Pumpkin Pancakes and Randomness

I've been tagged by Mr. Smooth and Fresh himself for 10 random things and also for my pumpkin pancake recipe. So, here goes:

1. I love peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches.
2. I learned to shoot a handgun when I was five.
3. I have a freckle on my bottom lip.
4. I know my way around a hula hoop.
5. I make kick-ass Halloween costumes.
6. I would love to have chickens, but our city keeps telling me no.
7. I hate being told "no".
8. I bake so much during the fall and winter months that I have to special order 50lb. bags of flour.
9. I used to run a craft blog.
10. Had I been a boy, my name would have been Matthew. I sure am glad I'm a girl.

I'm pretty late to the party on this one and I'm not sure who all has been tagged but I'd love to hear some randomness from:
Allie
Anne
Jamoosh


On to the carb love.

Blogger's flaking out, otherwise there would be a picture of a stack of pancakes here.

Pumpkin Pancakes
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1 T. baking powder
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. groundcinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1 egg
1 1/4 or more milk
1/2 c. canned pumpkin

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Mix milk, egg and pumpkin together in small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix til combined. You may need to thin batter with a bit more milk. Use a 1/2 cup measure to scoop batter onto hot griddle. Cook til you see air bubbles. Flip. Smother in pure maple syrup. Enjoy!

I did not count calories last week. I haven't run since Wednesday. I've had some sort of stomach bug for the last few days that makes just leaving the house an adventure. We lost a pet.

Good times, good times. I'll be in my room wrapped in a big, thick blanket and watching Weeds if anyone needs me. Somehow watching a make-believe, drug-dealing mother neglect her children comforts me.

Into the Woods

Today was an excellent start to the week. The husband and I had coffee in bed this morning and watched The Runaways. Later I made pumpkin pancakes.

 Then we were off to explore the trails.   

We got friendly with some of the locals...

 

 I even got a little running in at the end. And yes, Tucker is about to bite my leg.

We made it home just in time to grab some lunch and head out for a baseball game.  I love days like this when we get to spend time together doing stuff we all love to do. The woods were so calm and peaceful...everyone covering their head to avoid being hit by hundreds of falling acorns. The smell of the woods always makes me feel so happy. I spent a lot of time in the woods growing up - just running around and exploring. I forget sometimes how fun it was as a child and that my kids don't have the same opportunity that I had to just head off to the woods anytime they want. We actually have to find woods and take them there. I think we'll make this a regular Sunday expedition. It'll be nice to watch how much the woods change in the coming months.

 See how happy this makes them?

As far as last weeks stats go, I am so behind. I initially planned on posting them day by day to keep myself motivated and accountable but that didn't work at all because last week was crazy. I'm going to try to post the previous days stats the next morning because after I get the kids tucked in, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of the computer.

Tuesday: HCC, a rather pathetic 1 set of arm exercises with weights
Calories: 1451
Wednesday: Run/Walk 2 miles (not sure what was going on here, just wasn't feeling it), 1/2HCC (trying new moves), X train 12 min.
Calories: 1535
Thursday: Xtrain 12 min. Walk 20 min., HCC
Calories:1472
Friday: Run 3 miles 17run/1walk, repeat, HCC
Calories: 1963 too much pizza and OMG someone bought candy corn...boo!
(despite my overindulgence I managed to lose one pound but I have a feeling that its back since I ate pancakes for breakfast, didn't keep count at all today and am drinking my second third black and tan as I type)



So, what did I learn this week? I need to work harder- stick to my plan and not slack off. I need to really watch my evening snacking. I thought that my portion sizes were too big, but what I found out is that I tend to eat great all day then grab little bits of things to snack on while I'm cooking or after dinner which is doubly bad because I run in the morning. All that crap is sitting around in my gut all night. I also need to go back to regular weight workouts at least for upper body. I have some bicep definition and my shoulders look okay, but I'm carrying a lot of extra (loose) tricep around and it's very unflattering.

Oh, and if I'm going to drink black and tans I should probably cut back a little during the day, right?

This week's fitness goals:

Run 4 days - 30-35 min.

Strength train 3 days - 2 upper body, 1 lower

Yoga at least 1x

HCC 3x

Keep calories between 1200-1500- lose 1-2 lbs.

Fashion Friday: Athleta Rocks!

I've been busting at the seams to tell you a secret. AM over at Goals for the Week had a super deluxe awesome Athleta  giveaway a few weeks ago and....I WON!!!! I've been waiting so patiently for the UPS man to bring me my goodies so I could show you what I got.

Okay, what I didn't get was any good close up pictures. I was either squinty, eyes closed or doing something really weird with my hands or making ugly  faces at my photographer for making me squint in the sun. So, these action shots will have to do and I'll just tell you about my loot.

  I got the Hana Run Shorts in rosey red and black (they're on back order till waaay past my first frost date) and two bra Top Cutout Camis in black and rosey red. I looooove these shorts. They fit fantastic and they're not all poochy like most of the running shorts I've tried. The length is great and they have a drawstring and a little pocket for your key or what have you. The liner is really thin and gauzy, so not sure if I'd really trust that pocket to hold much, but I don't pack much when I'm running. I'm not even upset the black ones are on back order 'cause I know I can wear them over tights later and look just like the girl in the catalog good. The tops are great too. The fit is very flattering and they have a built in bra that is supportive enough (for my girls anyway) to run in and they even have a little padding...which never hurts.

I had never even heard of  Athleta until I started reading Anne Marie's blog and found out she gets to model the clothes to see how they will be photographed (lucky girl!), but I will be shopping there again. The quality is fantastic! I've got my eye on the long sleeve twist top and the ready to run top, ooh ohh and look at this rockin' tattoo top with matching arm warmers!!!  Their website is easy to navigate, the clothing is well described and photographed, but what helped the most is the comment section for each item. I wasn't sure which size to get the short in and after reading a few comments from women with height, weight and build similar to mine, I had my size. Easy,peasy.  A huge thank you to AM for such an awesome giveaway!!!

Hope everyone had a great week. I'll post my stats for the week tomorrow...after my pizza gut goes away.

Menu Monday

I'm trying a bunch of new recipes on the fam this week, so I thought I'd share. Most of these are from the Sept./Oct. issue of Eating Well, which just happened to be at the library for a change.

Monday     Cheese Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce
Tuesday      Parmasean Crusted Chicken with Roasted Potatoes
Wednesday  Pan Fried Trout with Red Chile Sauce 
Thursday      Curried Red Lentil Soup
Friday         Homemade Pizza
Saturday     Tikka Masala


We have a mixed group when it comes to eating. I don't do much meat (salmon and occasionally shrimp is about all I go for). I usually have a giant salad. Smiley is getting pickier about meat as well, she's been doing a lot of veggies and salads lately...love that. The boys are my meat eaters. I try new stuff all the time to keep everyone guessing (and sneak some veggies in when they aren't looking). They were really guessing tonight - the kids guessed they aren't in love with that red chili sauce, we may have to change up trout night.

Today's Stats

Ran 33 min. walked 2 min. Distance 3 miles WOOT!

HCC

wt. 140

calories consumed: 1434

Sunday Girl

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Ours was chock full of karate, baseball and softball. All kids, all the time. I love that my kids are in sports, but sometimes I  feel overwhelmed. With all the running around there's no time to get everything back in order, then BANG! Monday's here.

Last week's fitness plan went well considering I blew everything off on Monday. I did run four days. Granted one was only a fifteen minute run, but hey, it was still a run. I did HCC twice as well as two days of strength training. I started experiencing some knee pain at the beginning of the week and I'm not sure what's going on with that. It wasn't terrible, just some pain on the inside and back of my knee,but I noticed after a while I had shifted my gait to take some of the weight off that knee. I've read that new runners sometimes experience knee pain, so I'm not super worried, but if anyone has any tips or advice, let me know. I did ice it down with a bag of frozen spinach and that helped.

I've managed to crush the sugar demon. I'm not a huge sugar freak anyway, the problem is I'm just not good with moderation...in anything. I'm an all or nothing kind of gal. I used to fight it in other areas in my life, thinking that if I were more balanced I would be a happier person. That just made me miserable trying to be something I'm not so I figured WTH? As long as I'm not hurting anyone, what does it matter? But when it comes to my body, moderation is definitely important. Oh, I can eat three or four M&M's or candy corn, but then I'll come back for three or four more until the whole bag is gone. And you better hope you don't have another bag stashed somewhere, 'cause I'll find that one too. I do much better just to stay far away from the white devil. I've kicked it before, but I always go back. Usually its a certain time of the month too. But I'm strong, I can beat this.

The lack of sugar didn't to a thing for my weight; it didn't budge. I thought maybe when I started running I would drop a few pounds, but it just made me hungrier. I eat healthy, but man, I can eat. And, left to my own devices, I eat light in the first part of the day and make up for it by munching all evening.  I guess I'm going to bite the bullet this week and not only stick to a eating plan but count calories to get my portions under control. I'm logging them too, so it might make for some boring reading the next several days. Just sayin'.


I'm kicking around a little format for the blog. I want to post more consistently and strike some sort of balance (again, not my strong point, so bear with me) between exercise and food. Oh, and there will eventually be pictures! I had a recipe that I wanted to share last week but everyone knows recipes suck without pictures.  When I found the camera, it had no batteries someone took off with them to use in his radio. By the time I got the batteries back, the food was gone. Oh well.

My fitness goals for this week:

Count calories and eat several small, planned meals

Run four days for at least a half hour

Strength train 3x

HCC 3x

Yoga at least once-  I'm needing this, my body and my brain is all funked up, I need to peace out!

What are your fitness goals this week?

Tuesday's Gone

I hope everyone had a terrific long weekend! Ours was amazing! We celebrated Knucklehead's (the name he chose after I vetoed "the Undertaker" and "Woman's Man") eighth birthday on Saturday. It was a chilly evening for a pool party, but the kids didn't seem to even notice until they got out. It's hard to believe my baby boy is turning eight in a few days. Where does the time go?

We spent Sunday evening gathered around the fire with some good beer and a couple of new friends. Then yesterday we went to see the  WV Power play their last game of the season. The kids caught several balls and the players were even kind enough to sign them. Dollar dogs, soda and beers and no one got hit with a ball, so it was a win!

The long weekend threw me off my game a bit. The house is a disaster and I have a mountain of laundry to tackle today, but it will all get done. I finally ran my first straight mile last Wednesday. It was awesome but also weird because when I got to the mile mark and slowed to a walk I thought it would feel better, but it actually felt wrong and kind of painful. Like when you fall asleep with your head in your hand and it feels fine while your sleeping but when you move your wrist, it hurts. Does that make any sense?  I think it took a little over twelve minutes to run, I forgot to set my watch. This morning I ran two cycles of twelve minutes running one minute walking and it took me 11:24 to run my first mile. I'm getting there. My goal is to run four days this week, ending the week with two cycles of run for fifteen minutes with a couple of one minute walk breaks.

Strength training is on track for the week, despite the busy weekend. I overdid it last week, that crazy boot camp workout made my inner thighs and glutes so sore that I couldn't stick to my original plan so I did an upper body w/o instead. That stuff is no joke. My HCC is going great, although I'm wondering shouldn't it be getting easier instead of harder? Some days I have the strength to breeze through most of it (I loathe diamonds in the sky), but other days I can barely make it. Anyone else having that problem? I am noticing some results though. My obliques are definitely benefiting from the ankle grabbers and my planks are not nearly as shaky.

My diet goal for this week is no sugar. I waited until this week to start because I knew the birthday party would mean cake and ice cream and I'm helpless against apple cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I started on Sunday and thought I was doing really well until I just remembered I had a frozen lemonade at the ballgame yesterday. Oh well. I'm starting over today. So no sugar from now until next Tuesday. Anyone else on board?