Monthly Archives: August 2009

August 24, 2009


Swim, Squat, Row?

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My last night as 24 years old. Wow. How time can fly. I can’t believe tomorrow I will be a quarter of a century old. But I’ll talk more about that tomorrow.

After I got into work this morning, I had the other half of my mini watermelon from yesterday and I also finished off some dried mango that I took on the hike.

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For lunch, I had another raw salad with hummus and half of a pita. The salad had zucchini, apple, dried cranberries, carrots, pepper, walnuts, basil, ginger, and garlic.

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When I got home, I only had a quick 30 minutes to take Kahlua out for a quick walk, change, and head over to Crossfit. They changed their evening times so it’s now 6PM instead of 6:30PM. So now I have to make sure I leave work on time so I won’t be late.

At Crossfit, we did Squat Clean & Jerks. I did about 30 of them with 45lbs. I also got some personal instruction on how to do them properly. We also did 500M of rowing for time. I managed to finish in 2 minutes flat. Before I left, I added in 10 wallballs with a 10lb medicine ball.

I then headed over to the local running store to get myself some early birthday presents. :) I had been wanting a hand held water bottle for awhile. Since it has been so hot during runs, I get really thirsty but don’t feel like carrying around my Camelbak on 4-5 mile runs. I also picked up a SpiBelt so I can carry a camera and take pictures during my runs without getting sweat all over it.

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The evening was not done yet! I went to the gym and swam 20 laps before finally heading home and watching some TV.

I can see some people wondering about how little I sometimes eat at night. Sometimes, like tonight, I just can’t stomach food after an intense workout. I was a little hungry after swimming, and knew I needed to eat something, so I had this giant banana on my way home.

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I also had another plate of Ak-Mak crackers and hummus times two.

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I’m hoping to get up early tomorrow to get some gym time in because we’re going out tomorrow evening for dinner. :-)

Have a good night!


My Version of a Green Monster

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I discovered the green monster at Angela’s site, who now has another one dedicated to these drinks called the Green Monster Movement. She has more recipes on that website.

For me, I tried a few different things and I just like to keep it simple. I usually just use four ingredients: spinach, almond milk, banana, and ice.

In the mix are:

A handful, or about one packed cup of spinach
1 Whole Banana if it’s small, 1/2 Banana if it’s large
1 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
4-5 Ice Cubes

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If I have strawberries on hand, I put in about 4-5 small ones.

I use a Magic Bullet to make these and I found out that the ingredients have to go in a specific order so nothing gets stuck when I turn the cup upside down to mix.

I put the milk in first, then fruit, the ice cubes, and spinach in last. I then mix it for about 20 seconds. I just listen, and stop it when it sounds like the ice has broken down.

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I have also added honey or stevia to add a bit more sweetness. I pour it in a cup, or mug in this case, and enjoy!

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A Sunny, Summer Day

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Yesterday morning, Todd and I set out on a hike. It ended up being about 4 miles long and there were some fun hills mixed in. Before we left, I had a Green Monster with Almond Milk, Spinach, Strawberries, Banana, and ice. The recipe that I use for myself will be in the next post.

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Talk about hills! I guess I know where to come if I ever want to do some serious hill training. It was a nice hike overall with plenty of creatures and quickly walking away from several bees. We stopped around mile 2 to have some lunch.

I had a some Almond Butter and Dried Pineapple on a Whole Wheat Roll along with a Blueberry ZBar. This really hit the spot!

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Some pictures from the hike. Including one a river we had to cross over. I think we crossed maybe four rivers, and yes, my feet got soaked!

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This was neat. There was a sign put up on this tree years ago and the tree actually grew around it!

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When I got home, I plugged in the Garmin to check out the elevation differences in the hike. I told you there were hills :)

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I was a little hungry so I finished up the bag of dried pineapple that I had put on my sandwich earlier.

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I read some and then completely crashed. I slept for almost 3 hours! It was pretty late in the evening and I wasn’t that hungry, so I just put together a small plate of Ak-Mak crackers that I got from Trader Joe’s, and some Tribe 40 Spices Hummus.

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I had heard about these crackers before but had never tried them and I was really surprised. The light taste they have with the spices in the hummus really went well together.

The evening concluded with some True Blood, more reading, and making a reservation at a restaurant for my birthday tomorrow :)

August 21, 2009


Stormy Weather

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This afternoon, our area had a storm come through and I jokingly thought to myself, “I hope we don’t lose power.” We have lived in this house for almost two years and have never lost power despite all the storms.

About twenty seconds later after I thought this, we lost power. I relied on my cell phone for the next 40 minutes even though it was almost dead.  You don’t realize how great something is until you lose it. So to pass the time, I read some more of my book.

I practically rejoiced when the lights came back on because I would be able to fix myself some lunch. I had a black bean veggie burger with ketchup on bread and some popcorn.

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Later, I snacked on the other half of the mini watermelon. I’ll have to get to the store tomorrow to get one or two more while they’re still on sale.

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I also had a very ripe banana.

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This reminds me that I need to make another batch of raw banana ice cream again. I tried it a few weeks ago and loved it. I’m a big ice cream fan but not too big on all the ingredients, so it’s definitely a healthy alternative.

After work I read a bit more until the hubby got home and we went out for dinner at a small place we haven’t been to in over a year. I got a veggie wrap with broccoli. The wrap had lettuce, onions, cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and rice.

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Considering it was a bar and grill type place, it was pretty good. I actually made a note to myself to bring my camera, but forgot it in the end. So, this is phone camera quality and the lighting wasn’t too great either.

It started raining again when we got back. I have a feeling I’ll be running on the treadmill tomorrow morning.

Todd and I may also be taking a short trip tomorrow to see something. Nothing is final yet and although we have talked about it for awhile, we just decided to do this today. As a hint, we might be getting an addition to the family. :)

I hope you had a fun and rain-free Friday!