Mixing It Up

Usually I love the food I eat, but every now and then I get bored with my routine.

 

Lately I've been mixing it up a little bit. 

 

New Breakfast Ideas:

 

Smoothie with almond milk, banana, and kale suggested by Real Simple

Tea

English muffin with olive oil or pear jam

Two handfuls of almonds

 

 

Tea

Scrambled eggs with bell pepper and turkey bacon

 

Tea
Protein crepes with maple syrup and blueberries
 

 
Second Breakfast Ideas:

I eat breakfast within half an hour or so of waking up, but once I get to the office I always have second breakfast...2-3 hours after breakfast.

Fage 2% greek yogurt
with chopped mango and kiwi

 

 
Fried eggs brought from home
Toasted English muffin
Baby carrots from the "deli" downstairs

Elevensies Ideas:

Yep, 2-3 hours after second breakfast!

Chopped bell pepper
Canned tuna
Chopped kalmata olives
Water
Spiced nuts/dried cherries/chocolate chips

You tell me: How do you keep your food interesting?

New Year's Date Weekend

I don't know about you, but I'm loving all the 2012 recaps and New Year's Eve posts and 2013 goals.  I kept my two resolutions from last year, which were "get more sleep" and "eat at least 3 servings of veggies every weekday" - I only missed a few days here and there and saw a ton of improvement in my body and mind as a result!
 

Sneak veggies into breakfast
and you're 1/3 done for the day!

I don't have 2013 goals yet, but I DO have a New Year's recap for you.

Every quarter my husband and I try to have a weekend "away."  Even when we can't afford to actually go anywhere, we make sure we get focused time to relax together.  Our last trip was in September, so we were due for another "sweataway."
 
Things are a little tighter right now and our work schedules were a challenge, so we got creative for our New Year's Date Weekend.  We'd spend part of it at home, but enjoy New Year's Eve at a nearby hotel!  I searched around to find something within our budget but still really nice and settled on the adorable Hotel Deca in the U-District!  The reservation experience was really smooth and we got a great deal on a room with a view.  I heard great things about this place and was excited to be going somewhere fun but close to home.
 
Sunday the 30th: After a morning at church, we built a fire and spent the afternoon and evening relaxing together at home.  We read books and had fun snacks (yeah, protein smoothies!) and watched a movie.  Ahhhhh....
 

 

 

 
Monday the 31st: Monday morning we both had to work, so we were up at 4:30.  I dropped Jared off at the gym to teach his boot camp class, and went back home to pack. 
 
After September's trip (well, and practically all our other trips) when I wasted literally an entire afternoon of our vacation "packing" and we were both stressed and frustrated, I decided that was a sucky way to start a fun time.  So I went back home to surprise Jared by getting my packing done early!  SUCH a good idea.  I am a morning person and so packing at 6:00 and knowing I had to leave by 6:30 really helped me be efficient and prioritize.  I also set a timer, which helped, too.
 
I headed off to work, and got my half day in.  Then it was off to CrossFit for the 11:30 class!  The box is having a recovery week, so lots of cardio.
 

 

 
 
The WOD was kinda hard!  I did okay on the double unders, which was really encouraging since I'd taken a break on these after my frustrating jump rope experience at the end of November.  My burpees were on fire and super efficient.  I actually scaled up on the first round of famer carries, using the #35 kettlebells and then using the #26s for the last 2 rounds.  My lungs were burning!  I'm so slow usually that I don't feel the cardio burn as much - this one really worked me!
 
I'd already done the 2 minute challenge, so I worked on skills at the end of class instead. I showed Heidi some tips that helped me on my burpees and handstand pushups, and I also worked on strict pullups. I can link 3 good ones, but I really want to get more, since I think the strength would help me on my chest to bar pullups. 
 
I also had a massage scheduled post-WOD while Jared played basketball.  I SO needed it...great way to relax for our mini-trip!
 
We went home to pack and Jared was really impressed with what I'd done earlier in the morning.  We were able to get everything together pretty quickly and left excited for a night in Seattle!
 
We had an early dinner at The Ram down in U-Village.  It was fun to catch part of a game or two, and the food was great as usual. 

Then we checked into our hotel! 

There was a surprisingly long line for check-in, but the staff was really kind and did their best to move everyone along in a timely fashion.  By the time I got to the front, they got me checked in really seamlessly.  Before we knew it, we were settling into our room.

 

Adorable black & white bathroom

 

 

TV and DVD player!

 

We don't exactly travel light...

Jared was excited to find that the iPod dock worked for charging his iPhone!

We brought a bunch of things to read:
 

 
 And of course a bunch of snacks.  I got hungry after a while and finished up my "Faburge'" burger from The Ram.

 

 

Never too much chocolate!

 

 When we started up the fifth Harry Potter film, we chowed down on the veggies, tropical fruit, cheese, and salami with some good pita crackers.  At first Jared thought we should wait till midnight for the champagne, but then we realized it was only 7:-something and we wouldn't make it to midnight.

 

We enjoyed our movie, champagne, and snacks, and went to bed before 10pm.  Yup.  The excitement basically never stops.

We woke up to an absolutely gorgeous morning - never mind the delight of getting up without an alarm!

 

 

We had some of the breakfast snacks I packed and planned our "busy" morning based on checkout time (noon).

 

After some serious reading and enjoying of the view, we headed across the street to Trabant.  Being in the U-District brought back all the memories of when we lived there after we first got married.  Trabant was the first place I'd ever had chai!

 

Jared got coffee of some sort and more coffee in a bag (I know so much I should be a barista) and I got a really fun drink called "Pfeffernusse -- ginger molasses syrup, espresso (optional), rimmed with our Mexican chocolate, nutmeg, and pepper"

 

So delicious!

 

Our hotel...literally across the street

 I kept ruining our photo.  Lame.

 

They didn't have a lot of food on hand (although they played killer big band swing while we were there) so we went back to the Tully's at Hotel Deca for some real breakfast.

We watched another movie (Spy Game) and watched more mountains come out of hiding from our window.

 

 

We finally said our good-byes to the U-District.  I would highly recommend Hotel Deca, especially if you are looking for an affordable local "getaway."  There is a lot of great shopping in the area, second hand stores nearby or fancier shops down at U Village.  You can run over to Greenlake or downtown really easily.  The hotel itself is really cute and the staff friendly and helpful.  All in all, a great experience for a great price.

We headed back to the box to "practice" for Saturday's competition.  I had a PR with Grace, and then we chilled back at the apartment for the rest of the day.  I felt so relaxed I could melt from happiness.  Now I can't wait for our next little trip in March!


You tell me: How did you spend your New Year?  Ever found that a less "fancy" or "planned" time is the most fun?  What are your favorite snacks to bring on a trip?




 

Lazy Weekend

I took sick on Thursday and after a long day of work was ready to cuddle up with Jared and relax (Paleo fanatics, be warned):

 

 

We only got partway through the movie and went to bed by 7:30.  We were toast!

I took a sick day from work the next day and slept in a little.  I woke up to find Jared had left me a killer kale smoothie.  What a sweetheart!  I didn't even have to make myself breakfast - I just got to chill and read.  Oh, and take a ton of vitamins.

The day went on with more reading and tea and water and sitting on the couch. 

I made myself sweet potato fries for lunch and decided to do the asparagus for dinner while I was at it.

 

 

 

 

I got super ambitious and decided to start Tina's 24 Days of Togetherness project while watching the HSM canon for my musical theatre revue class.

I'd never seen HSM before (I was too cool for that when it was popular) and I thought it was absolutely adorable!

Saturday morning we slept in - we've both been under the weather this week and I think we really needed extra sleep.  Breakfast was kinda quick since I had to get to the grocery store before Jared had to leave for work, but while he was gone, I made cranberry pancakes for lunch!

 

 

 

I'm happy to say they turned out really well!  I'm not usually the baker at our place so it was really nice to have a culinary success!  Jared made a lemon syrup to go with them.  Yum.

Sunday we celebrated our 2nd day of Togetherness (Saturday was light a peppermint candle, snuggle, and read) with holiday drinks at Starbucks.

Later that evening, we had date night at home with sausage, quinoa, and roasted veggies.  Oh, and Jared muddled the leftover cranberries with some goodness for more special holiday drinks!

 

I'd like to point out that I have not been to the gym since Wednesday.  A year ago I was working out 12 hours a week and would have been freaking out about 4 days off in a row.  Now, thanks to Jesus, I am continually growing and squashing my fitness idols and felt great taking time to rest this weekend.

You tell me: Is it easy or hard for you to take days off?  Do you make good pancakes?  Read any good mysteries lately?  ("Have His Carcase" is incredible.)