Rest for the Weary

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to take a minute to give you guys a heads up that I’m going to be taking a short break from my regular blogging.

 

At this point, I’m just a bit stressed out with all of the things I’ve got going on.

 

Between teaching, lesson planning, going to school, training for a half marathon, maintaining a marriage and household and the occasional social outing, I’m running on empty.

 

This blog is SO important to me, and that’s why I’ve decided to take a conscious break rather than just disappearing never to be heard from again.

 

I’m hoping by mid to late March things will be a bit less stressful.

I will probably still be doing random posting, but I just didn’t want you all to think I forgot about you.

 

Thanks for keeping me bookmarked until then

 

Love,

Jamie

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Cabin Fever

As you guys know from Joe’s guest post, we were headed to a weekend away in the Poconos with friends for the past few days.

Sarah and Dan (hi guys!) were nice enough to host 12 of us at Dan’s parent’s cabin. They did an awesome job of planning the weekend and we all had a blast.

Friday Night:

We all arrived in the early evening and relaxed with some drinks and a game of LCR. Have you ever played this? It’s a really fun dice game that is great for large groups.

Saturday Morning:

We all slept in on Saturday morning and woke up to the beautiful views of the mountains. I love the quiet calm feeling of the cabin’s location.

Breakfast sandwiches, coffee, and juice were consumed.

A little while later the guys headed to the slopes for some boarding and skiing on icy terrain. A few of us girls headed out for some exercise.

My friend Sue and I ran 4 miles and I kept going for another 2.5 after that. It was cold out, but I was feeling good and the scenery was beautiful.

Saturday Night:

Saturday night was the highlight of the trip for me. Sarah and Dan planned an awesome murder mystery game for all of us to play. It was called “Murder in the Snow” and we all played different characters.

I was a German speed skater with a really bad attitude.

Halfway through the game though, the power went out! We all thought it was part of the game, but it wasn’t. The rest of the game was played by candlelight, which was actually kind of fun.

The party raged on until about 4:30am..I lasted until around 3:30.

Needless to say, yesterday was spent getting some rest, and using all of my effort to get some schoolwork done.

I can’t believe the weekend is over already! Back to school tomorrow!

How did you spend the long weekend?

Have you ever done a murder mystery?

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Guest Post by Joe

Hi, my name is Joe and I am Food in Real Life’s guest blogger today.  I’m also Jamie’s husband and best friend (hopefully).

 

Jamie is really busy today – not only did she spend 8 hours educating our nations’ future, but she also ran 5 miles, brightened the day of everybody she came in contact with, and is now  prepping about 6 pounds of chili and cornbread  for this weekend. Cornbread- ain’t nothin wrong with that!

Why so much?? Besides the fact that I love her chili??? Well, we will be joining 11 friends in the Poconos for a few days of partying, skiing, and  murder mystery.  So to help Jamie avoid stressing over getting a new post up – I offered to write today.  Please forgive me though – My writing skills have been in decline since my days as sports editor for my 8th grade catholic school newsletter.

So I’m not sure exactly what to write about.  I must admit I’m not avid reader of this blog, but I do look at the pictures regularly.  I’m also not the healthiest eater, but my association with Jamie helps keep me on track most of the time.  I also am not much of a runner, but I did run about 1500 feet today at work to get to a meeting in another building – by my rough calculations that’s a little over a quarter mile.

 

That  by far, is the furthest I’ve run since Jamie peeled me out of my surprisingly uncomfortable pillow-top king sized bed one rainy morning last October to run 3 miles with her. (Shopping tip for new couples and those in the market for a new bed – spend the money on the King, it’s totally worth it.  But don’t ever buy a pillow-top mattress.  They suck!!!). If you have one already, let me know if you concur.

 

Well, I guess this is a food blog, so I should mention my caloric intake for the day.  My morning started with a semi-ripe banana and a cup of coffee around 8 a.m.    If that’s not exciting enough, this is where it gets really good- I scarfed down a chicken caeser wheat wrap at 12:30 with a small bag of pretzels and another banana.  I washed it all down with the ice cold water from the 3rd water cooler trip of the day.

 

For dinner, I performed what Jamie and I refer to as a fridge cleaner.  I had leftover stuffed shrimp, green beans, potatoes (see Monday’s Valentines Day Dinner), meatloaf, 3 pepper-jack cheese slices, a few handfuls of pretzels, and a few handfuls of Quaker Oats cereal.  Now I’m stuffed and sitting here in a semi-coma as I write this (another convenient excuse for my poor grammar and lack of interesting topics).

What else happened today?  I shopped at Walmart which is always a thrilling experience.

As I tried to enter the store I got stuck behind a woman using the motorized shopping cart for the first time.  If you thought getting stuck behind a student driver was bad – you haven’t experienced the first time Walmart motor scooter user!!!

 

After about 17 minutes at Walmart, most normal people need a drink.  I wanted a whole bottle  – luckily I headed from Walmart to the liquor store where I bought myself some Scotch and Jamie an XL bottle of Cabernet for the weekend.   Jamie will let you know how drinking those turns out.

Thanks for reading!

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Phone People

Lately I’ve noticed people on their phones more than usual.

I leaving the gym the other morning and saw someone on their phone in the parking lot just chatting away. It was 6:30am…WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?

 

I’ve also noticed that my phone usage has gone down a lot lately.

I am so tired from talking all day that I rarely feel like picking up the phone to chat with anyone.

 

And as a result, I feel a little out of touch with some of my loved ones.

At the same time though, I don’t want to call anyone if I’m not in the mood to chat since I’d likely be a bore on the other end.

 

For a few years after college, Joe and I were in a long distance relationship. Therefore, the phone became a really important part of keeping things going.

We both struggled though with always having stuff to talk about, and feeling up to talking. I also used to get upset sometimes when we would go a long time without speaking. (he didn’t call). I’m glad that this situation was temporary, because it really was a challenge. Guys aren’t always "phone people", and lately, I’m not a phone person either.

 

How often do you talk on the phone?

If you don’t feel like talking- do you still pick up or make a call to someone?

Have you ever been in a long distance relationship?

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Happy February Love Day

Valentine’s Day by Day

Valentine’s Day by Night

Happy Love Day to you!

 

And no matter where you were today and where you are tonight, remember that the love you have for yourself is always the most important kind.

 

XOXO,

Jamie

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Not Valentine’s Day yet

But still a wonderful and celebratory meal was on the agenda. And the best part? I didn’t really do anything but eat it. (ok, I did the dishes too)

 

Joe commandeered the kitchen tonight and whipped us up some delicious shrimp and steak fajitas.

Joe constructed his fajitas with the cheese on the bottom for maximum meltage and he enjoyed a side of black beans in a separate bowl.

 

He thought his plate was photo worthy. (Not bad, right?)

I loaded up my plate as well with one of each type of protein and just threw the beans on the same plate. I put my cheese on top instead of underneath and also added a blob of greek yogurt.

Other celebratory items included

and for dessert….

I saw these at the store and just couldn’t help myself. They were tasty for sure, but not the best ones I’ve ever had.

 

Time to get ready for the work week. Ew.

 

Anything planned for V-day? Joe is cooking us another special meal tomorrow night (how’d I get so lucky?!) and we’re just staying in and enjoying it.

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Kelly with Katie

Today’s long run was one that I was really looking forward to. Not only would I be running with my good friend Katie, but I would also be running somewhere new.

(Katie and I before the Philly half marathon)

 

Kelly Drive is a popular running route in the city and it is about 8.5 miles around.

It starts near Boathouse Row, which is a famous site in Philly. Boathouses for regattas line the Schuykill River and it really is beautiful. They light it up at night as well.

Katie is training for the Suntrust Marathon in March (I’m running the half) so she was out for a 16 mile training run.

 

I was aiming for about 9 or 10 today so I ran 1 mile solo and then joined Katie for her second loop.

 

The sun was shining when we got started and we chatted and caught up. Before I knew it, we had already completed 4 miles.

At around mile 6 though, we both noticed that it got progressively colder and more windy. The last stretch towards the Art Museum was a little brutal for both of us. We both decided it was time to turn on our i-pods.

I was greeted by the lovely "Low Battery" warning on my shuffle and got about 2 songs worth out of it. Not cool. Soon enough though, I could see the Art Museum in the distance which told me we were almost done.

Garmin Report:

9 miles/1:30:58 min/Avg. Pace 10:04/mi

 

Overall Training Status:

At this point I feel good about where I am as far as training for this race. I’m not following my plan exactly, but I’ve been adding in more weights and cross training. I feel strong, and my pacing is consistent. My body is recovering quickly after long runs and I’m injury free. Can’t ask for much more.

I honestly don’t know if I will PR in this race, but either way my main goal this time is to finish strong. The end of my last half marathon was kind of brutal since I hit a major wall at mile 11. I’m hoping this time that I can make some small changes to hopefully avoid that issue again.

 

After our run, Katie and I hit up a cute cafe called Ants Pants. We each slugged 3 cups of coffee (and water) and housed our food. I got a spinach, goat cheese, and caramelized onion omelette, fruit, and a side of honey wheat toast.

 

Katie got crème brulee battered French toast with bananas. YUM!

Sorry for the lack of pictures of the food, I forgot my camera in the car and was way too lazy to get it.

 

Now it’s time to take a little snooze I think.

 

Training for anything? How’s it coming?

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Oat Bran you stole my heart

Valentine’s Day is coming soon, and Joe is going to have some stiff competition.

 

 

If you’re a regular reader you probably know that I don’t go crazy for oatmeal. It shows up sometimes in a random breakfast, but usually I wish I made something else.

 

Oatbran is different though- the pieces are smaller and when you cook it in almond milk, it melts down and gets really creamy.

 

I also find it to be more filling. The high fiber (6 grams) and protein content (7 grams) could be responsible for that.

 

I’ve been making mine as follows:

• 1/3 cup dry oatbran
• 1 cup almond breeze

Put both ingredients in a saucepan and heat on medium until it bubbles. Turn to low and cook another 5 min. (There were no instructions on the bag, so I just tried this)

 

And here’s the kicker. I’ve been serving mine in a pool of peanut flour spread with jam on top.

Yep, that’s right, I make the peanut flour spread first, in the bowl (and add a little extra almond milk or water to thin it out). Then when the oatbran is done, I put it on top.

 

FYI, I think I might need to refer to this technique as the PFM. (Peanut Flour Moat).

If this doesn’t make you a morning person, I don’t know what will.

 

Have you tried oatbran before?

What have you been making for breakfast lately?

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Weekly Highlights

Oh how good it feels to be plopped on my couch right now. Even better is knowing that Joe is on his way home with a bottle of wine.

This week, as you can tell from my scattered blogging schedule, has been really busy.

 

Lesson planning, my first observation, and everything else has kept me on-the-move.

 

Highlights of this week

• I’ve been waking up at 4:50am and getting in my workouts
• Subsequently, I’ve been going to be at 9:30pm
• I had my first really bad day of teaching

• It was followed by some good self reflection
• My meal planning this week was great

• Tried a great new recipe
• I’ve been in tune with my body’s signals, even the ones telling me to eat for comfort

• I’ve been able to redirect those signals

 

This weekend I don’t have much planned. Tomorrow I’m sleeping in really late (9am?) and then hitting the gym and doing work for school.

 

Sunday I’m going for a training run with my friend Katie.

 

What are you guys up to this weekend?
What were your highlights from this week?

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Rocco Rocks Again!

This week Joe and I decided to make life exciting by spicing up our dinners.

 

We each selected a dish we’d like the other person to cook from my Now Eat This! cookbook that I won in Gina’s giveaway.

Tonight it was my turn and Joe selected the Indian Beef Curry.

The recipe was pretty easy, just like the Turkey Enchiladas I also made from this cookbook. You also don’t need too many ingredients. The only condiment I bought was the fish sauce.

 

First you sautee up 1lb of diced filet mignon. I think you might also be able to use sirloin.

After about 4 minutes, take it out and put a piece of tinfoil to cover it (just a foil tent, not too tight)

 

Next you add a diced red bell pepper and cauliflower (I used 2 peppers and 3/4 a head of cauliflower) and 4 cloves of garlic. When everything is tender (but still has some bite), add a tablespoon of curry powder (I also added some red pepper flake for heat) and cook for another min.

Remove from heat, add 1 tbsp of fish sauce, and put the beef back in.

 

Now, Rocco said to use 7oz. of 5% fage yogurt, but I couldn’t find that. I ended up using 5 ounces of 2% chobani and 2 ounces of coconut milk.

 

I also added some frozen peas at the end and some salt.

 

We ate this with naan and some delicious lamb samosas that Joe got at Wegman’s grocery store. I topped mine with one of my all time favorite condiments, tamarind chutney. And another dollop of Chobani 2% plain on top.

I can’t wait to try another recipe later this week!

 

Have you ever cooked Indian at home?

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