friends in town tonight so we will be going to dinner. I know I need to stay on track, so where ever we go, I will be making a good healthy decision.

Sorry for the bummer update. It's ok though! I'm ready to focus on the week and have a success next week.

PK

Danity Kane

A few years ago, Danity Kane, Day 26, Stacie and I celebrated Nate's birthday at Lumen in West Town. I have to bring up this story because Nate and I have been through a lot together and I always rememeber this night. The only thing missing that night was Laurie Ann Gibson. :) Gosh she's amazing. We had a blast that night and I have some fun pictures to prove it!

I thought about this fond memory last night after Monster and I left Hunter's place for dinner. Nate and Hunter cooked us an amazing spread and everything was delish! I love our double date tradition. These boys are very special to me. :)

The menu from last night included:
Champagne and red wine
Cowboy caviar with jalapeno tortilla chips
Veggie spring rolls with dipping sauce
Chicken stir fry with cashews, asparagus and brown rice
Salad with cucumbers, carrots and low fat Asian sesame dressing
Scotcharoos from Sweet Mandy B's! Nate and I split one of these bad boys and I have no words to explain how good they were! Yum!

The boys did a fab job. It's our turn to host next time and I already have ideas in my head. I am thinking something maybe my mom would serve over the holidays like brisket and noodle kugel. We shall see.

I am planning on going to WW tomorrow morning. I am nervous to see where I stand after these past few weeks. I have been doing well all week so I plan to go with a positive attitude. If I gain, I gain. Gives me the motivation to work harder over the holidays.

My meal plan for the day:
Breakfast - 1 hard boiled egg and 1 soy sausage patty
Snack - lowfat babybel cheese
Lunch - I am meeting my girlfriend Kate for lunch at E-Leaven Bakery. I checked out the menu and it looks like they have great soup and salad options. I plan to go that route
Snack - TBD
Dinner - WW meal with a salad

I will be heading to the gym after work tonight for an hour of cardio.

Have a great day!
Peri

Thanksgiving Countdown

My Mom asked for my help this year planning our Thanksgiving meal. I absolutely love to cook, so planning out the meal and giving everyone a side dish, entree or desert has been fun for me. I am tasked to help my Mom with the brisket, noodle kugle, salad, mashed potatoes and dessert. I would love to be in charge of the turkey some day, but for now, we will order from a local grocery store. Some years it's just easier to do that.

So last night I decided to take a stab at a mashed potato recipe I found in one of my food mags. (I have been obsessed with looking at the Food Network magazine, Rachel Ray magazine and other food magazines and tearing out holiday recipes! My recipe book is growing by the second!) The potatoes turned out freaking ridiculous! I also made enough to feed us until 2011. I will most definitely make this dish for the fam in a few weeks.

I served this with maid rites and a veggie medley I got from Aldi. I asked a few friends if they knew what maid-rites were and was shocked that no one knew! When I googled it today, I noticed that it's as a fast food restaurant which has about 70 locations throughout the Midwest. We grew up having maid-rite sandwiches at family functions or parties. It's an easy thing to whip up and the recipe I stole from the Iowa Girl Eats blog was delish!

For those of you out there not sure of what a maid rite is: it's a "loose meat" sandwich. While the component meat is similar, the Maid-Rite sandwich's meat is not formed into a patty, making it similar to a sloppy joe only without the tomato-based sauce.

Sorry for the random rant on maid-rites :).

I had a great work out last night and woke up early to hit the gym again. I did 30 minutes of cardio (walked at an incline on the treadmill) and did about 25 mins of arms. I have a feeling I will be sore tomorrow which is fine by me.

My meal for the day:
Pre-workout - Cereal bar from Aldi. Only 90 cals
Breakfast - Hardboiled egg and soy sausage
Snack - Veggies and hummus
Lunch - Morningstar buffalo nuggets and soup
Snack - Red grapes
Dinner - We are having dinner with Nate and Hunter tonight and they have planned out the menu. When I talked to Nate the other day, he told me that the menu is being prepped with 30 x 30 in mind. What a good pal! Nothing like a solid support system!

I'm looking forward to catching up with the boys. Have a good one!
PK

What's my Deal?

I have been so sucky at this lately. I am not sure if it was the NY trip, but I'm having an issue getting back on track 100%. This weekend I didn't really focus on what I was eating and never made it to the gym. Big Fail! So I hit the grocery store yesterday and have decided to do really good this week. I have a few lunches and dinners planned and somewhat of a crazy weekend ahead, but my goal is to hit the gym 5 days and stay on track!

My meal for the day:
Breakfast - one hard boiled egg and one soy sausage
Snack - Babybel light cheese wedge
Lunch - Soup and salad and veggies with hummus
Snack - red grapes
Dinner - TBD. I bought stuff to make maid rites (on the lighter side) and a potato dish. I will see how it goes, but will make some veggies as well.

Gym plan - I am going to hit the elliptical for 40 and the tread for 10. Possibly get in some abs as well. I am going to do 30 mins of cardio tomorrow am and shoot for arms/legs. It's been awhile since I have lifted, so it could get interesting.

Have a good day!
PK

Emotional Wreck

My mom had surgery on Monday and I am an emotional wreck since I am not there with her. This is the downside of living 6 hours from my fam. I have been able to talk to her briefly each day for about 15 seconds, but she just doesn't sound the same. She is very tired and in pain. I know my Mom will be better soon, but the recovery time will be weeks. If only i could teleport back to Iowa...

Thanksgiving will be here soon and I will be home for 8 days which is plenty of time. My job will be to help prep for our turkey dinner and hang with Helene. I am not sure if I can make a brisket like my mom, but I will do my best. The rest of the dishes are taken care of by other family members and we are going the Dahl's route this year for our turkey. I can't wait to be in charge of the turkey soon. Gives me a bit of anxiety and sort of makes me sick to my stomach. It just doesn't sound like a fun process.

I am starting to feel a bit better and back in my routine since NYC. I hit the gym last night for 50 mins of cardio. I have been so attached to my book and actually started full out crying on the elliptical yesterday. Haha. I looked like such an idiot... Sometimes you just can't help it and sadly, this is not the first time I have cried on an elliptical. I watched Father of the Bride 2 a few months ago and was using my shirt to wipe the tears. Oy.

After the gym, we went for dinner at The Boundary. This is one of my favorite bars to eat at in Chicago. I also had a restaurant.com to use so dinner was cheap! I went with the Waldorf Wrap and a side salad. I saved half of the wrap for work today too! It was delish.

My plan for today:
Breakfast - Dannon 80 calorie vanilla yogurt with low fat granola
Lunch - Waldorf wrap with baked lays
Snack - Apple
Dinner - Either chili and a baked potato or a Fit & Active lasagna. Depends on what I am in the mood for when I get home.

I am going to hit the gym after work for 30 mins of cardio and arms. I will do the same tomorrow but work on my legs.

Sorry for the sad blog today. Sometimes you just want your Mom :).

PK

Too much candy!

Put the Halloween candy away! I can't stop picking at it. I am not even eating it, I am hoarding it in my desk just in case I need candy during the day. Ug, it's so tempting when it's every where.

I met CP for dinner last night at Cafe Sushi. I went with miso soup, a Mexican roll sans spicy tuna and a veggie roll. I love their sushi and it's cheap! It was lovely to catch up with CP as well :).

I did fairly well on the diet yesterday. I tried drinking more water so I didn't feel hungry. After all the food I had in NYC, I didn't think it would be easy to get back on track, but so far so good.

I am going to hit the gym tonight after work and plan on another cardio sesh. Sleeping in this am felt marvelous! I needed it.

My meal for the day:
Breakfast - Egg wrap with soy sausage and giardinara. I missed this!
Snack - Tootsie rolls :).
Lunch - Southwest pocket and baked lays with salsa
Snack - I am going to run to whole foods and get some snacks(fruit) for the next few days.
Dinner - WW meal with veggies

Have a good one!
PK

I Heart NYC!!!

Well that was a trip. Honestly, we had the best time. I cant' say I did amazing on my diet, actually I sucked...but we walked all day everyday and so I thought that was great exercise :). It probably evened it self out, but still.

Here is a quick snapshot of what we did...

Thursday: We flew out and actually had a great time on the plane. The gal sitting next to me went to college with one of my friend's husband. She lived across the street from where we were staying so we shared a cab and are now friends :). Han, B, Monster and I went for dinner at Schillers in the LES after we arrived. It's kind of a classic spot that I always try to get to when I am in NYC.

Friday: M and I got moving around 10ish and went up to Rockefeller Center to start our day. We walked Fifth Ave, ate some street corner food, saw St. Pat’s cathedral, hit up The Plaza (my fave), the Apple store, walked Central Park, the ice rink and took a ride on the carousel. We saw Strawberry Fields and walked down Columbus until we hit Lincoln Center and Columbus Circle. I saw Kelly Ripa on the upper west side running to her car from the salon. I kind of freaked out from excitement. She is my sister’s favorite. Han was super jealous too b/c she used to watch her in one of her soap operas. We took the train back to H/B's but stopped in Soho for Pinkberry before heading back for a nap.

H/B had some peeps over before dinner at Supper and we spent some time on their rooftop which has an unbelievable 360 view of Manhattan, NJ, the bridges etc. After din we were out until about 3am at a speak easy called Back Room where you drink out of tea cups. Love it!

Saturday: We had a late start, but went for brunch with my Sam who I used to work with. She just got married in August so it was fun to see her and catch up. After brunch we hit Union Square and then stopped at one of the oldest bars in the US called McSorleys. It was so cool and historic. Basically you order light or dark beer and it’s $5 for 2 mugs. We then went to an Iowa bar in Midtown called Opal to watch Iowa kill MSU. We drank plenty on Saturday and I didn't feel so hot that night. We did manage to go for Mexican at Barrio Chino which is Padma from Top Chef’s favorite restaurant. We stopped at Rockwood to hear some live music before heading home for the night. I slept very well :).

Sunday: M and I headed downtown to see Ground Zero, Wall Street, The NYSE, Federal Hall Museum, Statue of Liberty, the bull, etc. We had tickets to see the Green Day American Idiot Broadway Shot at 3pm so we took a train to meet H/B. The show was unbelievable. It is a must see!!! Also, Lea Michele from Glee sat 2 rows in front of me so I freaked out. Dinner was sushi and wine and dessert was a cookie sundae...just what we needed.

The trip was awesome and I can't stop smiling about it. The pics that Monster took were great too! I can't wait to re-live the trip again after the pics are posted.

I was so beat yesterday and had no food at work so I basically took yesterday off as well. I wanted to start fresh today which I did!

I got up this morning and did 45 mins on the elliptical and 15 mins of abs. I plan on eating well the rest of the week and trying my best to work out atleast 5 times.

My meal for the day:
Pre-workout - Cereal bar
Breakfast - Low fat granola with vanilla soy milk
Snack - Red grapes
Lunch - Soup and salad
Dinner - TBD. I may meet CP for dinner, but planning on something light no matter what. I have some WW meals at home that I may go with.

I hope you all had a great Halloween! So glad I missed it...i hate it. Haha.

PK