PiYo and Pinterest

I have nothing much of interest to report on.  I didn't take any pictures so I have nothing much to show you either.  Guess this is going to be a really exciting post! 

Yesterday was a beautiful day for a run.  It was only 59 degrees in the morning.  It felt great, even though there was a small bit of humidity.  I just did my regular four mile loop.  Then I came home and did my Define: Upper Body PiYo workout.  It wasn't too bad.  Today I got up and did my Define: Sweat workout and boy was I sweating.  And exhausted.  I thought getting up at 4:30am was exhausting, but getting up an extra 20 minutes early really puts me over the edge.  I've had to have real coffee every day this week, which I NEVER do.  There's real caffeinated coffee in there!!!

Next week my goal is to get to bed earlier!  I can't tell how well the PiYo is working (i.e. am I getting "toned") because I'm never super sore afterwards...but is that because I am being lazy and not working hard enough?  Some of the moves are complicated and I'm probably not doing them exactly right, but I think after doing it a few times I'll start getting better at it.  I hope.

Yesterday I made another Pinterest meal that was pretty decent.  It was called One-Pan Chicken Burrito Bowls. 

Photo Credit: no. 2 pencil

It turned out pretty good and Ivan really liked it.  Total win!!!! The only reason I wasn't a huge fan was because it was made with white rice and I'd prefer to eat brown rice.  I had bought brown rice to make with it but then the cooking times are so different that I was unsure if it was ok to make the switch.  Plus, it was 7pm by the time I started cooking and white rice only has to cook for 20 minutes and brown rice has to cook for 40.  It was still good, especially topped with Greek yogurt and avocado.

Although Wednesdays are work-from-home days when I am supposed to be finished work early and able to get dinner on the table early...I tend to take Evan out to play after picking him up from daycare.  Today we met my friend Anne (from my A&P class) and her daughter at the park.  Anne did an accelerated nursing program and today is her last day!!!  She's doing an RN program (a two-year degree vs. BSN which is a four year degree) and graduates this summer.  Then I start a few weeks later.  Yikes!  I still can't believe it is coming so soon. 

Today I sign my loan papers for $20,000 from Wells Fargo though - so it's about to become super real.  Scary stuff people, scary stuff.  Wells Fargo now owns me.  And my family.  And my future.

Ok - I am about to fall asleep while writing this so I am going to nap for the last hour of this bus ride. 

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What good Pinterest recipes have you made lately?

White rice or brown?

A Weekend of Food and Running and Food, of course

Every weekend I think maybe I'll blog so that Monday isn't just a recap of my weekend.  But then I can't find time to do anything on the weekends, so it never happens.  So then I am left recapping the last three days on Monday.  Oh well.  I'll get back to my Vermont recap soon.  Maybe tomorrow.  I did remember to take a few pictures this weekend, so at least you don't have to just read a bunch of text.

On Fridays I work from home most of the time and Evan hangs out with me.  Usually he plays by himself while I get work done until my husband gets home around 10am.  This past Friday I decided rather than just eat our lunch together we would take it outside and have a nice picnic.  So, I packed our lunch into a picnic basket and we put a blanket out in the grass on the side of our apartment building.  It was so fun!

Evan had pizza (his new favorite food) and rice.  He ate his pizza and then my yogurt, but wasn't so into the rice. 

Then he was up and running around.

He's really into throwing sticks these days and was so excited to find a bunch hiding in the grass.

Then he realized that he could wander around and I'd stay sitting on the blanket.  He was thrilled not to have me following him around.

He kept walking around and looking to see if I was coming.  Then he'd come back and eat some yogurt and pizza and then go for another "walk".  I was fine as long as he didn't try to go into the street.  It turned out to be a great lunch.  I think we'll do these little picnics more often - it beats sitting inside all day while I work on the computer.  Plus, it tired him out so he went down for his nap really easily!

I usually try and get a run in Friday evening, but Ivan wanted to go out to eat.  Ivan and I have had a few "talks" about how I veto all his ideas without considering them...like when he suggests we go out to eat.  It's not like I don't like his ideas, it's just that I'm cheap and don't like wasting our money on going out to eat. However, when he suggested we head to his favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner...I agreed instead of saying no right away.  That definitely doesn't make me wife of the year or anything, but I'm trying!  So we called up some friends and met them for dinner.  We hadn't been there in over six months or so.  A long time.  We really don't eat out much anymore (probably because I veto the idea all the time).  It was fun though.

Saturday I was back at golf, after two weeks off.  Summer classes are always a lot smaller and I enjoy them a lot more.  The girls are so adorable.  And sweet.  It does make my weekends go faster though because by the time I get home it's the afternoon already.  I made it to the grocery store though and even made it for a short three mile run with a stop at the playground.

instagram: @mapleandmud

We got home really late (well, late for Evan).  Sometimes I feel like the only mom that has no schedule for their child.  I left for a run around 6:30pm and texted my friend to see if she wanted to meet me at the park and she said they were eating dinner, then it was bath time, and then bed time (for her daughter, obviously, not for herself).  I had a twinge of guilt because here Evan and I were heading out for a run, then a playground trip, and we still hadn't dinner yet.  We got home around 8pm and I gave Evan some of the spaghetti Ivan made.

He loved it.  Ivan makes "Honduran" spaghetti - which means he melts a stick of butter into his sauce.  I tend to not eat it because I don't like a bunch of butter in my spaghetti.  However, Evan loves it...probably because he LOVES butter!  He was shoving spaghetti into his mouth like crazy.  After dinner, he took a shower with Daddy and was in bed by 9pm.  Not too horrible, right?  And we had a fun playground date.

Sunday was a bit hectic, like it usually is.  I woke up and made 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter and Banana muffins.  It was a Pinterest find and I thought they would be good muffins to take to LA this week.  They aren't good muffins to send with Evan to daycare because my niece is severely allergic to peanuts, but it didn't make too many.  They were super easy and quick.  I had them mixed and made before Evan even woke up. 

After he did wake up, we changed and headed out for a five mile stroller run.  It was around 9am and it was already HOT and HUMID.  Ugg.  We did about four miles and then stopped at the playground.  We had brought Evan's new tractor that his Papa had bought him (Evan calls it Tractor-Papa) and I thought it would be fun to play in the sand pit.  Unfortunately, the sandpit was filled with a million bees.  Boo.  So, we just put the tractor down the slide and played with it on the ground.

Evan thought it was fun to just push the tractor around.

And yes, Evan went to the park in his jammies.  No one was at the park anyway.  We stayed for an entire hour and not a single other person showed up.  I think people sleep in on Sundays or go to early Sunday church services or something.  Evan loved having the playground to himself (except for having to share with the bees)!  Then we ran the last mile home.

After we got home it was cooking, cooking, cooking.  I had a lot of things on the menu to make: vegan lasagna, zucchini tots, shrimp-stuffed shells, tres leches cake, shredded chicken, and black bean burgers.  I didn't get all of it made - just some of it.

I wanted to make Vegan Spaghetti Squash Pesto Lasagna for my friend Allyson.  She was doing a crazy big two-day bike ride in Colorado (like 130 miles each day, over three mountains) and I thought she'd like something in her fridge when she got back.  In Honduras, when I'd go out of town my neighbors would clean my house the day before I returned.  It was so nice arriving home to a super clean house.  I used to do the same thing for my sister - I'd always scrub the floors and toilets and vacuum, etc. before she came home.  I feel weird cleaning my friend's house though (and it looks pretty clean anyway), so I figured food was the better way to go.  So, I whipped up this crazy complicated lasagna.  I am not vegan and had never made vegan cream sauce.  I've made lasagna with tofu before, but nutritional yeast was not really in my pantry.  All in all, it turned out pretty tasty.  I hope she likes it! 

I also made zucchini tots for Evan - they were delicious and Evan ate three of them after dinner.  I wanted something new to put in his lunches and saw these on Pinterest.  They were super easy to make and turned out to be a winner.  I got the shrimp-stuffed shells made for Ivan - I've made them many times before and he always loves them.  They are a bit time consuming, but I felt like I was making a bunch of other complicated things, so why not add something to it.  I also got the chicken cooked - I just put it in the slow cooker with some water for four hours and then shredded it.  I don't need it until Wednesday to make Easy Chicken Flautas (another Pinterest find), but wanted to have it already done so that the cooking process didn't take as long.

I ran out of time to make the tres leches cake and black bean burgers though.  Maybe I'll have time this week before I head to LA.  Otherwise they'll have to wait until I get back.  I can only make so many things in one day!

I crawled into bed around 12am - yikes!  I seriously need an extra weekend day to get all my stuff done!!

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Did you cook anything fun this weekend?

What types of things do you "pin" the most, if you use Pinterest? 
      - I mostly pin food and clothes (for my Stitch Fix stylists)

Morning blues

Good morning!  At least I hope it is.  I feel extra awake this morning, probably because I slept an extra 40 minutes.  Whoops!  My alarm went off and I talked myself into cuddling with Evan for a few more minutes and the next time I looked at the clock it was 40 minutes later.  So much for doing my hair.  I am trying my best to blow dry it out but that has only happened one time this week.  I am determined to do better.  And last night I got to bed early, so that makes no sense.  My alarm said I had a full 6 hours and 6 minutes before the alarm went off, I don't remember the last time it said 6 hours.  Apparently that doesn't matter, come 4:30am I still don't want to get up.  Wanna know who else doesn't want to get up?

Maple Baby.  He is never thrilled when I turn the lights on to wake him up.  He woke up this morning when Ivan woke up so then I had to carry him around while putting our bags together.  We have lots of bags that I have to organize and put together - three lunch bags, a pump bag (for me to take to work), and a milk bag (for Evan to take to Aunt Melissa's).  I am running out of lunch ideas and probably need to visit Pinterest.  I feel like I put the same thing in there each day.  And for myself, I actually do.  A peanut butter and jelly sandwich, carrot sticks, hummus, cheese, and an apple.  Not very exciting.  Evan got eggs and rice for breakfast, homemade Mac and cheese and yogurt with blueberries for lunch, and crackers for a snack.  Yeah, my creativity is really lacking.

This morning Evan clung to my little neck, probably wishing he could go back to bed.  At least he usually does sleep a few hours more at my sister's house, so it's not the worst situation.  Next week we have to bring him to a different daycare and I am totally dreading it...I think he will cry every day when I leave him there.  Poor guy.  I hope he doesn't. 

I am wearing my new Stitch Fix shirt today.  So far I like the look of it.  I am still pleased that I purchased it.  I am also hoping to get a run in today. On Saturday my running friends and I agreed to do some trail running on the weekends and some track workouts during the week.  I am excited!  The weekend trail running may be difficult because Ivan has to work on Sundays and I have to work on Saturdays but we'll see how it goes.  And we'll see if we actually do go.  It's hard to find time these days to do any running, but maybe it'll work out.

I think I will banana split, I don't have much else to say and don't want to bore you.  I am a bit overwhelmed at work with Interim Progress Reprts, Quarterly Reports, and grant writing - all during the  month I have to take a week of vacation and decide about nursing school (aka the rest of my life). My mind is going a mile a minute.

Do you like trail running?

Do you pack a lunch or buy a lunch?

What's a big decision you have to make this month?

No Pictures Randomness

Here are a bunch of random thoughts going through my exhausted brain...

* The only thing that got me out of bed this morning was telling myself that I could fall asleep again on the bus.  I am one tired chica.  I tried my best last night to get to bed early but I missed the bus yesterday so I got home extra late.  Some days commuting really frustrates me.  I mean, it always frustrates me in the fact that I leave work at 4:50pm and don't get home until 6:30at the earliest, but it frustrates me even more when the bus comes early and leaves me behind, like yesterday.  I got there with four minutes to spare and the bus had already come and gone.  I had to wait another 35 minutes before another bus came.  Or worse, on Thursday all the express buses were canceled so then I had to take a local and that adds on at least 30 minutes to my already long ride.  Grrr.

* Boo.  I just wrote a bunch of things and it was all erased.  I hate when that happens.  I guess I will start over.

* My contacts are bothering me.  Very annoying as I just changed them and I have cleaned them numerous times.  They should be wonderful.  There is always one bad pair in the bunch, and I must be wearing them.

* Ivan's eye drops for his cataract surgery cost $115.  Isn't that crazy?  I guess that's cheaper than my haircut.... But still, it's a lot of money to pay for some eye drops, especially when you have insurance.

* I have made some good pinterest recipes lately.  I will have to do a post soon with my finds.  Most have been great.

* This week Ivan and I are celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary.  Wow!  Time flies!  I am trying to decide if I want to see Divergent or Veronica Mars.  I read Divergent when it first came out and enjoyed it a lot.  However, I watched every episode of Veronica Mars while I was on maternity leave and felt like we became best friends.  Tough decisions.  Noah also looks really good, but I will probably wait until that comes out to rent.  I have also really wanted to see Dallas Buyers Club, but haven't had a chance to watch it.

* I have an accepted student's open house at Hopkins on Friday and I hope that I can convince them to give me some money.  And a lot of it.  And I hope that I hear back from Maryland soon because the chance that I can afford Hopkins is so slim that I would feel so much better if I had another option.

* I can't fall asleep because someone brought the kid on the bus and is now singing to them.  I am trying to remain calm about it because I have a child and I know I'd be so stressed out if I had to bring him on the bus - but I am so tired and was really looking forward to a nap (see the first bullet).

Ok - share some randomness from your day!

Spring Ahead People

I was going to post about the rest of my Disney trip, because I still haven't even told you about the race, but I am too tired.  Those posts take me a long time because I have to get all the photos organized and I have a lot too tell you, and my energy level is a little to low right now.  I am completely blaming daylight savings time.  Guggenheim (I am leaving this auto-correct word because it is so funny - I have no idea what I typed here, but it definitely wasn't Guggenheim!!!), I really dislike the dreaded spring ahead.  Somehow it makes it much more difficult to get up in the morning when it is 3:30am instead of 4:30am...even when my body adjusts, I am always a little more tired.  I enjoy the later daylight hours, so it's not all bad, but I need my bus nap today.  And, I am waiting for the bus in the dark again.

This weekend was a bit hectic and crazy, starting with Friday.  Evan had his 18 month appointment in the morning and I am in denial that he is already 18 months old.  That is a year and a half.  How in the world did that happen??  Where did my baby go??  He is still a peanut, weighing a whopping 18 pounds and some odd ounces and 33 inches tall, but he is not really my baby boy anymore. We are going to have to stop calling him Baby Evan soon. Boo.  And he wasn't really talking at all before we went to the doctor (just a few words like hot and gracias) and since that appointment he has started saying more things!  Yesterday he started saying "all done" and "book" and "ball".  I have a feeling his vocabulary is going to explode soon.

I also had my Hopkins interview.  I don't really want to comment too much on how I thought the interview went, because it's so hard to say when I am being compared to everyone else.  Maybe I did great but everyone else did better.  Who knows.  The woman who interviewed me was the same woman I had been communicating with during the application process so I was glad to meet her and be able to thank her in person for her help.  Here is what I wore for the interview.

This is a pretty bad photo and a pretty bad photo of me, but I made Ivan snap it as I was rushing out the door and there was no time for repeats.  I had run to TJ Max before the interview to get a new dress and I was quite happy with this one.  It looked better in person.  

I also picked up a few other things at TJ Max.  We needed a new pan because one of mine had seen its last days.   It was actually my favorite pan and one I had brought back with me from Peace Corps.  So it was at least 7 years old, but I know it was older because my friend Sarah had give it to me when she left so it had been used when I got it. 

I think all those scratched are due to Ivan stirring his eggs with a regular fork instead of the wooden utensils!

 I was sad to see it go, but love my new pan.

The lighting is a bit off, but it's a porcelain pan.

I also finally picked up some new work socks.  Ivan was making fun of my old as dirt socks and I found some for cheap, so I finally got them.  Time to throw away my threadbare socks for some nicer ones.

These pepper socks are pretty old.  I think I brought them to Honduras with me!

Straight from the interview I went to my sister's house to babysit the nieces.  I was excited because I love those girls and I hardly ever get to see them.  We had a blast watching Frozen, eating all the food in my sister's house, and hanging out.  It was a bit difficult with clingy Evan and my sister's baby both wanting to be held, but we managed.  I don't think I want four children anytime soon though.

Saturday was a blur but it consisted if grocery shopping and dinner at my bus friend Jacqui's house.  We grilled burgers and caught up on our lives.  I brought a veggie burger, since I gave up meat for Lent. 

On Sunday it was pretty quiet with some cooking, cleaning, and laundry thrown in there.  I made butternut squash and black bean enchiladas and then a teriyaki chicken (both recipes I got from Pinterest) for hubs.  And hubs polished my shoes.

He's been wanting to do that for a long time.  He thought my shoes were deplorable.  And ignore the sofa in that picture...I take the cushions out so Evan can pretend he's at a jungle gym.

Late last night I also realized that I had washed and dried Evan's clothes with a piece of chocolate.

I hope it doesn't stain! And a now I have to wash all his clothes all over again.  Boo!  I tried to take out the clothes without chocolate on them, but I didn't find any.  It's amazing what one piece of chocolate will do!

What's one fun thing you did this weekend?

My failed Pinterest recipe...

Before I get started, I would like to say that I think I'm getting hot flashes.  Is this a result of pregnancy?  I NEVER get hot, especially in my office.  However, a few times today I've started getting really hot and even a bit sweaty.

But I cooled down and now feel normal.

Not sure if the heating/air conditioning is playing a trick on me or if my body is finally starting to heat up a bit with this pregnancy.

Just thought I'd mention that.

This weekend I decided I would make some soup that I could freeze and easily bring to the birthing center to eat while laboring.  Remember, since it's a birthing center there is no cafeteria.  Or even someone who cooks.  There is a kitchen, but you have to do your own cooking.

Since Ivan doesn't cook much I figure I better have some stuff prepared so that I don't starve.  There is a grocery store kinda close by and across a busy street there is McDonalds and Subway.  So we aren't completely in a food wasteland.

But, anyway, I figured this Gnocci, Sausage, and Spinach Soup that I found on Pinterest looked so yummy and was filled with carbs, fat, and veggies.  What a great thing to make.  Here is my versions (next to the real version):

Source: Picture on right is from Reeni at Cinnamon, Spice, and Everything Nice

Yeah, I'm not sure what happened.  I'm still really curious as to how Reeni (from Cinnamon, Spice, and Everything Nice) got hers to look so much tastier than mine.  And redish colored.  Hers looks like tomato cream and mine looks like alfredo.  I skipped the roasted red pepper but that was it.  Is the pepper what gave it such a richer color?  Did I pour in too much cream?  Hmm, not sure.  The soup isn't bad, it's pretty tasty actually, but I think it would taste better if it looked liker hers.

It's a mystery!

And since I have nothing else to talk about, here are some more pics of my lunch:

Lovely fruit

According the the Bradley Method nutrition guidelines, I'm suppose to eat a citrus fruit at least once a day.  So, every day I try to have an orange or grapefruit.  It's suppose to build strong membranes (so my water doesn't burst prematurely).  I've eaten so much citrus my baby will probably come out in it's bag of water!  And who can resist $1.99 lb cherries?  YUM!

Tricking myself into thinking I'm not drinking water...

In an attempt to drink more water, I decided to buy these sparkling waters with "essence" of fruit.  This one is raspberry and the other one I got was lemon/lime.  Hmm, "essence" doesn't actually mean a ton of flavor.  It's ok, but I sure would like something that tasted a bit more like Orangina, but without sugar or too many calories, of course...since the midwives told me to avoid drinking too much juice.  I think my body's too smart though - it doesn't really crave these drinks like it does Pepsi or real orange juice.  I guess it's better than water though.  And since my pee was the color of my bridesmaids' dresses, I better get on the drinking bandwagon!

Oh, and another tidbit of info.  Check out my new work shoes:

I am a fashion queen!

Yup, I have resorted to wearing tennis shoes every day to work.  I lost my work shoes last week (can't remember if I told you that or not) and had to wear flip flops and tennis shoes.  Then I found my work shoes and wore them but they were so tight I decided to wear tennis shoes instead.  And I haven't turned back.  Everyone in my office thinks I just got back from a walk and everyone in the street thinks that I changed out of my high-style pumps into tennis shoes (at least that what I pretend they think, since I don't actually know).

My feet are so much happier.

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What did you have for lunch today?

Have you ever made a recipe that you found on Pinterest?

What do your work shoes look like?