Tag: workouts

Recipes, Wordless Wednesday

Never a wordless Wednesday

Movin' it with Michelle

Although I haven’t joined the 30 day Yoga challenge, I have decided to include Yoga in my weekly routine, at least 1-2 times per week.  Those of you that know me, know I am NOT flexible…But I am working towards being a leaner, stronger, more flexible runner in 2015…so here we go…

Balanced and even?? Heck no...but I sure am trying.
Balanced and even?? Heck no…but I sure am trying.

And meet my amazing yoga partner, my mini Mover.

My 8 year old held strong for 30 minutes tonight; So proud!
My 8 year old held strong for 30 minutes tonight; So proud! (notice my photobombing dog, yeah…lol)

After work, and Yoga, we decided to prepare a healthy meal.  The chicken wings I had (again) in the Caf at work were NOT healthy. Argh.  Someone please pass me a side of will power, please…lol.  I am down 2 lbs so I won’t complain-too much…8 lbs to go…

We made a yummy salad with mixed greens of baby kale, arugula, and spinach along with some chopped romaine.  I added radishes, tomatoes, green onions and a healthy yogurt dressing.

Top your salad with crab meat that has been seasoned with a little Old Bay and YUM!
Top your salad with crab meat that has been seasoned with a little Old Bay and YUM!

Tonight we hunkered down on the couch and watched American Idol.  Yup…still a junky 13 years later.  There are very few shows we can catch on our ONE channel, but I’ve been trying to gather the family more at least a few nights per week for at least an hour.  We all love music in our house, so this show is a win/win.  And it’s an hour spent with my favorite people.  What more could I ask for?

And now I sit here, with my thoughts and honestly I think I’ll go to bed soon. In my efforts to disengage from FB, I still find myself checking back far too often seeing people’s posts that just (sorry) piss me off.  Why do I bother?  As my sister says….FB sure can be a ‘Life suck’…I need to not let it suck the life out of me.  This brings #SMDH (shaking my darn head) to a whole new level….

So tomorrow I have a good ole dready run on deck, and despite work, kids, housework, etc, I’ve decided to MAKE the time.  Because guess what….I NEED it.  This…is no longer a want.

OOPS, my laundry timer is going off…Back to reality gang!!!

What are your favorite cross training work outs if you are a runner?  Have you ever tried Yoga?

❤ Keep Movin’ Forward, y’all….Michelle

 

 

dedication, food, goals

Gosh has it really been a week?

Movin' it with Michelle

Last week I logged 3 runs, and kept my eating on par…well, until the weekend where I chowed down on chicken wings while watching the World Cup soccer game…ooooooops…

I started my week strong with my hubby, running a very humid and hot 5k to get us moving. It was hard, admittedly. There were plenty of swear words and more sweat then we could even quantify, but we kept moving…

Back to work today, and let’s just say at 9 pm I have finally finished my work day. Talk about exhausted…who wants to lift weights for me?

BUT…I’ve missed cooking. With the hubby gone last week our meals here were pretty simple…

Yet the best part of tonight was creating a yummy and healthy dinner and in less than 30 minutes. Now…what to name this dish, LOL.

Braised chicken thighs

Here is what you’ll need:

4 chicken thighs, bone in, patted dry.
1 small white onion diced
1 pepper diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
2 teaspoons of capers, diced
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 cup of Sauvignon blanc (Fiddlehead cellar is my all time favorite)
Seasonings:
Pinch of Rosemary, sage, thyme, kosher salt, black pepper and roasted red pepper flakes

Here’s what you’ll do:
Season your chicken with salt and pepper and sear on both sides in a pan coated with extra virgin olive oil, until they are golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside. (Do NOT cook through). In the same pan, add your onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, tomato paste, capers, wine, and seasoning and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add back your chicken, coating them in the sauce, and cover. Let simmer for 15 minutes until cooked through.

Simmer for at least 15 minutes!
Simmer for at least 15 minutes!

Instead of serving over traditional pasta, I served over yellow zucchini noodles. What a hit!

Finished dish!
Finished dish!

How did I make these cool veggie noodles? My new favorite kitchen gadget!

Vegettie...don't laugh.
The Vegettie…don’t laugh.

Tonight’s work out? Arms…
arms

Back at it with running tomorrow!

What is your favorite kitchen gadget?

❤ Michelle

dedication, goals, moving forward, running

New Chapters…

Movin' it with Michelle

This will more than likely be a pictureless post, unless something tickles my fancy while I write.

My week in a nutshell…
Monday-ran 2 miles in my neighborhood just to stretch my legs. Kept my pace under 10 minutes (9:37 min/mile) despite tummy issues, so I was pleased.

Tuesday-cross training with 220 sit-ups, 90 push-ups, 3 sets bicep curls, 3 sets of tricep extensions.

Wednesday-ran 2.75 miles on the dreadmill as it was only 12 degrees outside, and I am officially over layering x3 to go outside to run. (9:32 min/mile)
Also knocked out my pushups (90) and sit ups (100).
After which I traveled about 45 minutes to my favorite consignment shop to by some new (used) clothes for work. Less than 100 dollars for 2 pairs of dress pants, and 9 shirts, and I left feeling very proud of myself for my frugalness…is that I word?

Thursday-(today) was my rest day. And as I finish up my second week of glorious time off in between jobs, I treated myself with TWO dates with my girlfriends. I met my friend Andrea for lunch at a place we run past – ALL the time, yet have never visited called Pal Joey’s. We had a great couple of hours of conversation, and funny enough realized it was the first time in 2 years we’ve hung outside of running together. In attempt to enjoy every last minute of my free time, I met up with Carolyn at our favorite local eatery in St. Charles called “The Office” for a light dinner and great catching up time. Less than 25 dollars spent for 2 meals, filled with priceless conversation and memories was money well spent.

Tomorrow, I am heading downtown with my friends for our packet pick up for the Shamrock Shuffle 8K in Chicago. I rarely get to make it to city race packet pick ups, so this should be a blast. I’ll be up early in the morning to get ready, and meet my friends to take the train downtown. This will be only my second time taking the actual train, so I am super excited. We’ve figured out the logistics so that those of us with kids can make it home in time to pick up our munchkins. Let’s hope the weather cooperates and we are able to have a nice morning downtown! Although I plan on “racing” this race, I know by no means am I truly ready to RACE nearly 5 miles…between the winter, and my injury last fall I have found myself slow going coming back to being a ‘runner.’ Thankfully, I have never quit…and as always, I keep movin’ forward.

Despite set backs and road blocks, I truly believe in never giving up. If you are true to those you love, they in turn will be true to you….In happy times, sad times, ugly times, and downright terrible times…give support, and you will find it come back to you ten fold.
I am nervous, scared, and excited to embark on my new job, but I know I have so many wonderful people backing me up. ❤ I am an Overcomer…(Mandisa)

❤ Michelle