So- thank goodness that there is such a thing as “in the privacy of your own home!” Really! (And as an aside- I KNOW I need FIRM support for “the girls”- so why would I plan to do a workout <even in the privacy of my own home> in a bra that even on a good day doesn’t hold them in!??)

I popped in an Indian Dance workout- The Masala Bhangra Workout DVD! (I saw this gal Sarina Jain  at a conference last year and enjoyed her short little preview workout in between conference sessions… so I bought a DVD.)

From the back of the DVD- “Bhangra, the most popular of the community dances from the village of Punjab, India is closely linked with the ritual importance of the wheat harvest.”

I am thankful I am not a young girl growing up in Punjab- or my parents and friends would disown me and I would never be married… seriously! I am THAT bad at this!

There were moments when I couldn’t even tell what her body was doing in order to copy it! LOL I just found myself dancing in place and moving my arms and pumping my legs up and down. At one point I resorted to marching around in circles pumping my arms in the air! (So glad no one could see me!) LOL I decided that I was still going to work out- even if I couldn’t jump (remember “the girls” were not strapped down!) and I couldn’t figure out what the heck she was doing half the time… It’s not about perfection (especially in the privacy of your own home!) but rather it is about MOVING!!!

This DVD probably won’t become my favorite home workout! BUT I do have an awesome Yoga for Weight Loss one I love and I have a Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred I haven’t been brave enough to pull out! LOL

What is your favorite home workout? Do you use DVDs? Which ones?

Photo from our walk

But here is where it get’s interesting…

We walked down to the train tracks… and then My Guy proceeded to lead us across the train bridge! It was fine until the Boy started worrying… talking about how dangerous it was to be walking on the bridge in the dark, and HEY isn’t this ILLEGAL! (Oh Great!) Then he thought he could walk a little further in, in an effort to explain to him why he should not (the HUGE GAPING HOLES leading to the RIVER!) I dropped my water bottle down the hole… It was immediately pointed out that I had just LITTERED! Also ILLEGAL! (Carp! Now we are really winning parents of the year! LOL)

The rest of the walk was relatively uneventful. We chatted, we swat huge swarms of teeny tiny little bugs out of our way, we worried that it was going to rain. We were almost home free… when My Guy ran across the street- outside of the crosswalk!! (I think if we are counting here- that is the THIRD ILLEGAL thing we did!)

The Boy was QUICK to point out- that he would have been safer and less influenced by “evil” had he stayed home and NOT given in to Parental Pressure! <eek!>

This “parenting” thing is going to be a kick!

When The Boy moved in a few weeks ago, we told him, keep an eye on the mirror, you never know when there could be a note for you. Feel free to write anything you might want on there too! He didn’t seem thrilled- LOL – but I felt like he was game. The first note we left him was something like “Looking Good!” … he wrote “Korn” (the name of his favorite band!) I stood there and laughed and laughed when I saw that. I called My Guy giggling and got him giggling too! Clearly The Boy didn’t get it… yet.

Love Notes

The next week- I left my note for My Guy! (I <3 You!) and on the front mirror there was a note… It was hard to read- but I thought it was going to be a good one! So- as soon as My Guy got home- I dragged him into the bathroom, we shut the door and turned on the shower full steam! The note appeared… we STILL couldn’t tell for sure… but we both agreed- it had something to do with “liking the food…”

***Backstory- When we were discussing with The Boy the conditions and things to know about living here- we were very clear that junk food and soda would NOT be part of this lifestyle. I promised him he would not starve- but also that I would not make him separate meals all the time and we would not buy junk food and he was not to bring it home. He was a bit worried about all that, but agreed anyway!***

At dinner that night- we eat dinner together as a family every weeknight, as a rule, and most weekend nights too- we asked him “What does it say!??”

“I am liking the food more than I thought!” 

SCORE!!!

Yep- Love Notes… it’s where it’s at! <3

Me and my umbrella!

He has this thing he does- he writes down things I say I want/need. Then eventually at some gift giving event- or even some random occasion- that item ends up in my possession! (Yes, he IS that good!)

How could you not be happy with a hot pink umbrella. Take a dark dreary rainy day- add a BIG FAT HOT PINK umbrella… staying dry and seeing PINK makes me happy! All together? A very great gift!

Pink Glow!

What is your favorite spring time happy thing??

Such a crazy spring- it is full of sunny says with higher than normal temperatures! The race day was warm too! Almost 80! TOO hot when you think that even though it was a warm winter- our blood hasn’t had time to thin out yet! LOL Last year we thought we were SO lucky! It was in the low 30′s and sunny out! I mean AWESOME running weather for mid-March! This year the race was ON St. Patrick’s Day and it was a blast!

Just after the race this year!

Just after the race last year!

Guy and I did not do much to get ready for this race- been kind of a slower paced, less motivated phase of our lives this winter… but we decided to run what we could, walk what we couldn’t run and just keep pace together and enjoy the day!

Race in front of me!

There were close to 8,000 people running the race- and it is always a spectacle! Tutus, green knee socks and funky outfits abound at this race!

Last year's race!

For me, races are more about setting a goal and having motivation to stick to the running plan (which burns calories and helps me to loose weight and/or maintain my weight… ) than it is about the race itself… it is also about my running friends! I LOVE my running friends!!

My Guy, me and KG! My bestest running buddy!!

Post race with KG, LAST YEAR! LOL

SO much fun! The race felt good.. Guy and I really worked up a sweat… then we walked when we wanted to. At one point, we were just enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, walking holding hands!! LOL So much for a PR! (Personal Record!) We knew this was not THAT kind of race for us.

This race has some cool perks! A free beer at the local Irish Pub- and being St. Patty’s day it was even more interesting! Hanging out on the sidewalk in front- enjoying the sunshine and hundreds of other people sweaty and looking “fine” from the race! OH BOY!

Free Beer!!

Fun day! Got us into the running spirit again! We are both training for races in April! My Guy is going to run the Twin Cities One Mile (with his kids too!) and then the Get in Gear 5K! I am going to run the Get in Gear 10K! This will be my third year running that race! That race has special meaning for me because it was the first race I ever ran! WHOO HOO!

Running has become soul food for me. WHY do I forget that so often? It makes me feel good about ME, makes my head and heart clear out the crap of the day, makes my body feel good, makes me feel good to know my body moves… even if it didn’t help me to maintain my weight (and right now loose!) I would NEED to run! LAWD I wish I remembered that ALL the time!

All this bragging about my favorite nephew to tell you about this next picture! Last week my sister emailed me a picture he drew for me… and when I printed it out so I could see it better- I just laughed and laughed! Then I thanked the Lord that the “Message” is getting through! Check this out!

By my Nefer!

I don’t even see him nearly as often as I would like to, yet he KNOWS what is important to me, he KNOWS that junk food, fast food and processed food is bad for him and me, and you too! I love this kid!!

So.. I say this… LIVE your passion. BE REAL! BE who you truly are… and even your 15 year old nephew will get it!!!

Thanks Sweetie for my awesome picture! I am going to frame it for my office! Just like I used to put your projects on my desk at work when you were 4! (Here is where we all say… Awwwww)

La-

Killer Chili!

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/sweet_potato_black_bean_chili.html

When I saw this recipe I thought.. OH MY WORD! THIS is so my kind of food! YUMMY Sweet potatoes, black beans, a little hot… oh yeah!! I pinned the recipe on my healthy food pin board, I posted it on my Facebook page… I was so excited!

Fast forward to D- Day… food is cooking… all excited… when it comes time to do the spices… I look it over- I see it calls for three tablespoons of red chili pepper and half a teaspoon of chipotle. I think.. hmmm My Guy doesn’t love things super hot and frankly- while I like a little heat- I don’t love a burning mouth either… Soooo… enter BAD DECISION!

Chipotle is just smokey hot red pepper right? So I can put in three teaspoons (heaping!) of Chipotle and NO red chili pepper right? And it will be even less hot than the recipe calls for right? Uhm.. no!

The recipe says- stir in spices over the potatoes and onions then add other ingredients… I added cumin, tumeric and the chipotle, adding the chipolte last… as I added it the whole space filled up with “FUMES” of hot pepper!!

Seriously… so much so that I was choking… My Guy came down the hallway and starting choking before he could even see the stove! Yeah- pepper fumes!!

We hoped against hope that it would be saved once we added the liquid and the beans… but WHOOO WEEEE… it was sooo hot! We were tearing up just tasting a tiny bit! Truly! LOL

My Guy- who is so supportive and never has a bad thing to say even if I burn dinner a little… finally at the end of the night- declared dinner inedible!! (hrmph!) Stone Fired Pizza from next door was ordered… and we found other people who could take the HEAT and passed the food on to friends. Two of whom LOVED it, one who left it in the fridge after trying it!

The moral of this story is… Chipotle and Red Chili Pepper are NOT  interchangeable one to one. 

So- for all of you who have ever had a bad cooking day… This one was for you!

La-

I have missed just randomly updating you on “things” and fun and whatever… so today My Guy is out of town so I am taking advantage of these few hours (while I miss him!) to put up just a random fun blog post!

PINK UMBRELLA!!

I love pink!!!

I am a lucky girl… I am that rare woman who has the gift of a man who actually pays awesome attention and gives thoughtful and meaningful gifts! My Hot Pink Golf Umbrella is one of those gifts! I asked for it- not necessarily like “Hey, I really want a Hot Pink Golf Umbrella” but in essence.. and at Christmas… that is what I got!

Umbrella in the snow!

 Pink makes me happy! I used the umbrella a few times in the snow this winter! (We didn’t get much snow- so it was fun and a treat almost when it DID snow!) I mean who can be depressed or sad about winter when you are walking around the streets with a HUGE HOT PINK UMBRELLA!

Totally happy days!! Just wanted to share a fun afternoon in my life! 

What is a fun thing that makes you happy on cloudy grey days?

Keep up the good work and keep moving!

La-

Yummy Root Vegetable Soup!

I realized- SOUP! This was so yummy and really pretty easy! Once it was made I froze it into 1/2 cup and 1 cup serving sizes and VOILA! We have it in the freezer and can just pull a container into our lunch boxes whenever we want!

It's PINK when it's frozen!

Ingredients:

• Beets (4)
• Onions (2)
• Butternut Squash (1 medium)
• Sweet Potatoes (2)
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock (also made in the pressure cooker!)
• Sour Cream (1/2 small container)
• Curry powder, cayenne pepper, tumeric (To taste!- not a lot)

Instructions:

• Chop veggies into similar sized chunks (I did mine approximately 2 inch chunks)
• Dump everything (except sour cream)in pressure cooker (My stock was frozen in 1 cup servings so I threw it in frozen)
• Cook in pressure cooker on High Pressure 35 minutes, use quick release at end of time
• Once pressure is released and you can open top, use immersion blender to mix all the veggies into a yummy creamy blended soup.
• Mix in sour cream (This would be good with heavy cream too!)

Season as needed and enjoy!!! We loved this soup and I am so glad ot have a big batch in the freezer!

Do you like to make soup?

Have you ever made it in your pressure cooker? 

Green Pasta!

So how easy was this yummy and super healthy dish? It was a little more time-consuming than some dishes I make- but mostly because it requires quite a bit of chopping!

Start with all kinds of yummy greens! (Did you know that most Americans eat less than eight lbs of broccoli a year? We eat more than 100 lbs of sugar and sweeteners though!)

Lots O' Leeks!

Ingredient list:

• Olive Oil
• 3 bunches of Kale
• Box of Spinach
• Beet Greens from 5 beets
• Arugula (I was only able to find it in small containers or I would have used more- this included 2 small boxes as herbs)
• 3 large Leeks
• Whole wheat pasta
• Fresh Parmesan cheese
• Sherry cooking wine

Chopped Kale

Chop the leeks and saute them in the olive oil.

Clean and separate the kale leaves from their tough centers and toss the leaves in a boiling pot of water for 2-3 minutes to soften it. (Use the water leftover from this to boil the pasta in- adding lots of yummy nutrients! Some people say you can drink the water too-but we weren’t brave enough to try that!)

Once the kale is finished, strain it and get as much of the water out as possible then roughly chop the kale and throw it in with the leeks. 

Saute the leeks

Chop the rest of the greens up and saute them with the leeks and kale.

Beet greens, arugula and spinach

Once all the greens are wilted, pour just enough sherry cooking wine over them to cover the bottom of the pan. (Do not cover the greens to the top or it will be too much!)

Almost done! Look at the yummy green-ness!

Allow the sherry cooking wine to reduce while you finish the pasta and drain it.

Once the pasta is drained and rinsed- mix the greens in with it and put on the plate!

Top with fresh grated Parmesan and VOILA! ENJOY!

So- what do you think? Are you going to try it? If you do- let me know! If you add anything to it or change it up to make it YOURS- I would love to hear about how!

BON APETIT!

La-