Lets start with today...

then do Thanksgiving recap shall we?

Before we left on our little Thanksgiving getaway I happened to open a box from the Fed Ex guy.  I thought it was my kids presents I had ordered but no, new shoes for me!  Hooray.  Thanks to my boyfriend who was going to save them for Christmas.  I could really have used them now though.  If I would have known something for me was in that box I never would have opened it.  But I'm glad I did.

My workout today was killer after the holiday of stuffing my face.  I did this workout from gpp:

For time:

1600 m row (or 160 rowing alt.)
200 KB swings 25/35
1000 rope jumps
200 box jumps
200 situps
200 squats
200 ab bridge jacks

Seriously???  I wanted to throw up.  But it was awesome at the same time because I needed it sooooo bad.  If you need a good workout, try this one day.

I skipped a protein shake because I was starving so eggs and a plain greek yogurt parfait it was.

The protein shake came in later for snack time.  Chocolate mint hot cocoa.  Perfect for this cold, cold, day.

I made this cake last night for dinner and I think I ate a fourth of it today.  I felt like I snacked on it all dang day which isn't good.  But I am pre menstrual so there.

Lunch was cafe rio soup with a bunch of my girlfriends from the gym to celebrate Xela's birthday which was Friday.  Happy Birthday Xela!!!

Dinner was a salmon burger, salad, and a little sweet potato.  It was nothing gourmet but it was quick and easy.

For Thanksgiving my in laws so graciously rented out a beautiful home down in Zions National Park for all of us to go stay at together.  We had a lot of fun, good food, laughs, and great cousin time.  My kiddos loved it!

I love this man who changes all of the poopy diapers when he is around from this guy....

Peekaboo!

The morning of the big Turkey fest I really wanted to get a good workout in.  The hubs said he would do a six mile trail run with me.  Well.......he hasn't run in a while and was sick on top of that so it wasn't the best workout.  We went about three miles walking/running.  I did get in 125 burpees along the way though so I counted it as good enough.

It was freezing when we first started out so he let me wear his shorts.  They were huge but we managed. Thanks darling.

When we got back to the house it was cooking time.  I was in charge of the yams, salad, and apple pie.  I am so good at making salads.....see?  Joey peeled all my yams and apples and relayed them to me from across the kitchen.  No one got hurt.  We are that good.  This is the apple pie I made.  I don't even like apple pie and this baby was amazing.  For my yams I did the sweet potatoes and apples my family always makes on Thanksgiving.  I will put the recipe up another time.  But they are good...like really yummy.

My plate.....I think I ate more crap this weekend that I have all year.  It feels so good to be home again and getting back into the routine.

What we do for fun.  Dress people up so they look like idiots and laugh at them.  This was four of the kiddos doing the upside down puppets that I made.  It is so funny to me to watch these.  The kids love them and laugh so hard.

Then Heather and Benji pulled this one off and I was peeing my pants.  I know....guess you had to be there.  Big Whoop.

Friday morning we got up and went into the park to hike.  We did the hike to the Emerald Pools.  I got my workout in by packing my boy both ways.

All my kids absolutely love hiking.

The scenery was so gorgeous.  The hubs and I are going back down in February with no kids and I can't wait.  It will be so nice to enjoy the view and do some longer hikes.

Friday night a couple people went to the sand dunes.  I was home with a sleeping sick baby but I'm sad I missed out.  The hubs did some awesome cartwheels all the way down I hear.

He loves me.  :)

We had such a good time but we all got sick.  We are all exhausted and ready to be home.  Our week this week is out of control crazy.  It's insane.  I can't believe how much we have going on these days.  Hopefully we make it through it.  I just don't think about it because if I do I go nuts.  Wish me luck!

Congrats to Luke and Jess on your new baby girl!!!

Healthified Stuffing

I could not get up for spin today.  I made it to the gym about eight.  It was awesome.  I got to see my friend Shari who I never see anymore because she comes at seven and I leave at seven.  I got to talk to her for 45 minutes while I doing the stairmaster.  Here is what I did today:

45 min stairclimber

This gpp workout:

Perform 5 sets of each:

5 weighted chinups AHAP
5 BB curl cleans AHAP
10 bar grippers (forward) AHAP (R + L = 1)

Then I did:

Woodchoppers-15 each side

BB bicep curls-20

One minute sprint

*repeat four times

I had to leave to take my little one to school or I might have stayed another hour or five.  :)

I made this stuffing on Sunday night.  I tried to make it semi-healthy since I love stuffing but I don't love the cup of butter that usually goes into it.  

Saute together:
4 tbs coconut oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery stalks


Add:
1 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup craisins
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbs sage


Mix in 4 quarts of dry whole wheat bread crumbs.  It will be dry.   Then add 1/2 - 1 cup water with chicken boullion mixed in as strong as you like.  Bake in an 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.


With Thanksgiving in just two days this will be a good one to try out.  We liked it a lot.  This is my mother in laws recipe that I altered to make healthier.  She always has good recipes.


Gotta get up early to hit the gym and go run bleachers.  I am so excited to run bleachers.  Its been too long.

Injuries

I started to get a pain in my outer arch yesterday.  When I woke up this morning it was killing I could barely walk.  But it was weird....it didn't hurt to push on it, just to do the walking bending toe motion.  And it hurt when I lifted it off the floor.  Has anyone else had something similar?  I was really angry when I got out of bed because I have three days to get a good workout in this week.  Three.  And I can barely walk.  Sweet.  Soooooo, that on top of my mom getting injured at the gym, the workout kinda blew this morning.  I usually do squats on the Smith Machine when my mom is working out with me.  Well today we did free standing squats and when she lifted the bar off the pegs she lost her balance.  She threw out her back and i think her hand is broken.  She says it isn't but it was black and blue and so swollen.  This was out first exercise, first set.  Judas.  Bad luck today....

Here is what I did:

30 minutes on stairmaster

Squats-10 heavy
Inner thigh raises-50 each leg
*repeat three times

Quad burnout on Leg Extension
Wall sit till failure

Glute raises-15
Deadlifts-15
One legged squats-10 each leg
*reapeat two times

I threw in some abs in there somewhere but my workout was not very hard today.  My foot is feeling a little better so maybe tomorrow?

I got sidetracked today doing something very important.... 

Yes, I got all my Christmas decorating done.  I don't decorate a lot but at least it's something.

My family has an annual pie night the Monday before Thanksgiving every year.  Everybody brings a pie and there is a couple of prizes for best tasting, most unique, best crust, etc.

I took a pumpkin, gingersnap, butterscotch, cream pie.  It was OK.  Not my favorite but pretty good.  My favorite was my sisters cranberry pie!  Yum.

This is not all of them.   More came and they go all the way down the counter.

We like to keep things as proper and classy as you can at our house.  So my brother brought a cow pie.  I didn't taste that one but it was some sort of mocha brownie and peeps said it was tasty.  Just need some Rocky Mountain Oysters to go along side of it.

We all look forward to pie night every year.  Thanks mom for the soup and bread and for hosting pie night every year.

Tomorrow I have a healthy and yummy (cuz that's important) Thanksgiving stuffing recipe for ya'll.  And hopefully a harder workout.  :)

A night away...

This weekend I got to go spend a night in Park City with three other awesome peeps.  Good thing I did spin on Friday morning and lifted cuz I ate a lot this weekend!

Our routine trip picture that we take.  Always!

Have any of you ever been to World Market?  I love that store for their chocolate selection.  I have been waiting for two weeks to get my most favorite candy bar.  I didn't eat hardly any treats all week so I could enjoy the whole dang thing.  Guess what?  I got there and it was discontinued.  WTF?!!!  We still made out with quite a stash.  

This pic is sick.  But I was so disappointed. I settled on a regular flake instead of a snowflake bar.  I still have half of it left.  Had it been the snowflake it would have been gone!

The hotel we stayed at was amazing.  We have stayed there before and will stay there for every trip to Park City.  It is really nice and cozy and modern.  Love it!

I had to post this pic because Jose looks like such a perv who can't wait to get me into that room.  :)  Babe...what is that face your making?  Haha.

Our lovely room....

And bathroom....

This suite had two big bedrooms, fireplaces, two big bathrooms, a family room, laundry room, kitchen, and it's own private hot tub on the balcony.

We went to the Loco Lizard Mexican restaurant.  It was pretty good but I was really hungry and anything would have been good.  The chips and salsa were awesome.

Marcus's chimichanga was the size of my thigh.  It was ginormous.  He was the only one with leftovers.  We cleaned house.

I ordered the tacos al pastor.  They were really yummy although I could only eat one after two diet sodas and chips and salsa galore.  Everyone else helped me finish them off.  Thanks guys.  What good friends you are.

We got the fried ice cream to share.  Um...Yum!  The boys ate most of it but I had my share.  Believe me.

Ahhhhh, so happy together.  Give us ten more years and we will probably sitting at separate tables.  :)

In our room there s this window that looks into the bathroom.  Shower, tub, and toilet are all visible.  Is that so weird?  I know.  We had some good times playing peeking tom though.  Want to see a visual?  No?  Oh come on....just really quick.....here it is.......

Oh poor Marcus.  Now this pic is on the world wide web and smart phones across the globe.  Sorry.

Yep...we're in a theater.  Yep...opening night.  Yep...Breaking Dawn.  Meghan wanted to go see this movie so bad so we all went with her.  I have not liked one of the twilight movies and this one wasn't any better.  I did have a good time though because is impossible not to have a good time with these peeps.

We went out to sit in the hot tub and put our feet in and it was 106.  Oops... a little to hot.  So we waited for it to cool down.  I froze on the side.  We dumped snow and ice in it and it cooled down.

The hubs did snow angels on the deck to cool down.  Weirdo...it's not like he was dared or anything.

I got out first.  I wrapped up in one of their robes, took off my wet suit, sat on the couch and ate High Chews while watching crap on TV.  Who knows what time Marcus and Joey finally got out of the tub together but Mego and I fell asleep on the couch.  Sheesh...thanks boys.

It was so nice to get a full nights rest without kids waking us up.  I missed my babies though.  I got up and felt so refreshed.  There is a Kneaders connected to out hotel so we just hit that up for breakfast.

It sucks really bad when your husband spills a whole glass of water on you just as your food arrives.  Mego can vouch for that one.

Mmmmmmm,  I ordered the sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich.  I had them put it on whole wheat bread with no butter and had them do egg whites.  It was seriously so good.  Then hubs comes and sites down and puts a chocolate filled croissant on my plate.  Thanks babe....good to know your prefer me a little chubby.  :)

Thanks for the fun night guys...it was a blast!

Sore

I woke up today so dang sore.  I skipped the gym this morning and went to the temple instead.  My gym friend Aubrey was going and I decided to tag along since it has been a while.  So I have felt crappy all day.  But, at least I did something good.  

I made myself a little parfait before I left.  The usual.....plain greek yogurt, raw oats, blueberries.  This is one of those go to meals that can be made in seconds and includes protein, carbs, and a fruit.  Fabulous.

I was in a cereal mood today so Kashi and unsweetened almond milk is what I had when I got home.

Lunch was mixed greens with cottage cheese and balsamic vinegar.  I had a side of hot chocolate protein.  I'm addicted to the stuff.  Completely.

Dinner tonight is squash soup.  I just peeled and cubed a big squash, put in a pot and covered it with chicken stock and 1 cup of coconut milk.  When the squash is soft puree it in a blender and then add it back to the pot.  Stir in some nutmeg and salt and pepper.  So easy.

Lettuce Wraps:
2 pds. of chicken, pork, or steak
grated carrot
green onions
6 Tbs. low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1 Tbs. sesame seeds
1 Tbs. agave nectar
pepper

I used my vegetable peeler to slice my veggies.  I also used cilantro because I didn't have green onions on hand.

Mix all the ingredients together and let marinate for an hour or so.  While this is marinating I cook up some brown rice.

Saute until veggies are tender and the chicken and done.

You can use iceberg lettuce for these for we prefer romaine in this house.  Top a leaf with brown rice and the chicken mixture.  So good.  This is my M.I.L. recipe but I altered it a teensy bit.  Try it.

It is going to be a late night tonight and I have to be up at five.  Suck.  It should be fun though since I will be working with my sissies all night.

Abs and legs

I have a love hate relationship with working my legs.  I love how I always feel like I get such a good workout, I love how it pushes me, I hate how tired I am after legs, and I hate how sore my hamstrings get.  Here is my workout today:

First I did this gpp workout:

50 situps

50 crunch twists L
50 crunch twists R
50 back extensions
1 min 6" leg hold
50 KB juggles 25/35
50 tick tocks L 25/35
50 tick tocks R 25/35
1 min ab bridge hold
50 crunches
800m run

After the 800 meter run I started right in on legs.  First off was a burnout on the leg extension machine.

Then:

Single leg glute raise on bench-15 each leg

50 walking lunges

Barbell hip thrusts-15 each leg

One minute sprint

*repeat three times

Deadlifts with barbell-15

Leg Press-10 Heavy Weight!!!  (this link is awesome.....labor? constipation?  Oh...just lifting.)

Sumo squat jumps holding a 25 pd plate-15

*repeat three times

Squats on smith machine-15

Pulsing abs with weight-15

Butt to floor squats on smith machine-15

*repeat two times

TRX single leg lunge jumps-10 each leg  (add a hop when your coming up out of the lunge)

Hanging abs-15 center  10 side to side

*repeat three times

 

Breakfast today was mint chocolate hot cocoa protein with one egg + one egg white.  Thanks babe for making this while I soaked my freezing butt in the tub.  :)

Snack was apples and almond butter along with some of my girls pita chips.  I get really bored at gymnastics and so I shared.  Well they shared but still.

Lunch was a wrap.  I used a La Tortilla Factory low carb wrap with hummus, spinach, lettuce, chicken, balsamic, and seasonings.  It was good but I am still trying to talk myself into liking these tortillas.  I eat them all the time because I like the nutrition facts but my taste buds don't like them very much.  Oh well, I will continue to eat them.  Blah.

I pulled off the fish braid today....well kinda.  I used to do these all the time when I was little.  In fact, it was the first braid I learned how to do.  So the tutorials all ever the web are killing me.  It's old news peeps.  I felt like a little girl again.  Hubs made the bed today...can ya tell?

Snack today was a protein smoothie.  I had a raging headache and felt bad for my kiddos cuz I was smack down on the couch for at least an hour so.......

I drank this and took two extra strength excedrian.  It took the edge off and I was able to function again and embarrass my kids pumping out my dance moves in the kitchen while making dinner.  I am going to scar them for life.  Ah well.

At least they like my healthy smoothies.  I don't feel so bad if they don't eat all their veggies at dinner if they have one of these during the day.

Dinner tonight was chicken lettuce wraps with brown rice.  I will post the recipe tomorrow.  They were so yummy, so healthy, and my kiddos love em too!