Random Picture Saturday

I went for a 10 mile run today. I was planning on doing it at a 10 minute per mile pace, but I surprised myself and went at a 9:30 pace! It was awesome. Its been super hot here in California as of lates, I feel bad for the people running at Disneyland right now, its extremely hot. But I know its worth it. Its worth the sense of accomplishment of finishing something that you want sooo bad AND have been training for.  

Anyways, I am trying to decide what I want for breakfast....smoothie bowl with pancakes or waffles. lol 

Hot and sweaty after a run outside. 

 I got all domestic and switched the little box that covers this...it was broken and finally got around to doing it, yet forgot to take an "after" picture. 

I finally finished this box of cereal. To be honest, I prefer Cheerios PB or Peanut Butter Puffins! 

Apparently I think I am too tall for this mirror that I need to hunch over

Wild rice, baked veggies, salsa, and nutritional yeast! 

Empty ice cream bowl after a hot day on the porch....

SUPER SAD THE ICE CREAM DISAPPEARED 

Random picture of flowers around the house

I finally finished this insane puzzle my friend tortured me with. Its 1000 pieces, but it doesn't give you a picture, you have to figure it out. 

PBBJ

Corn muffin hearts....for my chili 

After swimming 

I've been noshing these lately 

Pancakes!

note: This was last Saturday's meal. But me and my friend were talking about pancakes that I remembered I didn't post this recipe. 

Are Pancakes the first thing that you think about on your Saturday morning run? Because that's what I have on my mind when I go running on Saturday morning. The only thing that I debate is if I should have plain old syrup or make some type of sauce.  This time, I knew I had some applesauce in the fridge that needed to be used up. I also have a thing for bananas in my flapjacks. So I decided to make a banana-apple sauce topping. 

Boy it was good! The watermelon was super sweet. This meal was perfect!

 The sauce looks like some nasty baby food but trust me, you will eat more pancakes just to have the sauce. 

 Ingredients:
1 small jar (1/2 cup) of applesauce
1 mashed banana
4 tablespoons of syrup/honey/agave
1 tsp of vanilla extract
pinch of (or shake) of cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together with a fork and top off you pancakes!

I'm drooling over the screen right now. 

Apparently I don't drink REAL water

I saw this on the way to the library. So apparently all the water I have been drinking as of late has been fake. I don't drink real water and apparently I never will.

TEAR TEAR

This past week I have not been exercising as much as I would have liked. It was pretty "off running week" since I hurt my ankle and I really wanted to recover from it. It was pretty brutal. However, I am surprised at how easy it was not to run, I would go swimming in the morning (which I am super slow at) and I rather enjoyed it. I didn't feel as if I was working really hard because I wasn't sweating, but it was a nice change of atmosphere  I kept active my walking and stretching a lot. My sisters would also go on bike rides everyday before dinner. I also tried to go running on Saturday morning, but it was a HARD run. I was going pretty slow but I felt as if my body was heavy and I was literally dying each step. I realized that I was not going to be running very far so I turned around and went home. I iced for a while and I think my body was telling me that it didn't want to run. As apposed to today, I loved every minute of it (maybe I secretly wanted to go swimming instead). 

They had slushies at my Cousin's Bday!

I went to my little cousins birthday party. She was turning 1!! But the party didn't start til late so I took my little sisters to the wadding pool. I was more excited because it was hot and I thought I was going to get wet as long as I held the baby's hand (who in reality is 4 years old). But there is NOT ADULTS ALLOWED!!! We are allowed to sit on the edge but we can't submerge ourselves in the water. Is anyone else confused or mad? I think the lifeguard had PMS issues. 

Oh, and the fact that I made these in the morning made my day awesome!

Besides that, we went to the mall over the weekend, I bought 2 new pairs of pants! I know, I'm shocked as well....if I am not in workout clothes, I'm in dresses.....so pants? Crazy baby!

Why are kids running shoes cheaper? Not fair!

Workouts week of 7/29/13

Monday	5 miles, average pace of 8.58 1 cool down mile with my sister 30 minutes of cardio (squats, lunges, jumping jacks) + warm up (10 minutes)
Tuesday	About 50 minutes of swimming About 1.4 mile walk 20 stretching
Wednesday (active rest day)	1 hour 20 min swimming About 1.4 mile walk
Thursday	1 hour 20 min swimming About 1.4 mile walk 30 stretching
Friday (Active rest day)	1 hour swim About 1.4 mile walk 30 stretching
Saturday	4 mile run, average pace 10:04
Sunday	Complete rest day!

Coconut Water Ice cream!

So a few of you should already know that I freeze coconut water and leave them in the freezer and eat as a little snack (or every time I walk into the kitchen, it becomes second nature). Well, today I though I would make a slushie/ice cream mixture of the stuff. 

So I grabbed my ice cubes

 But I know that sometimes the consistency is too watery and it was super hot outside so I wanted it to not melt the second I poured it into my cup. Therefore, I added this!

 Of course you know I am talking about the banana not my face

And no, I did not eat it out of the jar.....I am civilized. Mind you!

 The trick worked! It came out all chocolaty and ice cream-like!

And there you go....instant fix to a sweet chocolaty craving!

Of course, you can still down one of these right after....

If its hot, its super justifiable! 

Ingredients: 

2 ice cube trays of frozen coconut water (Chocolate)

1 banana 

Blend in the Vitamix and that is it.

Peanut Butter Chia

Chia seeds can seem so daunting if you don't know what to do with them. I mean, who would want to eat these little seeds? But luckily, my best friend Peanut Butter saves the day! I let the seeds soak overnight and give them a good stir every now and then. This way the seeds take a gelatinous form and practically triple in size. 

Stir stir stir 

BTW, my mom thinks that these look somewhat disgusting  

 I then added a heaping tablespoon (and proceeded to eat the jar...jk) of peanut butter and cinnamon. You have to stir it very well if not it gets all clumpy.

 I then added whatever fruit I had cut up at the moment.....strawberries and blueberries

 I dusted more cinnamon on top just because I can't get enough of that stuff.

I also made this with soy-milk (hence the reason no sugar was added).

Turning around a disaster!

I hope everyone is having a good day. To be honest, I have been having a bad start of the week. It some problems going with two of my friends.  friend 1: tried to do something nice for me, yet did it in a really weird way that I really don't appreciate. Things got out of hand and chaos arose.  friend 2: is pregnant....didn't tell me. (I would say about 6 or so months) and completely kicked me out of her life. She never calls/text/emails or anything. This person was supposed to be my best friend.  I just want to say that its really hard to make friends and keep them. I try but stuff happens. About friend 1, I think I did over react somewhat but I kind of feel like my comfort zone was threatened. But I will apologize once I find the courage to do so. 
I am trying to stay healthy and not go into "comfort eating" my feeling with a gallon of ice cream, because being the foodie I am, I tend to comfort eat, and that's not a good thing especially since I can't run at the moment due to ankle/foot problems. 
Happy Hump Day everyone

I was really excited to make veggie burgers for dinner tonight. We also buy those huge bags of spinach from Costco, so its safe to say we had a lot of spinach to use before they went bad. I wanted to incorporate them into my veggie burgers and thought it would be a good idea to blend them in the Vitamix instead of the food processor to make things quicker. However, it came out super liquidy and I thought the recipe was going to be ruined!

 So I attempted to bulk it up as best as I could and added quinoa, mushrooms, bell pepper, onions, and squash.....

 But it was still to liquidy so I added 1.5 cups of oats

 and 1/2 cup of polenta (ground cornmeal)

 Then it seemed to have the perfect texture so I added the spices

 They came out great and had the right consistency I wanted

 Crumbled into my salad they made it taste super yummy

 I even found myself eating them as if they were cookies!

 Ingredients for "Green opps burgers"
1-2 cups of spinach
2 celery sticks
1 cup of cooked beans
1 bell pepper
1.5 cups of oats
1 squash, chopped
1/2 purple onion, chopped
1 small handful of green onions
5 mushrooms
1 tsp of cumin
salt, pepper, and basil to taste

shape into balls and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes

Look! My garden is starting to produce cucumber!

 And a bird pooped on my car! :(

 At least I got a good swim in the morning, even if I can't run I am going to try to stay as active as possible.

Liebster Award

I was nominated for a Liebster Award! I was actually really excited because I assumed no one read my blog at all. LOL  But I do feel happy, perhaps my blog will slowly be enhancing itself. I also need to take better pictures to ensure the quality of the blog. But without further a due, here we are going to recognize people for their dedication and shamelessness in letting others into their private lives.....

Once you are nominated, you nominate 11 other small bloggers (those who have less than 200 followers) who you believe need the recognition of this award! Go bloggers!!!

After receiving the nomination, the blogger must:

1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger;
2. Share 11 random facts about yourself;
3. Answer 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you;
4. List 11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers (as best as you can tell based on the info provided!). They should be bloggers that you believe deserve some recognition and a little blogging love!
5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers that you nominated to answer; and
6. Let all of the bloggers know that they’ve been nominated.  You cannot nominate the blogger that nominated you.

1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger

I want to thank Kaitie Taylor for nominating me. She is the author of Sweat Often Live Happy .

2. Share 11 random facts about yourself;

1. I hate mustard, I think it’s repulsive and refuse to eat anything with mustard on it

2. I can eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for any meal! Well, I love peanut

butter so surviving off of that alone isn’t so hard.

3. I love browsing online for new running shoes, I often dream about having a huge closet full of them and randomly picking a pair for each day.

4. I wear workout clothes more often than normal clothes

5. I hate pants!

6. If I don’t have anything planned for the day (working, cleaning, homework, going out) I tend to get bored fast.

7. My expression is serious; people might think I am mad when I am not.

8. I love reading horror book but hate watching horror movies.

9. I don’t do my laundry. Me and my mom have a tradeoff; I’ll clean the restrooms, kitchen, wash the cars and she will do laundry. (I hate folding clothes and putting them away).

10. I love riding my bike. I think cruisers are the most beautiful bikes ever!

11. I love the beach but despise cold water.

3. Answer 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you; Questions from Kaitie

1. What is your favorite music to listen to when working out?

I don’t listen to music while working out. I tend to be outside so I like to be aware of

my surrounding.

2. Why did you start your blog?

Boredom, accountability, also as a way to get out of my shell and hopefully make new friends.

3. Do you have any fitness goals for this year?

I would like to be able to run 5 miles in less than 40 minutes.
4. What is your favourite thing to wear?

Sundresses! They are so colorful and freeing!
5. Is there anything you wish you could change about yourself?

My attitude. I would like to be a social butterfly type who is able to light up any room.
6. What is/was your favourite subject in school?

Math! Yes I can be all nerdy and mathematical. But also I loved any Health Science course I took.

7. What/who motivates you?

My mom! She is my biggest support system and encourages me to become the best

person I could be.
8. What is your favourite type of food?

Easy to eat food….fruit, oatmeal, pizza, pbjs….
9. What are 3 things on your bucket list?

Hmmm, go hiking somewhere foreign like Brazil!

Go to the movies by myself (I always feel like I am going to be seen as a nerd or loner)

Go to a random stranger and start up a conversation and get their phone number (doesn’t have to be a guy)

10. Are you craving anything right now?

Nope, I just had subway. But I can always go for a bit of ice cream.
11. What is your favourite holiday?

Thanksgiving, its more family oriented than Christmas. People want   to spend time with each other and it’s not about presents.

4. List 11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers (as best as you can tell based on the info provided!). They should be bloggers that you believe deserve some recognition and a little blogging love!

April @ Run the Great Wide Somewhere

Courtney @ Semi-Sweet Eats

Audrey @ In Shape Cupcake

Taylor @ Mama Tay LeMay

Brittany@ Ice Cream for Breakfast

Beki @ Miss Wheezy

Lauren @ Lauren Runs

Maggie @ Sunnyside Up Smile

Sasha @One Small Vegan

Paige @ Fit not Fad

Jessie @ Jessie Bear What Will You Wear

5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers that you nominated to answer; and
            1. Do you have any pets?

            2. Have you ever traveled anywhere exciting?

            3. What type of exercise do you love to do?

            4. How long have you been blogging?

            5. Do you read more blogs than you respond to?

            6. What is your biggest pet peeve?

            7. Are you a cat or dog person?

            8. Do you like chocolate? What kind?

            9. If you were stranded in a foreign country without being able to communicate the

language, but everyone was so friendly,  welcoming and had amazing culture would

you stay (or leave the second you had the opportunity)?

            10. Who is your celebrity inspiration?

            11. Describe your perfect family.

6. Let all of the bloggers know that they’ve been nominated.  You cannot nominate the blogger that nominated you.

Workouts for last week + Weekend in Pictures

Ducks at the pond

Indulge my lazy girl picture

Yummy Yummy mango

smuggled snacks into the movie theater to watch Planes 

Tutti Fruiti soy yogurt

(I also got watermelon sorbet and hated it, my sister ate it for me)

I can't even run without cutting myself 

Costco make breakfast super cheap!

end the weekend with a cup of this!

Workouts week of 7/29/13

Monday	4 miles, average pace of 8.58 1 cool down mile with my sister 30 minutes of cardio (squats, lunges, jumping jacks) + warm up (10 minutes) BEACH DAY
Tuesday	5 miles, average pace of 8:39 30 minutes of stretching 4 miles of hiking (approx. 2 hours) About 20-30 minutes of swimming
Wednesday (active rest day)	1 hour swimming About 1.4 mile walk 30 minutes of cardio (squats, lunges, jumping jacks) + warm up (10 minutes)
Thursday	6 mile run, average pace of 9:31 30 minutes of stretching 1.4 mile walk with my sister 40 min swim
Friday (Active rest day)	1 hour 15 minutes swim 30 minutes of cardio (squats, lunges, jumping jacks) + warm up (10 minutes) 2 mile walk
Saturday	10 mile run average pace 9:44
Sunday	Complete rest day!