I love the 80s (well..parts of it)

You know what's really rad?  Being all decked out in your coolest 80s attire and having to stop at the gas station for some ice.  It's not uncomfortable AT ALL, oh no.  =/  haha!

Saturday marked my brother-in-law Craig's birthday and thus - a birthday bash was born.  It was a themed party - 80s, if you will, and Linda and Craig went all out with their decorum.

There were movie posters throughout the house representing some of the best movies - Goonies, Ferris Buehler, Gremlins, Back to the Future, etc...

There was an Alf cake.

There were slap bracelets.

There were famous quotes and other such era indicators printed and posted about.

The office was set-up with the original Nintendo gaming system with your choice of several games to play.  Of course, the favorite was Super Mario 3.

The dining room was set-up as a Karaoke room.  80s hits were belted out by many.

The wardrobes, however, stole the show.

revamp

Yesterday morning I Tweeted the following:

today is a new day and I'm going to be doing things a little bit differently

What did I mean by that?

Well, a wise woman I know (someone near and dear to me who I call mom) has this saying that goes something like this, "if you always do what you've always done, then you are always going to get what you've always gotten." 

I'm not happy with several aspects of my life right now.  I know that if I get some of it right, then most of the rest will fall into place.

4 MAJOR areas of my life need revamping - sleep, food, exercise, and attitude

They are all interconnected.

I am requiring 7 hours of sleep a night.  I know I have required this before and not followed through.  Believe it or not, I am capable of following a plan.  I will prove it to you (and me)!  =)

I am requiring a food journal of sorts.  Being a South Beacher does not mean calorie counting, BUT we all know calories do count.  I want to be aware of what I'm putting in my mouth as I have been quite guilty of emotional eating lately.  I downloaded an application for my phone (My Fitness Pal) and I have started documenting my food.  This way I can eat within my plan, monitor the calories I'm consuming, AND be accountable for everything I'm putting in my system.  I've also come to realize that it's okay to feel hungry.  What a concept!  Let's just accept that and move on.

I am requiring cross training.  I have found myself relying solely on running.  Isn't that what got me into trouble to begin with (think pelvic stress fracture)?  I was supposed to be incorporating cross training as soon as I was released back to running.  Yeah, that lasted 3 weeks.  Bad Kim!  I need to do a minimum of 3 runs per week, but I also need to be cross-training twice a week with weights and/or cardio.  Consider it done!

Last, but not least...attitude.  I'm a quitter.  I know this.  I'm my own worst enemy.  I know this.  I'm a self-saboteur.  I know this.  WAIT A MINUTE.  I have been all these things.  Just because I have been doesn't mean I still need to be, if that makes any sense.  I am the one who makes the choice of which path I follow.  I can choose a path of positive thinking.  I can follow the mantra of "if at first I don't succeed, try try again".  I can stop being a defeatist and start being a realist.  Getting to my goal weight is going to take time, patience, and a whole lot of hard work.  Getting to my fitness goals is going to take time, patience, and a whole lot of hard work.  Since when have I shied away from hard work?  The patience issue...well that's the ticker for me, now isn't it?

I just signed up for another half marathon - The Chicago Monster Dash - October 29th.  This is the 4th official one for the year.  I've yet to sign up for the See Jane Run October 9th Austin half and the TriGirl 13.1 which should be returning to Humble (Houston area) in December.  Assuming I hit these 2, that will be 6 for the year.  Who is this girl?!  She is me.

I want to be eating 13.1 for breakfast.  That's something I won't have to journal - ha!

BUT for right now...let's just get me to my first half for the year, my first post-injury half for the year.  It will be here in less than 5 weeks and I'm not even close to being ready.  It's crunch time.

So, it's the dawn of a new day with a new plan to get me where I need to be.

Bring it.

my mom, the goose, and some chicken soup

My mom is precious.  I might have mentioned this a time or two.  Not only is she pint size (under 5' tall), but she decorates for all holidays, and just plain does and says the cutest things.  Remember our High tAcKy Texas Tea last July?  Yep. Cute.

She had to undergo major surgery on Friday.  Needless to say, we were all a bit nervous, but everything went well.  I had hoped to go visit her in the hospital on Friday after work, but my dad told me there was no point because she was pretty much falling in and out of consciousness every 5 to 10 minutes courtesy of meds.

Since we always do our family lunch thing on Saturday, we decided to meet (minus the parentals since my dad was at the hospital with my mom) at Red Lobster near the hospital.  We won't talk about how the cheddar bay biscuits are so not on my diet and how I may or may not have had enough to feed a small army (lack of self control much?).  After lunch, we sent older sister Cathy and brother-in-law Jay over to the hospital leaving younger sister Linda and brother-in-law Craig and I to seek flowers.  We went to the Kroger located in the same parking lot.  They had crap.  We didn't know what to do, so we decided to caravan drive until we found another grocery story.  Who knew we would have to drive for countless hours (slight exaggeration) until we happened across a Walmart?  Of course, Walmart doesn't have flower arrangements.  They have flower bouquets.  This meant that Linda and I picked out 2 bouquets of tulips (our mom loves tulips) and one bouquet of mixed floral lovelies.  We then sought out a vase, scissors to trim the stems, and bottles of water to fill the vase.  Whoa.  We were like our own freakin' flower shop.

We then caravanned to the hospital and Linda put the arrangement together (and did a wonderful job, I might add).  We arrived and spent some time with my mom.  About 30 minutes into our visit, the nurse came in to tell us she was being given the boot.  WHAT?!  Um...whatever.  She has gotten better sleep, more comfort, and better attitudes at home (she wasn't very happy with the nurses).

I arrived at their house and saw this:

Yes, it's my mom's goose.  Do you remember it from Valentine's Day in his little outfit of love?  Now he is wearing scrubs, as you can see.  I didn't understand why I hadn't noticed when I stopped by TWICE on Friday to help with Oliver (their bull dog).  My dad confessed that my mom forgot to dress the goose before she left for the hospital, so he had to do it on Friday night when he got back from visiting her.  Okay, if you knew my dad AT ALL, this is hilarious - him dressing a goose.  I mean - imagine your own dad dressing a goose...or a doll...same difference.  Hilarious.   My mom later told me that he couldn't wait to dress the goose...as in he was all kinds of excited about it.  weird.

A few weeks ago my dad was on a golf trip, so my mom put the goose in this outfit:

So, I had 3 vacation days left from last year and they had to be used by the end of this month.  I saved them to help with my mom.  I have mom-care-duty Monday thru Wednesday.  I have such great plans for us.  Um...she is gonna sleep and I'm gonna....do whatever she asks of me.  =)

I decided to start off by making her chicken soup for her soul.  I never roasted veggies before hand when making soup.  I've always just thrown the raw veggies in the pot.  I decided to change things up a bit.  I filled a pot with water and put 4 large (trimmed of fat) chicken breasts in along with several buillion cubes.  I cut up carrots, onion, and celery and placed it all on a baking sheet.  I then brushed the veggies with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled them with rock salt and garlic (from a grinder I bought at H.E.B.).  In the oven they went for about 40 minutes @ 350 degrees.  Once my chicken was done, I used two forks to shred it.  I added my roasted veggies to the soup and put some more water in, as well.  I honestly didn't need to add any more seasoning other than a bit of black pepper.

This will be dinner!

Kim versus the 5K: Chick-fil-A 5K

I just love me the local 5Ks, you know?!  So nice not to have to drive down town and deal with parking.  Last night I pulled a "Kim".  You know what that means.  total. aggie. moment.  I knew I had to pick-up my race packet at the Chick-fil-A off of 2920.  I was apparently not clear on which part of 2920, so despite the fact I was coming from my parent's house which is closer to the one I should have been going to, I proceeded to go to the incorrect Chick-fil-A.  About 2 minutes into my uncomfortable awkwardness of standing around inside the wrong location, it dawned on me that there were no packets being distributed and that I was clearly mistaken.  I used my trusty Android to find the correct location and went on my not-so-merry way.

It was a cutie packet in a Chick-fil-A box instead of a bag.  We got a t-shirt, a kiddie toothbrush, coupons for free Chick-fil-A, a pen (I have a thing about pens...bet you didn't know that), our respective bibs with safety pins, etc.

I placed all my gear on the dining room table the night before.  Man - it sure does take a lot of stuff just to run 3.1 miles.  Sheesh.

I had the best intentions of going to bed early, but...well...you know me.  I got about 4 hours and 45 minutes of sleep.  Blech.

I met up with Rachel first.  We headed over to Lowe's to use the facilities.  There was a chain across an area near the bathroom that Rachel and I had to climb across.  I made a joke about the turtle (me) doing a hurdle before the big race.  We then headed over to the Chick-fil-A to pick-up our time chip.  This was when we found Lauren.

We started the race - it was a decent route - out and back with a few supporters sporting bells along the path.  I made the decision to run the entire 3.1 (sans intervals) knowing that a PR wouldn't happen as I just can't seem to run as "fast" this way.  For the record, there is no accomplishment for me in running the whole thing without walk breaks as I run 3 miles without stopping all the time now, but still...it was my first 5K to run in its entirety.

I felt good for the entire run - had my breathing under control, etc.  I have to laugh at how different a 5K is for me now versus a year ago.  A year ago I would be all sore later that day and the next.  No soreness today, of course, and tomorrow I'm going for my long run of 7 to 8 miles.

I finished strong, was handed a bottle of water, and found Rachel (who handed me a banana) and then Lauren.  Lauren had found Brittaney, a local runner and blogger we were meeting for the first time IRL.  Brittaney won 1st place in her age group - AWESOME JOB!  Both Rachel and Lauren PR'd this race - AWESOME JOB!

After the award ceremony, we took some pics (of course - we all blog, you know!) and then Rachel, Lauren, and I headed over to Starbucks for some chitchat.

Official Time:  41:59
Laps  (Garmin stats):  Mile 1 - 12:55
                                 Mile 2 - 13:25
                                 Mile 3 - 13:32
                                 Mile 0.18 - 2:14 (which is a pace of 12:11 which means I busted a$$ - hahaha)

Finishing Song:  Ke$ha's Take It Off (I know a lot of peeps don't dig her music, but I can't help but have a few of her tunes on my iPod for running.  If it's got the right beat, I'm down with it, yo)

Next Stop:  Bayou City Classic 10K - March 12th

fancy (read French) beef stew

first you cut the bird...out of the meal cuz it's all about the beef tonight...er tomorrow since this meal takes FOREVER to cook!

By the way, did you totally imagine me saying that in my absolute BEST Julia Child accent?  I thought so!  ;)

I was shopping around aimlessly the other day for some kind of inspiration for this week's meal.  I saw some nice lean stew meat for a good price at Walmart, so that got me thinking about Beef Bourguignon.  um...yeah...don't ask me to pronounce it.  I mean it's perfectly clear in my head, but when I go to say it in the audible format, it sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo.  This would be a South Beach Phase 2 recipe, by the way.

I found several different recipes.  Whichever way I went, I knew I would have to employ my lightening skills - no, I can't conjure up thunderstorms with mere concentration and a lightening rod as if I were some kind of pseudo MacGuyver meets Benjamin Franklin kinda gal.  I mean that I knew I would have to remove some calories and fat without removing flavor.

I headed over to ol' faithful allrecipes.com to find a starter recipe or two and these are the two I found:

Beef Bourguignon I
Beef Bourguignon II

Here's what you need for my version:

1.5 to 2 lbs of lean cubed stew meat
3 TBSP whole wheat flour
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp Adobo seasoning
1 onion chopped
10 oz carton mushrooms sliced
1/2 package Turkey bacon chopped
1 yellow squash chopped
1 lb asparagus chopped
1 1/2 cups red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, for example)
1 cup beef broth
1 TBSP tomato paste
1 tsp minced garlic
1 TBSP whole wheat flour
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
pinch of salt
shake of pepper
2 Bay Leaves

In a plastic Ziplock gallon-size bag, add in flour, thyme, Adobo, and parsley.  Shake and then add in beef.  Shake until beef is evenly coated.  Heat olive oil in pan on stove.  Brown the beef.  When the beef is done, put it in a 2-qt casserole dish.

Return pan to heat and add in chopped onion, mushrooms, and bacon.

While that is cooking, add yellow squash and asparagus to the beef mixture in the casserole dish.

Once the onion, mushroom, and bacon components are ready, add them to the casserole dish. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Return the pan to the heat and add in the wine, broth, tomato paste, remaining seasonings, bay leaves, garlic, and then whisk in the remaining 1 TBSP flour.

When your oven is ready, pour the wine mixture  over everything in your casserole dish.

Cover the dish and bake in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.  Uncover your dish and bake for another 1/2 hour.

Serve over brown rice or whole wheat pasta.

Now "they" say never to cook with a wine you wouldn't drink as the alcohol cooks off and you are left with the flavor.  I'm not really too much of a wine drinker and if I were to drink wine, I would most definitely not choose a red (tsk tsk, I know).  This meant that I could honestly have cared less and didn't want to spend the money on something expensive when I probably wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.  My point is that I bought a $2.97 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and still thought the dish tasted AMAZING.  I have to say that this is the most tender *fancy* stew I've ever eaten.  The flavors blended so beautifully and I couldn't have been more thrilled with the final product...ahem...save for the 3 1/2 hour prep and cook time.

Oh and I have no doubt you can use whatever veggies suits your fancy when you get all fancy with your own stewaging.  Next time I shall add zucchini to the mix AND there shall be a next time cuz it was THAT good!

bon appetit!

little victories

Yo, what's up buttercups?

I've just been struggling with my long runs across the board.  for reals.

My week day runs go down like a smooth piece of Milka chocolate (flashback to my college month-long European trip and a slight obsession I may or may not have had with that particular brand).  Well, that is if you consider listening to me plodding along huffing and puffing as smooth.  I guess my point is that I git 'm done.

My long runs...er....that's a whole different story.  I seem to ALWAYS get a ridiculously late start and I seem to lack direction - not in the sense of which way to go, but rather how do I go about handling this business.  Let me explain.  First and foremost, understand that I'm an over-thinker.  I prefer (apparently) to burn my calories by way of worrying and fretting and stressing as opposed to actually just doing CLEARLY.  Why else would I get myself into such a tizzy over that which will work itself out?!

I hate intervals.  I feel like it takes a lot of effort to start and stop and then start and stop and....oh you get the idea.  I feel like once you get the momentum going, it's best to just go with it.  That being said, some days I just don't have it in me...every 1/4 of a mile seems like an eternity of trudging through thigh-high mud.  I seem to be faster with the intervals because that little walk break rejuvenates me for the running intervals, but that being said, running without intervals builds my endurance.

I have my first race this weekend - the Chick-fil-A 5K - and I know I have zero shot of getting a PR if I run the mileage without intervals / walk breaks.  I also know that if I run the mileage without intervals, it will be my first 5K to do this and that, in itself, is an accomplishment.

Tonight, I set out to do 3 miles (sans intervals).  I could tell it was going to be a slow mileage day.  For some reason, I was just not moving at my usual speed (which is also quite slow, but this was SLOW, if you catch my drift).  I actually felt okay, though.  I attribute this to the fact that I made a decision to NOT run the cul-de-sacs anymore.  All this time, I've been running every cul-de-sac I encounter to "add" to the neighborhood mileage so that I don't have to create new routes or run loops.  I decided cul-de-sacs are hard on my body and so they were removed from my routing.  For the first time in a long time, I felt like I actually got my breathing somewhat under control (maybe because I was going so slow?).  I ended up doing 4.25 miles.  This is my longest week day run EVER (even before injury).  It is also my longest run without intervals post-injury.

For now, I choose to celebrate the little victories, so yay to 4.25 miles without intervals ON A WEEKNIGHT, no less!

And while we are at it...what shall we celebrate for you?

oh Valentine's day...we meet again.

Do you know I've only celebrated one Valentine's Day in my whole life?  'Tis true.  Well...I mean one Valentine's Day with a dude.  I wish I could say I loved it (even though he did put forth a significant effort that day), but there was so much drama leading up to it and so much drama afterwards, that looking back I might as well not even have celebrated it at all. 

Of course there was that one year (many many years ago) when Becky and I went out on our Lonely Hearts date to The Potatoe Patch and...hmmm...I think to a movie, too.  I've had other such good times with my single girlfriends, but let's face it...when everyone else is all lovey dovey and all the stores are filled with chocolate, roses, and hearts...you want your heart to be all filled with love, your stomach filled with chocolate, and your arms filled with roses...all from that special GUY.

There have been times when people in my life have surprised me with special little things to let me know they care.  Just last week I received a package from a very thoughtful friend.  Amongst cute little things like Valentine's napkins and a cute pad of paper, there was a cd of some of her favorite songs. 

Today, I returned to work after taking Oliver (my parent's beloved) to the vet (he is now sporting a cone and is none to happy about it) and found this in my office:

Such a nice little gesture goes a long way in my book.  See how lucky some guy will be to have me some day?  I don't need the moon and the stars...

Yes, yes...I know it's a "fake holiday" or whatever people say who either don't care or are trying to make themselves feel better or are trying to make those of us who are lonely feel better, but still...come on...it's Valentine's Day. 

Last year I wrote about Valentine's Day being my nemesis holiday.  My brother strongly believes that everyone has nemesi (plural form?) in all categories of life, mind you, hence the labeling of such.  Nothing has changed...still hate it.  Maybe that's cuz nothing has changed in my love-life department...still hate that, too, while we are at it.

People say to be patient.  People say it will happen when you least expect it.  People say not to give up hope.  People say to be thankful to have these days / this time to do as I please.  People say lots of stuff.  They mean well.  I know they do.  I'm just lonely. 

Someday, maybe things will change.  In the meanwhile I guess I should be thankful Valentine's Day didn't fall on a weekend this year, that I'm not involved in an unhealthy relationship, and that I have family, friends, and dogs who do love me.

For those of you who are in love, I do wish you and yours a Happy Valentine's Day.

For those of you who are like me...well...better luck next year.  =/

(by the way - the pic up above is just a sampling of my mother's holiday decor...including the infamous goose)

The Sybil War

source here

It's kind like the Civil War, but - you know - in my head.

Gotta love those voices.

Everyone has them, right?

The little angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other?

Opposing forces desperately trying to sway you in their direction...the right direction.

So, last night I put myself to bed just after 9:30pm.  I set my alarm for 4:40am.  I received a text at 10:00pm, but no worries as I was not yet asleep.  In fact, I was having major difficulty falling asleep.  It ended up being one of those nights.  You know the ones I'm referring to.  You don't necessarily toss and turn all night, but yet you don't feel like you got any sleep either.  A weird night, I suppose.  My alarm went off at 4:40 and I honestly considered resetting it for 5:45, but then what?  I had already laid out my running gear (pants, long sleeved shirt, jacket, shoes, socks, iPod shuffle, road I.D., Garmin).  The dogs were now awake and certain it was that time.  I didn't feel well-rested, but I didn't feel tired.  I might as well get up, in other words.

I put the dogs outside and the cold air blasted me.  Oh wow was it cold.  Was I really going to do it?  Maybe I should just go to the gym instead?  Or...I could just play around on the computer?  No, I needed to go running.  I would layer up and all would be right with the world.  uh huh.

I took my thyroid pill and went onto Facebook for a bit.

If you go to the gym, it would mean warmth.

I played a few rounds of Zuma.  Don't judge me.

You could just keep playing until it's time to take a shower.

I checked my email.

The gym would still mean getting a work-out in.

I caught up on Twitter.

You could just go ahead and take your shower now.  Nobody would think you a loser cuz it's ridiculously cold outside.

I decided to eat a Larabar (I'm creeping into Phase 2 territory, by the way).

You don't have to do this.

I geared up.

Last chance to bail....

I headed out the door.

OMG was it cold!

You know how your shoes have those vents in them.  Yeah...those vents are really great UNLESS IT'S FREAKING FREEZING OUTSIDE then, not so much.  The air was penetrating my feet. 

My fingers were frozen instantaneously. 

Okay, maybe you should just do one mile.

Did I really just drag myself out of my nice cozy bed and my toasty warm home to run one mile?

Guess not.

There were 2 cars that passed me.  I'm pretty sure they both thought me nuts.  It was, after all, 24 degrees outside (14 with the wind chill) and I was clearly having a conversation with myself.  ;)

My frozen hands demanded to be tucked inside my jacket sleeves.  I did this.  After a while, they started to sweat profusely.  WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?????

I managed 2 miles.  The original plan was for 3, but since there was that whole Sybil War going on before I even left the house, I didn't have the time for a 3rd mile.  I stopped at the end of my driveway and tore off my jacket.  Man, I was hot - burning up, in fact. 

The house felt like an oven.  I was being cooked.  I was clearly going to be second breakfast for a bunch of hobbits.  just great.

I fed my beasts dogs.  I showered.  I did all the other mundane ritualistic things I always do in preparation for my work day and then...I went to work.

Same batty time, Same batty channel for round 2 tomorrow morning?  Um...we'll see.

Second day SUCCESS!

I promise you that my intention was never really to go day by day to report to you my successes and/or failures. not really anyway.  I prolly won't.  maybe.

We know Monday was a fail.  kinda.  I mean I ended up getting a really yummy quiche and great asparagus soup out of the night, so that's something.  I just didn't nail my list.

Tuesday, on the other hand...well that was a success!  Redemption is mine (um...at least for the moment).

Tuesday's goals were as follows:  up at 5:45am, play my games for 1 hour, clean the floors and guest bathroom, watch two TV shows from my DVR, do kettlebell DVD, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 9:30

Since I went to bed at 10:15 last night and woke up at 5:45 this morning, I actually got 7 1/2 hours of sleep.  This is a rarity!  After work, I came home and dealt with my beasts dogs.  I then reheated some quiche.  I didn't end up eating my soup because I ate half a bag of steamed brussell sprouts for a late lunch so I was kind of all green-veggied out.  I then played my games for an hour and watched one more episode of Modern Family from my DVR.  Oh then guess what?  It was time for Glee - yay!  So I watched that and then changed into my running gear and headed out the door after taking some glamour pics.  There was to be no kettle bell workout for me since I had a make-up run to take care of.  The plan was 3, but secretly I knew my route would give me about 3.5 miles.  I was not feeling intervals for whatever reason, so I decided to just run my mileage outright and see what happened.  Up until this run, the most I had run outright since my injury was 2 miles.  I did 3.5 last night - no intervals - no walk breaks!  Can I get a "whoa"?  I consider that to be a win!  The best part was that I maintained the same pace I had been running at the 2 mile mark without intervals and the 5 mile mark with intervals.  weird.  So...I don't know what I'm going to do with regard to my 5K coming up in a week and a half.  I guess I will wing it for the time being.  Either way it doesn't look like a PR is possible, but then again...my game face hasn't been on either.  A race + spectators + competitive Kim = all kinds of crazy!

I came home from my run and cooled off.  I then cleaned my floors.  Didn't get to the guest bathroom, but I'm not gonna beat myself up over that one.  Next up was my Epsom salt bath.  It was awfully nice to soak in that puppy while catching up on my book - I managed 3 whole chapters in my book - "Such a Pretty Fat" by Jen Lancaster.  I may or may not have gone to bed a bit on the late side, but hey...I ain't perfect....I'm me.

This morning I registered for The Woodlands Half Marathon which isn't until NEXT March 3rd (you know...2012).  I'm sure you must be thinking I'm a little premature (which is better than immature,  so I'll take it).  I'm just sure they will fill up their 7500 slots fast, so I'm not taking any chances.  Part of me soooo badly wanted to sign up for the full, BUT without running my first full until January 2012 (Houston Chevron), I just can't commit to another one. 

In other news, I've been working on coming up with my outfit for my brother-in-law's 80s-themed birthday party at the end of this month.  I finalized my masterpiece, y'all.  Wait until you see.  It's gonna be RAD!  That will be such a fun blog post!!!

That's all I have for you for now.  Have a good day, party peeps!

First day FAIL and some recipes

First day FAIL!

You know that path I walk on - the one paved with fantastic intentions?  Yeah...that's what happened yesterday.  I bit off more than I could chew.  See, Monday is my cooking day.  I go to the grocery store during my lunch break and buy all the ingredients to make my "big meal for the week".  This means I have to go home and make said meal and then clean up the kitchen after the making of said meal.  Some meals are messier than others.  This meal was one of those (South Beach friendly, of course).

What did I make?  Asparagus soup and Greek yogurt chicken quiche was on the menu.  I got my basic recipe ideas from ol' faithful known as allrecipes.com.  The links to the originals are below.

Asparagus soup
Sour cream chicken quiche

Kim's Asparagus Soup (Phase 1, 2, 3)
1 lb asparagus spears, chopped
1 small white onion, diced
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP pesto
1 TSP minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup skim milk
white pepper to taste
salt to taste
cholula to taste

In a microwaveable bowl, heat the onion, garlic, olive oil, and pesto for 2 minutes.  Add in the broth and asparagus and resume heating in the microwave for 10 minutes, covered.

Puree in the blender.  Put the soup back into the microwaveable dish and add in the milk and your seasonings.  You may need to heat it up some more in the microwave.

Kim's Crustless Greek Yogurt  Quiche (Phase *1, 2, 3)
1 cup shredded chicken
1 TBSP  olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 TSP minced garlic
10 oz. package sliced mushrooms
*1 TBSP whole wheat flour
3 eggs
3/4 cup Greek yogurt (plain)
3/4 cup skim milk
1 3/4 cup 2% cheese (I used cheddar-jack)
nutmeg
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Saute garlic, onion, and mushrooms, then add in 1 TBSP of whole wheat flour (this knocks out Phase 1, so to maintain Phase 1, don't do this step).

Boil and shred your chicken.  Combine the two components adding your seasonings - nutmeg, salt, and pepper.  In a separate dish, beat the eggs.  Add in the yogurt, beating thoroughly.  Add in the milk, beating thoroughly.  Using a deep dish pie dish (or a casserole dish), put the chicken/onion/mushroom component in the dish.  Add the cheese.  Pour the egg component over the top.  Cook on 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Without opening the oven, lower the temperature to 350 degrees for another 30 to 35 minutes.  Let cool before eating.

Of course the cool thing about quiche is you can add whatever ingredients you like to it.  Next go around, I will add broccoli or spinach.  I just forgot to buy some while at the store.  I saved calories/carbs by not using crust, but I don't judge if you choose the crust route because quiche is even tastier that way!  =)

Okay, but back to business...

The plan was:

Monday - make/prep my meal for the week, clean the kitchen, play my games for 1 hour, watch one TV show from my DVR, run 3 miles, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 10:45pm


With all that cooking and all that mess (cuz two dishes made a whole lot of mess TRUST ME), I got finished way late in the evening.  What did this mean for my plan?  It meant that I got in my 1 hour game time (God forbid I were to give that up).  I got in my one DVD tv show (Modern Family from 1/5 - hilarious, by the way).  I went to bed around 10:15pm.
 Since I didn't get my run in, though, I should have gone to bed at 9:30 to wake up this morning at 4:30 to do it this morning, but I didn't.  I figured I needed the sleep since I've been at such a deficit lately. I WILL RUN TONIGHT!!! Do you see the domino effect, though?  Oye!


No run.
No bath.
No book.
Only positive thing is that I actually got 7 1/2 hours of sleep.


Day 2 and I'm already on a modified schedule!  Welcome to Kim's world.  =/