Mr. My Blog for Bonnie (my wonderful husband) and I have been together for 12 years and married for 8. We've seen each other through a lot. First of all, I met him when I was 19 and he was 20. If you want to get technical about it, I was still a teenager (thought at the time, my mom teased me that I was still a teenager and I'd get seriously annoyed...quite like a teenager would...and be disgusted that I was lumped in with an age group that included girls in 7th grade.)
Our relationship has clearly changed now that I'm 31 and he's 32. For starters, I'd like to share this compliment he paid me today, which basically made my entire week (and it's only Sunday and my week just got going!)
I was bending completely over to sack up a trash bag (sexy, I know.) We had just completed our 2nd round of Plyometrics for P90X, so I was also gross and sweaty (just another moment in my glamorous life.) All of the sudden, from behind me, I hear this:
"Wow, Babe, your hamstrings are really getting defined!"
Of course I quickly stood up, said "Seriously???" and patted the back of my thighs roughly 40 times in rapid-fire succession to see if I could feel any changes in my muscle definition.
When we were 19 and 20, if he had complimented my HAMSTRINGS when I was bent over, I would've been strikingly perplexed.
Now, I'm on Cloud 9.
And let's not talk about the fact that I'm prettttty sure my neighbor caught me subsequently bending over and checking out my reflection in our patio door window when I returned from putting something in my car.
Had to see those hamstrings for myself!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Plyometrics Makes Me Say Ugly Things
Soooo....this past weekend my husband and I started P90x. I can't believe we're embarking on it.
Starting in May, we did Power 90 together, which is a sort of beginner's program to P90x. Same trainer, some of the same moves, 90 day program, etc. I really recommend Power 90! It was a great 90 day boot camp and we both agree that we got stronger and leaner from it. You can really mark your progress as you move through different levels. We used to sweat like crazy on levels 1 and 2, then jumping to levels 3 and 4 made the previous levels look like a cakewalk...like strolling through the park while eating cotton candy. It's a good feeling when something that was once difficult becomes ridiculously easy. Power 90 makes that happen!
Obviously though, P90X is much more difficult than Power 90. And I've learned some things about myself while doing the workout, specifically while doing plyometrics, which is basically a workout devoted exclusively to jump training.
Here's a quick video of Tony Horton (P90X trainer) talking about Plyometrics:
So, yeah. Pretty intense. You know something is hardcore when the trainer recommends having a "bucket nearby," presumably to puke into? Yikes.
Luckily, no puking for me. I did, however, swear like a sailor.
Example: Me, sweaty and out of breath, watching the next move being demonstrated: "What. The. F---"
Or, while watching the guy in the back go absolutely crazy jumping high into the air while I was merely bouncing off my toes during an exercise: "Is he f---ing for real?"
I have a million more examples, each one ending with a chuckle from my long-suffering husband.
But, the good news is, I finished!! I did plyometrics and it was fun! I know, I can't believe I just said that either.
We'll see how the rest of the workouts go. Today was Shoulders and Arms and it was a lot of fun too. It's amazing that all the workouts are 58 or 59 minutes and yet they really fly by.
I'll try to keep my progress posted on here, as long as it doesn't bore anyone to tears! :)
Starting in May, we did Power 90 together, which is a sort of beginner's program to P90x. Same trainer, some of the same moves, 90 day program, etc. I really recommend Power 90! It was a great 90 day boot camp and we both agree that we got stronger and leaner from it. You can really mark your progress as you move through different levels. We used to sweat like crazy on levels 1 and 2, then jumping to levels 3 and 4 made the previous levels look like a cakewalk...like strolling through the park while eating cotton candy. It's a good feeling when something that was once difficult becomes ridiculously easy. Power 90 makes that happen!
Obviously though, P90X is much more difficult than Power 90. And I've learned some things about myself while doing the workout, specifically while doing plyometrics, which is basically a workout devoted exclusively to jump training.
Here's a quick video of Tony Horton (P90X trainer) talking about Plyometrics:
So, yeah. Pretty intense. You know something is hardcore when the trainer recommends having a "bucket nearby," presumably to puke into? Yikes.
Luckily, no puking for me. I did, however, swear like a sailor.
Example: Me, sweaty and out of breath, watching the next move being demonstrated: "What. The. F---"
Or, while watching the guy in the back go absolutely crazy jumping high into the air while I was merely bouncing off my toes during an exercise: "Is he f---ing for real?"
I have a million more examples, each one ending with a chuckle from my long-suffering husband.
But, the good news is, I finished!! I did plyometrics and it was fun! I know, I can't believe I just said that either.
We'll see how the rest of the workouts go. Today was Shoulders and Arms and it was a lot of fun too. It's amazing that all the workouts are 58 or 59 minutes and yet they really fly by.
I'll try to keep my progress posted on here, as long as it doesn't bore anyone to tears! :)
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Next Stop, Black Friday?
The other day, I did something insane. I worked a full day, headed to the mall, and waited in line for about an hour to buy a purse.
Let me reassure you that I am someone who stays at home doing Christmas decorating on Black Friday. I feel bleh about amusement parks because I just can't stomach spending hours in line all day in the heat. In short, you will not see me huddled with the masses, waiting in line to get a bargain on something.
Except for last week. My friend from work showed me a purse that she freaking won, of all things, from the Vera Bradley store at our local mall. I immediately loved it. It's in a pattern called Indigo Pop, which is new. Lots of deep blues, turquoise and small accents of lime green.
Coincidentally, the day I discovered this was also the date of Vera Bradley's 30th birthday. So that evening, total purchases were 20% off. The line to simply check out from the store snaked all the way through the little boutique and outside the doors through the mall. And I stood in it!!
Grumpily, of course. While standing there, I amused myself by texting people. Sample text:
Me: "Ughhhhhh, I'm waiting in the longest line ever at Vera Bradley."
Long-Suffering Friend: "Really? Why not just order online?"
Me: "I know, right? Oh well, too far in the line now to leave."
And it was true, at some points I almost threw down the purse and left, ready to plunk down the full amount online plus shipping for the bag. In the end though, I'm glad I got it and saved 20%. I almost NEVER buy purses, because my mother-in-law and sister-in-law make amazing ones themselves and I am one of their gleeful customers. So it was nice to buy a giant Mary Poppins type bag for myself to stash away all the crap I need to survive daily life. I love it!
And I had my very own Black Friday-esque experience, right here in August!
Let me reassure you that I am someone who stays at home doing Christmas decorating on Black Friday. I feel bleh about amusement parks because I just can't stomach spending hours in line all day in the heat. In short, you will not see me huddled with the masses, waiting in line to get a bargain on something.
Except for last week. My friend from work showed me a purse that she freaking won, of all things, from the Vera Bradley store at our local mall. I immediately loved it. It's in a pattern called Indigo Pop, which is new. Lots of deep blues, turquoise and small accents of lime green.
Coincidentally, the day I discovered this was also the date of Vera Bradley's 30th birthday. So that evening, total purchases were 20% off. The line to simply check out from the store snaked all the way through the little boutique and outside the doors through the mall. And I stood in it!!
Grumpily, of course. While standing there, I amused myself by texting people. Sample text:
Me: "Ughhhhhh, I'm waiting in the longest line ever at Vera Bradley."
Long-Suffering Friend: "Really? Why not just order online?"
Me: "I know, right? Oh well, too far in the line now to leave."
And it was true, at some points I almost threw down the purse and left, ready to plunk down the full amount online plus shipping for the bag. In the end though, I'm glad I got it and saved 20%. I almost NEVER buy purses, because my mother-in-law and sister-in-law make amazing ones themselves and I am one of their gleeful customers. So it was nice to buy a giant Mary Poppins type bag for myself to stash away all the crap I need to survive daily life. I love it!
And I had my very own Black Friday-esque experience, right here in August!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Last Night's Dinner
It's almost Fall!! I'm crossing my fingers as I write this, hoping not to jinx anything, but it's been a fairly lovely August so far. Nothing at all compared to the stifling hot June and July we just had. Right now, the temperature is a beautiful 61 and my sliding door is open. On Saturday, I ate my first "pumpkin thing" of the year...a fabulous pumpkin spice cookie brought back from Amish Country. Today, while getting my coffee, I noticed that the pumpkin spice flavoring is now available. And, last night, I made a heavy-duty, from-scratch dinner that would've been unthinkable if the temperature had been in the 80s or 90s.
I made Smitten Kitchen's meatball subs with carmelized onions. Please, please, you need to check this out and add it to your recipe repertoire! I mention it's intense and from scratch, and it is when you think about how meatballs subs are traditionally made or eaten (swinging by Subway and picking one up or dumping frozen meatballs into jarred pasta sauce and eating them on plain rolls) but it is absolutely worth it! Plus, from start to finish, it only takes an hour to prep everything and have it ready to eat. And that includes making a sauce from scratch, rolling the meatballs and heating them up AND carmelizing two onions. Plus, this makes enough for a crowd. My husband and I will be eating leftovers tonight and possibly tomorrow. It'd be ideal to whip up for people coming over to watch football in the fall or just for a gathering in general!
Please click on the link above to see Smitten Kitchen's fabulous photos of this meal. I added some tweaks to the recipe to make life easier on myself, which I suggest:
First, instead of browning the meatballs in a separate pan, I just cooked them in the sauce. What I did was make the meatballs first; I rolled them and put them on a foil-lined pan and then stuck the whole pan in the freezer while I got started on the sauce. This allowed the meatballs to firm up before I threw them in the hot tomato sauce, where they might fall apart if they hadn't been hardened in the freezer.
Next, I roasted grape tomatoes to throw in the sauce. Here's the simplest way to do it: grab a pint of grape tomatoes, slice them in half and lay them on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast them in the oven at 350-400 for about 20 minutes, or until they're bursting. I did this earlier in the day and set the roasted tomatoes aside in a bowl until I needed them for my sauce.
Finally, I made my own sauce. This is SUPER SIMPLE and way better than buying jarred tomato sauce. Here's what you'll need:
~1 onion, finely chopped
~4 or 5 garlic cloves, minced (we love garlic in our house and usually always double the amount required in recipes...if you aren't as huge of a fan, use 2 or 3 cloves!)
~2, 28oz cans pureed tomatoes
~Red pepper flakes
~A glug or two of wine (optional)
~Your roasted tomatoes from earlier in the day (or sauteed mushrooms, peppers, whatever)
Begin by sauteeing the onion in olive oil for about 8 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic cloves, then add the wine to deglaze the pan. Dump in the pureed tomatoes. Season heavily with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes (sometimes I get creative and throw in any other spices I think will work in a sauce...rosemary, thyme, whatever). The key is, season heavily. You're making a giant pot of sauce, so the more seasoning, the better. Let everything come to a boil over medium heat and then reduce to a simmer for 20 or so minutes.
At this point, I took the meatballs out of the freezer and gently plopped them into the sauce. While they were cooking, I made the carmelized onions.
I have to say, this recipe was DIVINE. The carmelized onions on top of the meatballs made all the difference in the world. It made the whole dish gourmet rather than standard.
Smitten Kitchen never lets me down...follow Deb's blog if you don't already!
I made Smitten Kitchen's meatball subs with carmelized onions. Please, please, you need to check this out and add it to your recipe repertoire! I mention it's intense and from scratch, and it is when you think about how meatballs subs are traditionally made or eaten (swinging by Subway and picking one up or dumping frozen meatballs into jarred pasta sauce and eating them on plain rolls) but it is absolutely worth it! Plus, from start to finish, it only takes an hour to prep everything and have it ready to eat. And that includes making a sauce from scratch, rolling the meatballs and heating them up AND carmelizing two onions. Plus, this makes enough for a crowd. My husband and I will be eating leftovers tonight and possibly tomorrow. It'd be ideal to whip up for people coming over to watch football in the fall or just for a gathering in general!
Please click on the link above to see Smitten Kitchen's fabulous photos of this meal. I added some tweaks to the recipe to make life easier on myself, which I suggest:
First, instead of browning the meatballs in a separate pan, I just cooked them in the sauce. What I did was make the meatballs first; I rolled them and put them on a foil-lined pan and then stuck the whole pan in the freezer while I got started on the sauce. This allowed the meatballs to firm up before I threw them in the hot tomato sauce, where they might fall apart if they hadn't been hardened in the freezer.
Next, I roasted grape tomatoes to throw in the sauce. Here's the simplest way to do it: grab a pint of grape tomatoes, slice them in half and lay them on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast them in the oven at 350-400 for about 20 minutes, or until they're bursting. I did this earlier in the day and set the roasted tomatoes aside in a bowl until I needed them for my sauce.
Finally, I made my own sauce. This is SUPER SIMPLE and way better than buying jarred tomato sauce. Here's what you'll need:
~1 onion, finely chopped
~4 or 5 garlic cloves, minced (we love garlic in our house and usually always double the amount required in recipes...if you aren't as huge of a fan, use 2 or 3 cloves!)
~2, 28oz cans pureed tomatoes
~Red pepper flakes
~A glug or two of wine (optional)
~Your roasted tomatoes from earlier in the day (or sauteed mushrooms, peppers, whatever)
Begin by sauteeing the onion in olive oil for about 8 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic cloves, then add the wine to deglaze the pan. Dump in the pureed tomatoes. Season heavily with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes (sometimes I get creative and throw in any other spices I think will work in a sauce...rosemary, thyme, whatever). The key is, season heavily. You're making a giant pot of sauce, so the more seasoning, the better. Let everything come to a boil over medium heat and then reduce to a simmer for 20 or so minutes.
At this point, I took the meatballs out of the freezer and gently plopped them into the sauce. While they were cooking, I made the carmelized onions.
I have to say, this recipe was DIVINE. The carmelized onions on top of the meatballs made all the difference in the world. It made the whole dish gourmet rather than standard.
Smitten Kitchen never lets me down...follow Deb's blog if you don't already!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
My Newest Obsession...
...is this song: "I Will Wait" by Mumford & Sons.
I love, love, love Mumford & Sons. I heard this song, their first single from their soon-to-be-released album, a few days ago on the commute to work.
I am obsessed. I bought it on iTunes, listen to it on Spotify, and enjoy it running through my head at frequent and random times throughout the day. I can't wait until it cools down and I can put it on my ipod Running playlist and hit the pavement! It will be a fantastic song to listen to while busting out a 5K!
Like so many of their songs, it's an upbeat tempo with beautiful and meaningful lyrics. It's just a great song, period. I'm hooked!
Friday, August 10, 2012
What I Did On My Summer Vacation
So, I resolve to be better about blogging. This past month I feel like I haven't had any time. In my defense, the past couple of weeks have centered around working, working out, and watching the Olympics. Now that the Olympics are coming to a close (boo!), I'm going to try to update this more often!
But first, some glimpses from our vacation to New England. While we stayed in Maine, we visited New Hampshire two or three times. In truth, I preferred New Hampshire to Maine. We went to the most spectacular place there on our last day, and I'll devote an entire post to it because I have roughly 2 million photos from that destination alone.
Here are some highlights:
But first, some glimpses from our vacation to New England. While we stayed in Maine, we visited New Hampshire two or three times. In truth, I preferred New Hampshire to Maine. We went to the most spectacular place there on our last day, and I'll devote an entire post to it because I have roughly 2 million photos from that destination alone.
Here are some highlights:
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| Ireland on the Square! This was taken in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where we stopped on the drive to Maine. I took it because my husband and I have a love affair with Ireland. We took a trip there when we were engaged and fell in love with the entire country. Since then, we become unreasonably excited when we discover Irish import stores. Love it! |
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| This quotation was outside of a shop in Portsmouth. Beautiful. |
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| Only one of the best sandwiches ever! We stumbled open The Works Bakery Cafe in Portsmouth and ordered lunch. Brace yourself for what this sandwich contained: ham, vermont cheddar, dijon, green apple slices and almonds! We loved it so much that we had it again at a location in Portland. We want to replicate this at home. It was divinity. |
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| One rainy day, we decided to take a cruise on Lake Winnipesaukee. This was actually the perfect thing to do on a rainy day because the boat was covered so you got the experience of seeing everything on the lake without getting drenched. I loved, loved, loved this cruise. Lake Winnipesaukee has so many different islands. Some of them are so tiny that they hold only a single house, like this one. Can you imagine if this was your vacation retreat?? Sign me up. |
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| Lobster roll! We couldn't go to New England without having one. We had this one in New Hampshire after the cruise on the lake. It was spectacular. |
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| We took a day trip to Old Orchard Beach. This was probably my favorite place in Maine. It's a 7-mile strip of beach with a very cute, old-timey strip of shops and restaurants on the main drag. We even encountered a discount book shop right there on the beach! I loved that. This photo was taken from where we ate lunch. It was so peaceful to look out over the ocean and all those multi-colored umbrellas while dining. I am a huge fan of beach vacations, so this was right up my alley! |
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| Our lunch in Maine! Shrimp, fries and cokes with lemon. Bliss. |
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| We went back to Lake Winnipesaukee because we loved it so much. I took this photo while we were sitting on a bench overlooking a lake, eating ice cream. I had Banana ice cream in a sugar cone, which was super unique and delightful. This is the boat we took a few days previously to cruise the lake. We sat there for awhile just eating our ice cream and watching the boats on the lake. Wonderful. |
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