I’m feeling old today and I’m on a deadline.

We have to go to Linsey’s Middle School orientation/tour/let’s make your parents feel old night. I have exactly 1 hour and 30 minutes before Regan’s baby sitter arrives and I have to feed the family, change my clothes, try not to smell like deli food and give Regan a bath.

So here, for your judging pleasure (don’t judge me, but please, judge me) is a calorie count, food list, photo op of exactly what I’ve eaten today.

After my workout…

I chugged my one and only cup of coffee.

For a grand total of…

Feel free to judge away…in the comment section.

Today I’m thankful for:

…chobani yogurt as a quick and yummy dinner

…cheap baby sitters that like my daughter

…Grey’s Anatomy on netflix (get used to it!)

…yoga pants and rain boots

…warm hoodies that go with my yoga pants and rain boots

~ Maria

We’re currently under a Winter Weather Advisory, but I don’t really know what/if anything that means because nothing is going on. I guess we’ll wait and see. All I know is that it’s FU*KING cold out there right now!

Jason will be home shortly and the weekend will REALLY begin so without further ado…

Five For Friday:

–> I made it through another round of level 2 of the 30 Day Shred. Jillian ain’t playin around man!! I had the most embarrassing thing happen to me while working out this morning (loud girlie parts) so I had to kick Jason out of the living room.

–> Day 2 of only drinking one cup of coffee went pretty well!

–> I had the best oats E.V.E.R. for breakfast. In the bowl today was:

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 c water
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1/2 c crushed pineapple
• 1 scoop crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tbsp dark chocolate chips
• ping of shredded coconut

–>I had tomato basil soup and a toasted veggie sandwich for lunch. It was lovely and comforting on such a cold winter day.

–> Tonight we’re taking the girls to see a show at the Touhill Performing Arts Center so I gots ta go.

Enjoy your evening!!

Today I’m thankful for:

…weekends

…family fun night

…cinnamon gum

…twitter friends

…comfort foods

~ Maria

We also got some very important things accomplished while we were in Springfield. Hair!!

I had some massive gray action going and was in desperate need of a hair cut. Both problems were taken care of by the lovely and talented Heather (also one of my very best friends).

Linsey also got to take advantage of Heather’s wicked hair styling skills. She has been begging me to let her get colored streaks in her hair and this weekend was the weekend it actually happened. I think she really loves her funky new do!

After we were both beautiful again it was time for the kids to hang with the grandparents and the grown ups to go out for the evening. Heather, Kyle, Jason and I went out to dinner and then to hang out at a local bar.

It was hard to say goodbye to everyone, but the real world beckoned and we had to come home.

This morning, after a very long night of hail, thunder, lightening, tornado sirens and kids in and out of our bed I woke up dragging ass. I really wanted to skip my workout, but knew I would feel even worse throughout the day if I did. So I got my ass up and pushed through level 2 of the 30 Day Shred.

Breakfast was a twist on my protein pancakes. I swapped frozen dark cherries for the banana and used4 tablespoons of liquid egg whites instead of wasting the real eggs. They didn’t look too pretty, but they tasted SO GOOD!!

Topped with some peanut butter and paired with a mug of coffee. DELISH!

The deli was depressingly slow today and I was a snack monster! I think the lack of sleep just had me feeling very hungry all day long. I had a granola bar for my first snack (no picture) and then a small cup of minestrone a little while later (also no picture) and tons of water.

When it really was time for lunch I wasn’t super hungry, but made a good sized salad anyway. In the mix:

• spring mix
• red onions
• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• banana peppers
• honey mustard dressing
• a morningstar farms chik’n patty

My sweet tooth reared it’s ugly head and I downed a chocolate chip cookie before I knew what had happened!!

I got home from work with plenty of time to spare so I snuck in a yoga session to help ease a bit of the stress and tension from lack of sleep.

Dinner time was a hodge podge for everyone. Jason and Regan wanted cereal. Linsey wanted pasta and broccoli and I wanted something that I could cook while I cleaned the kitchen and got everything ready for tomorrow. So I whipped up a very bastardized version of huevos rancheros.

In the mix was:

• black beans
• hummus
• garlic
• roasted broccoli
• two pan fried eggs

Regan and I are cuddled up in my bed waiting for Jason and Linsey to get home. I’ve still got laundry going and the temperature is dropping rapidly. I’m ready to curl up under the covers and read some books with my girl.

See what I mean??

I have tons of things I really want to talk about, but tonight I’m going to zip my lips and snuggle with Regan. She’s dying for some solo Mommy time!

…I’m thankful for snuggly girls

…I’m thankful for good books

…I’m thankful for great friends

…I’m thankful for my family

…I’m thankful for early bedtimes

~ Maria

I don’t get to spend a lot of one on one time with the girls or Jason.

This weekend I got to do both AND get in some great workouts!

Saturday morning started with my final 30 Day Shred of the week…

And then I topped it off with a great (and filling) green monster. YUM…

Jason took the girls to dance class and then he and Regan did some last minute shopping while I stayed home and cleaned house. It’s amazing how quickly the house of a family of four can get messy!

Afterwards I took Regan to her first bowling party. Her friend, Hannah, turned 5 and to celebrate there was a HUGE bowling blow out for her closest 4 and 5 year old friends. They turned the lights down, the glow lights up and the music even higher.

Regan ROCKED at bowling!! She got the highest score out of everyone in her group. It was a super fun time.

When the party was over and we were back home I prayed she would take a nap, but NO. SUCH. LUCK. She didn’t even have heavy eyelids! So we ordered the girls some pizza and when my mother showed up it was off to party with some friends. This pretty much sums up my evening…

Even though we were out celebrating a friends birthday I didn’t snap one freaking picture! However, Jason and I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and walked to and from the celebrations.

I half expected to wake up with the BIGGEST headache after all my celebrating, but at 6:00 Regan woke me up wanting to watch The Cooking Channel (it’s her newest thing) and I felt fine. Weird!

Around 8:00 everyone else woke up and we got ready for breakfast at First Watch. We were going to walk, but it was only 27 degrees. The girls talked us into driving so we caved.

Breakfast was super yummy as usual and I got the same thing I always get – the veggie skillet with scrambled eggs.

During breakfast I got an invite from my friend Britt to join her and her son at the zoo. Linsey had dance company rehearsal all afternoon so Regan and I accepted the invitation while Jason took Linsey home to get ready.

After being dropped off at her house the kids climbed into their double jogging stroller and headed towards the zoo. A really good time was had by all despite the occasional rebellion from the wee ones.

After an afternoon at the zoo we piled the kiddos back into the stroller and headed off to have some lunch before parting ways to go home.

We stopped at the Bread Co down on the Loop and had some lunch. I ordered the “pick 2″ with black bean soup and a caesar salad along side their oh so fabulous iced green tea.

I was really interested to know just how much walking we had done today and was pleasantly surprised to find out it was a little over 6 miles. WAHOO!!

Once we got home Regan crashed and burned in my bed with the sound of The Cooking Channel whirring softly in the background.

I tell you what – that is one weird kid, but oh my goodness – I do adore her.

2012 Challenges
I asked you guys to help my fill up my 2012 calendar with a different challenge every month. Surprisingly only a few of you responded even though there was a giveaway (prize was a secret) attached to it. I’ll tell you later this week what my monthly challenges ended up being, but wanted to tell you who the winner was.

Dawn – send me your mailing address!!

…I’m grateful for evenings with friends

…I’m grateful for my mom and her willingness to baby sit

…I’m grateful for afternoons with friends

…I’m grateful for yummy soup to warm me up

…I’m grateful to live in an area that is very walker friendly

~ Maria

I woke up pretty tired after having a battle of wills with Regan around 1:00 in the morning. She said that she “had a strange dream” and no longer needed to sleep.

Really??

Well, her not needing to sleep ending up meaning that she needed to scream! She screamed for more lights on, for me to come and pat her back, for Jason to come and pat her back, she just screamed.

Finally we talked it out (I threatened her life!! ) and she decided that going back to sleep was the best option at that time. When my alarm went off at 5:00 I yawned and stretched and rubbed my eyes for 20 minutes and then got up to go work out.

Regan snored until almost 7:00.

Once my workout was done I made a cup of coffee and settled in for some reading time before everyone woke up.

The usual morning affairs transpired (the girls argued about getting up, they fought over who got to the bathroom first, the argued about what to eat for breakfast, they begged to watch the Today Show) and then we had breakfast.

While I was eating Jason texted and asked me to make a bread run after dropping the girls off at school. When I was right around the corner I got stuck for 13 minutes behind this…

Bollocks!!!

Oh well … this too shall pass.

We had a decent day at the deli. Nothing phenomenal, but we made it thru even though some of our BEST customers (you know who you are!!) didn’t come in. I had a snack (well half of a snack since Jason stole part of it) around 11:00.

I’m newly obsessed with these granola bars. They are sooooooo good!

Lunch was a bit of a switch up from the usual. I did have some tomato soup and crackers because I love it and that’s how I roll.

But today, instead of garlic cheese bread, I made myself a salad filled with yummy veggies, tossed in honey mustard dressing and topped with four veggie buffalo wings straight from the toaster.

I was so full after all that food, but it was so worth it!

Since the weather today was record breaking (66 degrees!!) I just had to go for a run after taking Linsey to dance class.

Look at how fast I can be when it’s nice out and I’m running a short distance!! Now I just have to work my way up to keep that pace for longer distances.

Dinner was uneventful, but very tasty. I love pineapple Chobani and I really love to mix it with banana slices and a scoop of crunchy peanut butter.

Would you ever…

A friend from high school (who is so freaking lucky that she lives in Hawaii) posted a question on her facebook page regarding plastic surgery. Would you or wouldn’t you have plastic surgery if money was no issue??

I answered a resounding YES!! I have wanted a tummy tuck since Linsey was born. I gained 65lbs when I was pregnant with her and then had a c-section on top of that. My stomach was stretched and sliced and pulled and yanked so that little baby could come out. It’s never been the same since!

I told you…not pretty!! (I swear that’s me)

So I started to wonder: Would you ever…

1. have plastic surgery
2. go on a reality show
3. date someone whom you’ve already dated & broken up with
4. have an affair
5. go all weekend without showering
6. visit a nude beach AND participate
7. give up your car for a month
8. give up restaurants for a year
9. run a marathon
10. do a cleanse

My answers…

1. yes
2. yes!
3. not now, but I have before
4. no
5. isn’t that EVERY weekend
6. ummmm… IDK
7. TOTALLY
8. I highly doubt it
9. yes
10. yes

…I’m thankful for the beautiful weather

…I’m thankful for social media

…I’m thankful for burned glee CDs

…I’m thankful for peanut butter

…I’m thankful for sleeping children

~ Maria

I managed to get my ass up and out of bed to get in a work out before everyone woke up. It was a bit brutal this morning. Honestly, Day 3 kind of kicked my ass! My arms were super sore and my quads were burning by the time everything was all said and done.

The girls slept way late thins morning! I think they are finally getting hit by the reality that the vacation is over and are now trying to make up for lost sleep. I was cool with it because it gave me some quiet time to do more reading for the Jane Austen Book Club!!

After the pull and tug of getting them out of bed and ready for school we all settled in for some breakfast and The Today Show!

Coffee (mug number 2)…

Oats (with half of a banana, a scoop of almond butter and a few dark chocolate chips)…

All together now…

Every bite and every sip was a glorious party happening in my tummy. I was one happy girl by 8:00.

Then we had to go and do drop off.

Linsey just gets out of the car, says “Bye Mom, I love you,” and runs into the building.

Regan, on the other hand, was no longer one happy girl. She was clingy, she was over dramatic and then we waved good-bye at the window. That part always kills me, but I do it and move on. If I linger that makes it harder for her.

Work was steady, but really slow today. It was the absolute slowest day of the YEAR!! But seriously, it was really slow. So slow, in fact, that I had time to actually eat my snack today.

Thankfully we have some really awesome customers that like to chat, laugh and crack jokes. That makes the time go by faster and before I knew it – it was time for lunch! I had the very same thing I had yesterday because it was just that good.

See… told ya!!

Currently I’m sitting in the lobby of Linsey’s dance school listening to the thump and boom of the hip hop class and the click clack of the tap class. We are officially back to our old routine.

Except… Jason hasn’t gone back to school yet. He has a couple more weeks of his winter break so that means extra help at home and with the girls. They are super stoked to have Daddy home and I’m hella happy to have him around as well. It’s nice to feel married again.

Speaking of extra help – he’s currently at the grocery store picking up things to make dinner tonight. His step-mother is in town for a few days and will be coming over tonight to see the girls and eat with us. He’s picking Regan up from school AND making dinner.

SCORE!!

He told me to be ready to enjoy bow tie pasta with a mushroom ragu, caesar salad and toasted herbed focaccia bread. I’m excited already!!

I read this story on facebook earlier today, shared it with ALL my friends and now I have to share it with you. It’s a beautiful interaction between two brothers, a shameful reaction from a father and heart warming words from a person witnessing the event. It moved me to tears.

Acceptance is not love. You love a person because he or she has lovable traits, but you accept everybody just because they’re alive and human. ~ Albert Ellis

…I’m grateful for a husband that can really cook

…I’m grateful for sunshine

…I’m grateful for the words of others

…I’m grateful for people who make me laugh

…I’m grateful for quiet time to read

~ Maria

But after hitting the snooze button two times I got right up, changed in to my work out clothes and headed into the living room. Jillian Michaels beckoned…

This morning didn’t feel too much different than yesterday except for the slightest bit of tenderness in my arms, but once I got into it I was good to go!

After my workout the girls were still asleep (lucky little brats! ) so I snuck in a few minutes of reading with a cup of coffee. Of course I was only a matter of minutes into it when Regan woke up!

So I jumped in the shower and we got ready for our first day back after such a great vacation. Breakfast was coffee and oatmeal. Nothing special, but oh so yummy.

Once our tummies were full and we were all bundled up (the weather was so much better in Atlanta!) we headed out the door and off to school/work.

The deli was just as it was before we left! The phone started ringing off the hook right about 10:00 and by 11:00 we were in full swing again. Everyone told us how much we were missed and how they starved while we were gone (LIARS!) and how glad they were that we were back.

I guess it is good to be a gangsta!

I forgot my snack so by the time lunch rolled around I was STARVING!! I literally could’ve eaten my own arm off, but I opted for tomato soup and garlic cheese bread instead. Whew…

I helped get the deli put back in order and then left to go pick up the girls. It was still freezing outside so I decided to skip my scheduled run. I’m a wussy like that. It’s going to be nicer towards the end of the week so I’ll get one or two short runs in before it’s all said and done.

At home I got the girls each a snack and got busy on the laundry and dinner. Linsey went down to a friends house to work on their science fair project which left Regan and I to get dinner going.

We decided that I looked the part in my new apron… Isn’t it cute?!?!

It was a Christmas present!!

Wearing something like that really gets me in the mood to do some “fancy” cooking. So does this little baby…

Drizzled on top of my red potatoes it paired well with some fragrant rosemary.

Don’t I sound so knowledgeable?! Actually – I had no idea what would go well with it and just took a shot with the rosemary. WINNING!!

I also made these brussel sprouts and some morningstar farms veggie riblets. It hit all the right spots and pleased every one in the house!

My dinner…

I also had three undocumented sugar cookies, but they were so tasty that they got eaten before I could snap a picture.

After dinner Jason took the girls with him to his meeting so I had some time to get things ready for tomorrow, do more laundry and squeeze in a yoga session.

It was lovely and now it’s time for bed. That will be quite lovely as well.

Hope that everyone had a great day back after the holidays!!

…I’m grateful for good friends

…I’m grateful for cute aprons

…I’m grateful for quiet time

…I’m grateful for solo yoga sessions

…I’m grateful for our furnace (it’s a cold mother outside!)

~ Maria

We bundled up and walked to First Watch for breakfast.

Regan took my English muffin and this is what filled my tummy…

It was so yummy!!

After we walked the two miles back home Jason headed out for a full day of studying. He’s got finals all next week so we probably won’t be seeing him until Friday. The weather was pretty nice (for December) so the girls and I took full advantage and walked over to the park.

Everyone had a blast playing on the new equipment!!

After all that fun who wouldn’t want to come home to this??

Once that mountain was conquered I was ready for some lunch. So I took the leftovers from dinner and made my own twist on something called “frito pie” that people used to eat when I was younger. I always thought it was weird, but now that I’ve tasted mine maybe they were on to something…

I took a leftover corn bread muffin, sliced it in half and topped it with a slice of smoked gouda and the rest of our black bean chili. In the microwave for about two minutes and the cheese is melty, the muffin is soft and sweet and the chili was piping hot.

To cure my sweet tooth I cut a banana in half and topped it with a little bit of peanut butter. My favorite snack…

No I’m off to figure out something for dinner. I’m thinking of making these brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes and and garlic cheese bread.

Hope that you’re having a great Sunday!!

If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid with regard to external things. ~ Epictetus

I managed to avoid most of the bad things (mainly because they had meat in them) but did over indulge on some of the desserts (my weakness).  I enjoyed peach cream cake, apple dumplings and pumpkin beer bread pudding.

So today, after getting in a solid 40 minutes of P90X Core Synergistics done before everyone else woke up, I made sure my food intact was clean, healthy and satisfying. But I didn’t snap one food picture today!!

I’m still getting used to my new iPhone.

Breakfast:

• 1/2 cup cooked steel cut oats with splash of almond milk
• 3/4 of a large banana
• 1 tbsp dark chocolate chips
• 1 big scoop crunchy peanut butter
• 2 mugs of coffee

Snack:

• luna protein bar (chocolate & peanut butter)

Lunch:

• Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• 6 saltine crackers
• chocolate chip cookie (not so clean)

Dinner:

• TJ’s mildly spiced vegetable burrito
• topped with peach salsa and light sour cream
• 2 mint oreos (not so clean)

I’m so over the food today!

I’ve been feeling a bit frustrated lately. I work out 6 days a week for an average of 45 minutes a day, but my weight hasn’t changed and my body isn’t changing either. I really hoped to be back in my favorite Gap jeans by January 1st.

And now – something completely not food or fitness related!

I stuck to one of my Family Goals for the week this evening. Jason and Linsey had to be at Nutcracker rehearsal by 5:45 and won’t be home until right around bedtime. So Regan and I were on our own. I asked her on the way to school this morning what she wanted to do with all of her Mommy time and she didn’t hesitate with an answer.

Jason bought these for the girls and put them together over the weekend. We had to let them dry completely before decorating and Regan had waited long enough. She quickly got busy making plans, instructing me where to put the icing and sticking the different candies in just the right spots.

She was really good at designing the look of her gingerbread house and knew exactly what she wanted. We spent a good hour getting everything just right.

When it was all exactly the way she wanted it and we had used every drop of icing and every piece of candy – she finally decided to stop and smile for the camera.

Her master piece is complete…

It was some of the greatest Mommy/Regan time EVER.

Now I have to take a minute to brag on Linsey.

When the school year started about two tons of paperwork came home during the first week. Teacher introductions, calendars, volunteer forms, school policies and school year time-lines. Mixed up in that paperwork was a form for the kids. They got to enter their own drawing into a contest for this years cover of the Buzz Book (the school directory).

Linsey loves to draw, but never thinks any of her stuff is “very good”. You know – that whole “being your own worst critic” thing. Yeah. She’s got that down pat. So she drew a number of pictures and then finally, the night before the entry was supposed to be turned in, she sat down and really drew a picture. I thought it was cute. Linsey thought it sucked. But she entered it anyway.

And guess what…?!

Hers got picked!!!

She was so excited this afternoon when she showed it to me. She couldn’t stop smiling and couldn’t wait to show it to Jason. As much as that girl makes me crazy, it breaks my heart when she’s down on herself. This was definitely something that she needed to lift her self esteem a bit.

Even Regan was so proud. She carried the Buzz Book all the way home and displayed it neatly on our desk for everyone to see.

Today I’m thankful for:

• a loving family
• my beautiful daughters
• Mommy/Regan time
• Jason and all that he does for his girls (have I used that one before?)
• a working furnace

Which means there’s only ONE MORE work day until Thanksgiving!! I’m super stoked for a four day weekend, the St Louis Thanksgiving Day Parade and a day with friends and family.

Tomorrow I’ll be working with one eye watching the hands on the clock for sure.

This morning it was so gloomy and rainy! All I wanted was comfort food. So after I slammed through a 30 minute kettlebell session with Jillian the girls and I whipped up some scrambled eggs (I put spinach in mine) and toast with raspberry jam.

I’m not in love with gluten free bread. I haven’t found one that I really adore yet, but I’m dealing with the denseness. Three mugs of coffee made it go down so much smoother.

All together now…

Today was the Thanksgiving feast at Regan’s school and family were invited to attend, but it was from 11:30-12:30 … The busiest possible time at the deli! Needless to say, I didn’t get to go so drop off was extra excruciating this morning. Regan cried, pulled on me and begged me not to go to work.

Talk about heart breaking.

I snacked on a chocolate peppermint luna bar before things got crazy busy at work. I really like this flavor. It totally reminds me of Christmas!

Once the deli was closed and it was time to eat lunch I went with my old stand by because it was still cold, rainy and not pretty out at all. Tomato soup was screaming my name!

It continued to rain the rest of the day. So I picked Regan up from school early (so not running in the COLD and the RAIN!) and we met Linsey right at her dismissal time.

Since Jason’s on Thanksgiving break already he had planned on taking Linsey to her dance class tonight – which meant that Regan and I were free for some Thanksgiving baking!!

But first…dinner. I literally had 45 minutes to put food on the table and get Jason out the door with Linsey.

So this…

Turned into this…

Once we ate, I got Jason and Linsey out the door and had cleaned up from dinner – Regan and I got down and dirty. I love to bake, but I almost NEVER have the time.

I had seen Kristen make this pumpkin beer bread a while back and knew I had to make it. It’s the Schlafly Pumpkin Ale Bread and it looked DE-LISH. So I tweaked the recipe a bit (made it vegan and gluten free) and got out everything we would need.

Regan was stoked to bring a chair into the kitchen and help me bake for Thanksgiving. It’s something we love to do, but rarely find the time for these days.

Once the pumpkin, beer and every other ingredient was put into their appropriate bowls – Regan got busy mixing.

And a bit more mixing had it all…ummm…mixed together.

Then we divided the batter into three small loaf pans to put into the oven.

As soon as it’s all done I’ll let you know how they turned out. Jason plans on turning the bread into a Pumpkin Beer Bread Pudding tomorrow. YUM-O!!

Today I’m thankful for:

• pumpkin
• holidays
• long weekends
• little helpers in the kitchen
• the smell of bread baking