Screeching Halt

A schreeching halt is what my running came to a few months ago. For the past three months I have been been dealing with every runners worst fear…the dreaded injury. My initial reaction was this:

(haha.)

As much as I wanted to run  drive down the street and cry manically while shouting jealous obscenities at runners, (um, kidding..?), I sucked it up and threw myself into crosstraining. And guess what? It’s been a frustrating road, but I can run again. About half a mile. haha. As someone who used to run 8 miles no problem, my newfound exhaustion at such short distances is very frustrating.  A couple miles right now makes me feel like this:

But I know this too shall pass. And having an injury has been good for me in some ways, it’s taught me a vaulable lesson about taking rest days, cross-training and fueling properly. I truly believe the combination of not properly following those three rules to a healthy happy running life are what led to me getting injured. Plus, being injured has also led me to try some fun new activities I probably would not have tried if I had not been injured, such as Zumba! I was very suprised what a good workout shaking my bootay was. Seriously try it!

Here’s to the long road ahead on learning to run farther down it again!

Have you ever had an injury before? How did you deal with it?

Doughn’t you want some?

I don’t know about y’all, but Tuesday is my least favorite day of the week. I know many get caught up in the miserableness of moanday but I actually don’t mind Monday’s. Monday’s are like a fresh start, yes you most likely have to go back to work, but you have a whole new week and weekend of shenannigins to look forward to and that wonderful feeling of newness that comes with the first day of a week full of new adventures. Tuesday’s however, tuesday’s are just there. They aren’t halfway to the weekend like Wednesdays, nor do the come with  Thursday’s tingly excitement that it’s almost Friday, no. Tuesday’s are just kind of a filler day while you wait for a more exciting one. Blah. Therefore, I like to brighten up Tuesdays by doing something a little extra special and fun. Sometimes that’s meeting a girlfriend for a gabfest over some martini’s, or maybe making an extra fun dinner. This particular Tuesday a friend and I will be shaking our groove thangs at a pole dancing fitness class (a spur of the moment groupon purchase haha). However, may I suggest that you treat yourself to something fun this Tuesday as well? Maybe a fun dinner… Perhaps…pizza? 

Pizza is always deeelicious and fun, but maybe not so healthy. Which is why last Sunday, when struck by a yearning for that cheesy, tasty delectableness, my boyfriend and I decided to make our own. This is always a fun idea because you can customize the pizza however you like! Also, to make it a little more healthy and cut costs a little further, I decided to make my own pizza crust and it came out amazingly perfect so I thought i’d share 🙂 I concocted this recipe after reading several different recipes on google and then adapting it to make it my own.

Wheat Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

• 2 tbls. Olive Oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tsp. basil
• 2 tsp. italian seasoning
• 1 tbls. active yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 4 tbs. butter
• 1 tsp. garlic

1. Dissolve honey in warm water, sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Stir 1 tbls. olive oil, salt, basil and italian seasoning into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and .75 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3.  
4. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan.
6. In a small bowl, melt the butter with the garlic and mix until combined. Brush over the top of the pizza dough until the surface is covered.
7. Prebake dough for 5 minutes in the oven.
8. Then Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.
9. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

Mmm, this came out so perfect! The garlic butter topping gave it that extra hit of YUM.

My boyfriend and I lined the eggs with mozzarella cheese and then rolled them up to make a stuffed crust. I topped my side with organic pizza sauce, fresh basil, onion, spinach, cream cheese, feta goat cheese and dried cherries. Mmmm… 

(hmm…can you play guess the girls vs. boys side? haha)

Fun Idea: If you’re making this with a friend or significant other, play pizza wars. My boyfriend and I do this everytime. We give eachother a side of the pizza and then top it however we like without conferring and create a competition out of “who made the better pizza”. When the pizza is done we try a small slice of eachother’s side and declare a winner.  Always fun!

Two Question Tuesday!

What are your favorite pizza toppings? (those dried cherries were pretty darn bomb-diggity let me tell you! That may be a new favorite)

What is your least favorite day of the week?

Bribe Your Boyfriend Bars

It’s Wednesday, we’re half way there folks! Not that I’m counting…

So, today I have a fun recipe for ya, guaranteed to make any chocolate lover drool. This recipe is my boyfriend’s favorite dessert and sure to please any man. Why, you ask? Well, let’s think about it…imagine, here you are with the desire to make the guy or person in your life a dessert that will leave them drooling and staring at you in utter adoration. So you think to yourself, hmm, what to make? Then you think, well, I know every red blooded american boy loves a good chocolate chip cookie, but any man that loves chocolate will also love an ooey, gooey, fudgy brownie, what to do, which to choose??? Here’s the perfect solution, combine them both! These Cookie Brownies are the best of both worlds, rich, gooey, fudgy brownies combined with crisp, delectable chocolate chip cookies. It doesn’t get better.

 

Cookies

 I use the nestle toll house recipe, because really, you just can’t go wrong. You could also make this part even easier on yourself and just buy some pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet choc. chips

METHOD: Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips. set aside.

Fudgy Brownies I use this recipe

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup boiling water

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

 

METHOD:

In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda. Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and boiling water. Mix until well blended and thickened. Stir in the sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup oil. Finally, add the flour, vanilla and salt; mix just until all of the flour is absorbed. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Next, pour brownies into a greased pan and spread evenly. Drop cookies by rounded tablespoon into the dough in rows. Press lightly into the dough so that the cookie dough spoonfuls are mostly under the surface of the brownie batter. This is the finished product before it’s cut up, but it should give you an idea of how to do this:

Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 or until a toothpick inserted one inch from the edge comes out clean.

Then the most important step:

Dig in!

What’s your go-to recipe when you want to bribe someone bake something delicious for someone as a surprise?

Hot Mess

Happy Friday!!!!

Mine started with oversleeping  a fast, hot and heavy workout at the gym! Ok, so truth be told, I had originally planned on weights and cardio this morning but may or may not have pushed snooze a few many times on the alarm clock this morning. Oops.

Unfortunately hiding from my running shoes wasn’t working out for me… 

So I finally crawled out of bed, shooting my tennies murderous looks, bounded out of the bed to the gym! But now I had less than an hour, what’s a girl to do? A HIIT workout of course! When I have less time at the gym I like to make every minute of my workout count by pushing myself as hard as possible. This is the workout I did this morning and have been loving on days when I want my workout to be fast and hard (TWSS 😉 ):

HOT MESS TREADMILL WORKOUT
Minutes	Speed	Incline
0-3	6.0	2.0
3-5	6.3	2.0
5-6	8.0	2.0
6-7	4.0	5.0
7-8	6.5	5.0
8-9	6.0	2.0
9-10	8.1	2.0
10-11	3.5	6.0
11-12	6.3	6.0
12-13	6.0	2.0
13-14	8.2	2.0
14-15	3.5	7.0
15-16	6.1	7.0
16-17	6.0	2.0
17-18	8.3	2.0
18-19	3.5	8.0
19-20	5.9	8.0
20-21	6.0	2.0
21-22	8.4	2.0
22-23	3.5	9.0
23-24	5.7	9.0
24-25	6.0	2.0
25-26	8.5	2.0
27-28	3.5	10.0
28-29	5.5	10.0
29-30	6.0	2.0
30-31	8.6	2.0
31-32	3.5	11.0
32-33	5.3	11.0
33-34	6.0	2.0
34-35	8.7	2.0
35-36	3.5	12.0
36-37	5.1	12.0
37-38	3.5	12.0
38-39	8.8	2.0
39-40	3.5	13.0
40-41	4.9	13.0
41-42	3.5	13.0
42-43	8.9	2.0
43-44	3.0	14.0
44-45	9.0	2.0
45-48	6.0	2.0
48-50	4.0	5.0

 

Holy buns and thighs!

My legs were burning and my heart was racing by the end of this workout. I felt like this. haha. The best part about this workout is all the changing inclines and speeds make it fly by. Plus, at the end of it, you feel like this:

 Let me know if you try it!

 

I’m so excited for a 3 day weekend, woo! Any fun plans this weekend? What’s your go-to kick your butt workout?

O.M.G. & Day 3

Happy Tuesday y’all, we’re one day closer to the weekend! 😉 So, for Superbowl Sunday this weekend, I decided to try my hand at Jessica’s recipe for Buffalo Chicken Dip, because let’s be honest here, if you’re going to make something for the day that screams for indulgent, delicious, devilish food, Jessica’s blog is the place to go. This recipe is copied directly for her blog and I followed it exactly.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2-8 0z blocks of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup of blue cheese dressing

1/2 cup of ranch dressing

1 cup of Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, boiled and shredded (I only used two)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl combine softened cream cheese, ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, and buffalo wing sauce. Using a hand mixer, mix until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Fold in shredded chicken and 1 cup of shredded cheese. Pour into a baking dish. Top with remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until dip is warmed through.

So what were my thoughts? Oh. My. God. I think I gained ten pounds just looking at this dip, but my goodness, it was ooey, gooey, holy deliciousness. This picture was taken via my crackberry, so it doesn’t do it justice.

 Next time you need to make something for a party, MAKE THIS. Seriously, it was gone in about 2 seconds flat, men were to this dip as girls are to a cute puppy, I literally think I heard some of them make cooing sounds when they spotted it haha.

Day 3 of the challenge

So, the topic for day 3 is: Your views on Drugs and Alcohol

Drugs: I don’t have a lot of experience with drugs. I’m that person who will be stubborn about taking tylenol. I’ve seen people in my family battle drug problems for various reasons and i’ve just never been tempted. I think it’s really sad when someone lets an addiction to drugs run their life.

Alcohol: I’ve also never been much of a drinker. However, I has a little too much fun with Jello Shots, Apple Pucker and Rosarito the year after I graduated high school. lol. But honestly, even though I probably drank a little too much, I was never out of control. These days I’m the two drink wonder. I feel tipsy after one, am silly by two and cut off after three. haha And I wouldn’t change a thing, my boyfriend has the highest tolerance of anyone I’ve ever met, so I always joke that one of us needs to be a cheap date at the bar 😉 I see no problem with alcohol in moderation.

What are your views on drugs and alcohol? And did you make anything decadent and delicious for the superbowl, please share!

Day 2 of Ze Challenge

Happy Friday! I don’t know about you, but I have serious friday-itis over here, eek! Must try to be productive…haha. Anwayzers, I am going to briefly skip over Day 1 of the challenge so I can talk to the bf and make sure he’s ok with me posting pics of him on the internet. I plan on doing it anyway, but it’s always nice to ask first 😉

The topic for day 2 is: Where you would like to be in 10 years

Jeez, ten years, it feels like I was just in High School

Senior Year 2005:

Gosh, it’s a good thing I’ve matured so much since then…

Vegas 2009 and Vegas 2010

 The funniest part of that picture? That’s not my drink and I was totally sober haha.

So, where were we? Right, well let’s see, in 10 years I will have turned 29 for the fourth time  um, be 33.

I spose at 33 i’d like to be:

• married
• be done with my degrees
• have published (a min. of) one book by then
• be in a successful career that I love, right now I’m currently envisioning and working towards that being a writer and english literature professor
• have a dog
• maybe have two healthy, happy, toddlers
• be happy and healthy

Wow, that all sounds so grown up! haha 😉

Where do you envision yourself in ten years? Are you where you thought you would be ten years ago?

Try it Thursday & A Challenge

Hi Y’all! So, today I have a product review and an announcement. First the announcement. I’m new to this whole blogging shindig, so I thought the best way to get in the swing of things was to jump in on that 30 Day Challenge I’ve seen floating around on the blog world. I’ve seen it on several blogs I love and thought I’d join in on the fun. If you’re not familiar with it, you basically just discuss the topic for that day. Here are the topics:

 

Should be fun!

Alrighty, now for that product review I promised ya. I LOVE greek yogurt, but normally stick to plain. I’ll admit, when I first tried plain a few years ago I thought it tasted like sour cream,  um, not so great, but slowly my taste buds have grown to love it (my wallet maybe not so much haha). I’ve been branching out recently & saw this at the store:

I checked out the nutritionals:

And decided to throw it in:

Thoughts: I like that the fruit is not that gooey, icky fruit at the bottom but instead the pomegranate seeds are still crunchy. It was very sweet, and no wonder, with 19 grams of sugar!

Verdict: I probably won’t buy this again, I definitely liked it more than other fruit at the bottom yogurts I’ve tried, but it was too sweet for me. I do think it would be perfect for someone trying to transition into greek yogurt who’s not quite ready for the plain stuff yet.

Do you like greek yogurt? What are your favorite brands/flavahs?

Stay tuned for a post on Day 1 of the challenge later!

Waffling about Waffles

Happy Sunday y’all!

I started off my morning bright and early with a delicious breakfast of Chobani Vanilla Yogurt, Eggo low-fat waffles, and peanut butter. There was half a banana involved as well, but it mysteriously disappeared into my mouth first. Ooops. Mmm….

This sounds silly, but I just discovered the magic of frozen waffles a couple weeks ago. I don’t have a toaster so I’ve never bothered to buy them before. What’s a girl without a toaster to do? Toast it in the stove of course haha.

I ate breakfast nice and early this morning to make it to the gym for a short workout before a 75 min. yoga class. Can’t wait to get all yummy and zen & nice and schweaty. See ya later!

What’s your favorite breakfast item?

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