did you know?

thanks for all the birthday wishes! my birthday is still 2 days away but i feel like the birthday girl already :D

did you know that 3 day weekends are the jam?

seriously.. i can’t believe that it is sunday and i still have one more day off! can we make this a mandatory regular thing? please? it makes me ever so happy.

did you know that having you sister & her family in town from califonia for a funeral and you only being able to see them one time is a good reason to go out to eat on a non-free day?

it’s true. friday night the WHOLE family (aside from nephew jake) got together at sweet chicago pizza and spent some time together. albeit brief, it was quality, and that is what matters.

salad with grilled chicken.

i ended up eating four little corners of pizza and 1/3 of a piece of cheese bread. i think i kept it pretty contained, considering the fact that i have the capability of eating entire pizzas to myself. seriously, put me in a pizza eating contest, i’ll dominate.

this was the size of the pizza slices i had. please notice marshall stuffing his face in the background. i am just now seeing this and wasn’t sure if it was on accident or intentional, but either way~ it is hilarious.

see you in july, bills’ family!

(apparently sofi is the only one who wanted a photo with us)

 

did you know that mixing soy protein powder, coconut flour, baking soda, egg whites, almond milk and cinnamon do NOT make glorious pancakes?

i did. flapjack FAIL. no photo.  tossed out the batter, they were that whack!

i had an apple for breakfast instead ;)

did you know that forever 21 now makes workout gear?!

i found this out on friday and stocked up! i am all about the cheap workout clothes. i think the only place to spend a good amount of money is on a good pair of shoes and a couple nice sports bras for running days.  on lifting days, cheap sports bras are fine by me.

   

i got those gray pants for $12.80! side note.. why does F21 insist on marking such silly, strange prices for things? always with the 80 cents at the end. weirdos. if they had some sort of method to the madness they could at least mark it with 21 cents at the end!

did you know that susan from the great balancing act is more than just a pretty face?

homegirl knows her stuff! there is a reason she recently was certified as a trainer, folks. i pulled this total body workout straight off this post and did in saturday afternoon. she didn’t notate reps or weight, so i went with what i felt was appropriate:

15 minute elliptical warmup:

minute	resistance	speed
1	5	7.0
2	6	7.5
3	7	8.0
4	8	8.5
5	9	9.0

*repeat twice more.

straight set,3 times through:

move	weight	reps	muscles worked
One arm dumbbell snatch	15#	15 each side	shoulders, quads, glutes

superset, 3 times through:

move	weight	reps	muscles worked
Wide-grip lat pulldown	60#	15	upper & mid back, biceps
Single leg squat	body weight	15 each leg	quads, glutes, inner thigh

superset, 3 times through:

move	weight	reps	muscles worked
Cable twisting chest press	25#	15 each arm	chest, front of shoulder, triceps, obliques
Single leg romanian deadlift with upright dumbbell row	30# total (15 # db each hand)	15 each leg	hamstrings, glutes, lower back, hips, shoulders

superset, 3 times through:

move	weight	reps	muscles worked
Dumbbell front raise with a side lunge (first half) and then lateral raise with a side lunge	5# ea for first set, then 3# ea last 2 sets	30 (15 each way, alternating)	front shoulders, top back, thighs, glutes
Standing calf raise (i did single leg)	body weight	15 each leg	calves

superset, 3 times through:

move	weight	reps	muscles worked
Incline curl	12# ea	15	biceps
Kickback	10#	15 each arm	triceps

superset, 3 times through:

move	weight	reps	muscles worked
Cable horizontal woodchop	50#	15 each side	obliques
Reverse crunch	body weight	15	lower abs

superset, 3 times through:

move	weight	reps	muscles worked
crunch on decline bench	body weight	100	upper abs
laying butt bridge	10# on hips	25	glutes, hamstrings

i tacked that extra set on the end for good measure. i only changed the workout by adding the upright row to the deadlifts (which was very challenging and engaged my core!) and switched the calf raises to single leg. oh and i also had a nice, 10 minute long stretch sesh.

total time: 1 hour 19 minutes, total calories burned: 403, max HR: 165, average HR: 130.

did you know that i love mail more than almost anything (except ice cream, dogs, marshall and cereal)?

weeee.. mail!

did you know that blog friends=best friends?

oh. my. gosh.

two packages came for me yesterday and my heart was overjoyed.. i can’t believe how thoughtful and kind some people are!

first up is the package from reader christin.  she wasn’t digging her EAS premium blend protein powder so she offered to send it to me!!

oh my gosh! the weirdest part is i have been looking high and low at costcos across the city to try to find this particular blend of protein powder. it is the only one i use for my protein oats and i have been out of the vanilla for months! you may have noticed that i have only been using chocolate protein powder in my oats lately.

THANK YOU CHRISTIN!

second up was a mystery package from michelle. i totally forgot i’d given her my address awhile back in the midst of all my stress.  i opened it up and there was the sweetest card~

and then i opened the gift. UMMMMMMM LOOK!

a houndstooth wallet! what makes this situation even more amazing is i was just looking at new wallets on friday because mine is falling apart. the world works in mysterious ways, folks.

THANK YOU MICHELLE!

did you know that i could go on a liquid diet for a week and be ok with it?

as long as it involved these glorious green protein shakes, i’d be set!

• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• tons of ice
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp guar gum
• 1 frozen banana, sliced
• 3 handfuls spinach
• 1 scoop 100% whey vanilla protein powder

this made 3 cups full! and i chugged them in about 4 minutes flat.

did you know that it is HARD to type with fake nails?

don’t laugh. i went to get a much needed pedicure yesterday and i was looking at my haggard fingernails.. that were all different lengths and quite a sight to behold. (please see photo above with me chugging my smoothie for a visual example). i am getting my engagement photos on wednesday and i realized they may have a closeup or two of my hand/the ring.

so i went for it.. and got the fake nails. i used to have these ALL the time, back when i was 24. they are expensive to maintain and i realized i really am not that girly.. and they are a pain to type with =P

but they sure look good! the price we pay for beauty…right?

did you know that the new issue of shape is pretty good?

i never really read shape but i got a free subscription and i am enjoying it more than expected.

did you know that cooking dinner at a friend’s > going out to eat?

marshall & i went over to kristen & rory’s house and whipped up a simple oven fried chicken parmesan last night.

for the chicken, i dredged it in whole wheat flour, then egg whites, then italian seasoned panko bread crumbs.

i sprayed a pan with cooking spray and seared each side for about 3 minutes each before transferring into the oven (which was heated to 450 degrees).

i baked one side for bout 7 minutes, flipped the breasts over and sprinkled them with parmesan cheese and baked for another 5 minutes. 

i then flipped them one more time, topped them with parmesan AND low moisture mozzarella and broiled the cheese just so it was melty!

marshall made the sauce. it is his trade. marinara sauce. it’s what he does.

we also steamed some veggies and had some garlic bread and whole wheat spaghetti to go with the meal.

YUM! so much better than eating out!

did you know that red mango is open until midnight?

so if you waltz in the door to red mango at 11:56, have no fear, you will still get your froyo fix!

can you guess which one was mine?

i had a small with watermelon, mango & blueberries.

UM.. watermelon is my new favorite froyo topping! it is so porous that the froyo melted into the crevices of the watermelon and every bite was a party in my mouth. try it, you’ll like it!

did you know that pancake sunday is back and in full effect?

yep! i am taking over for HEAB and celebrating in proper style.

i made these protein pancakes with 1 serving vanilla protein powder+1 serving buckwheat pancake mix (hodgson mill)+an egg white+water. so simple!

delicious and nutritious!

 

did you know that it is perfectly fine to replace one chemical with another?

i was out of sugar free syrup so i went with sugar free jam. still just as good! i love how deb calls these “frankenfoods” =P i also just love deb period.

did you know that using my new food scale is going to be a blast?

eat smart sent me a food scale!

i am a numbers freak, folks. i love, love, love this sort of thing. i mentally add things up in my head for fun, i count the stairs i go up and down out of habit, i remember my workout weights and reps without writing them down… i am fairly certain that i am going to start weighing things on my new scale just for the fun of it.

i wonder if it would break if i put penny’s fat butt on there? ;)

no,  but in all honesty, i think the food scale is going to be useful in my daily eating. i am pretty sure i am overestimating portion sizes by a lot.. and i have 48 days to be wedding-dress-ready, so i think the scale will help.  i am going to use it this week and see how i do. full review coming soon!

did you know that the sun is shining and the weather is glorious today?

well, it is! so i am going to close my laptop, go for a jog and then head to my house to see what we can do as far as painting goes. i will be taking some progress pics of the renovations! i also have a birthday dinner celebration at the parents’ abode tonight (my brother’s birthday is thursday, 2 days after mine, we celebrate together!) ~so my next post will have lots of fun stuff to share.

did you know that i almost forgot to announce the giveaway winners?

i’m not even lying. i picked the two winners using random.org!

winner #1:

winner #2:

congrats, girls! email me your mailing information (mealsandmoves at gmail dot com) ASAP and i will get the book shipped your way. thanks to everyone for entering :)

check ya later alligators!

Qs~

1. what clothing items do you “splurge” on and what do you “save” on? when it comes to workout gear, like i said above, i splurge on shoes and a couple nice bras. i save on the workout bottoms and tshirts.. i have been known to wear marshall’s shirts to the gym! as far as normal clothes go, the ONLY thing i splurge on is nice jeans. the rest of my wardrobe consists of super cheap finds from places like h&m, forever 21, target.. you know.

2. what is the last fun piece of mail you received? thanks for the fun mail, christin and michelle! and eat smart!

HAVE A GREAT MEMORIAL DAY! i will probably be back tomorrow night for a recap.

xo. janetha b.