Category Archives: WeekEnd Luv

Blog Luv!, Farmer's Market, Food, Inspiration, WeekEnd Luv

Friday {Food} Porn:: Kale Yeahhh!! & Have a Happy Long Weekend!

Hello Luv-lies,

Have a Great Looooong Weekend!!!

hop scotch old school flavor

What exciting plans do you have for this, the last weekend of the summer? My plans have me sticking pretty close to home this holiday weekend. Lots of farmer’s market visits, reading, relaxing and napping :).

Picked up this little gem to help me tote my ‘vacay’ market finds home this weekend & as a reminder to eat more veggies.

eat more kale

It’s made of jute, so it should be hold up pretty good to my food finds. And to the washings between shops!

eat more kale1Loads of room inside for all of my goodies!

Yeeeeahhh!

eat more kale2

What’s on your ‘to buy’ list?

Come back and….

Do Tell….

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Blog Luv!, Friendships, GIF, Inspiration, Randomness, Relationship, Video, WeekEnd Luv

This is the Summer Happy Dance!!!

Morning Luv-lies,

One More  ‘Shout Out’  for The First Day  of Summer

What are you going to  dance about today?

… Do Tell …

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#Yumlicious!, Clean Eating, Farmer's Market, Food, Garden, Inspiration, Nutrition, Recipe, WeekEnd Luv

‘Top Chef’ … for a moment

Hello Luv-lies,

Hope that your weekend was a relaxing one.

I spent most of the weekend lazy-ing around scouring through my many stockpiled magazines.   The mags run the gamut – fashion, interior design, business, science, catalogs (loads of catalogs) and, of course, food! (even more loads of these)!  Now, over the year (or three), I’ve taken to tearing out pictures of the most enticing recipes with inflated intentions to ‘some day [I’m going to] make this’.  My cyber recipe box consists of Pins and/or saves to the recipe section of my Evernote folder.

Just wanted to make this  quick Monday post.

When I  posted all of this deliciousness on Facebook, I got a good deal of requests to post the recipe.

Quinoa Stuffed Red Pepper

 

After an early morning run to the market where picked up all of this summer seasonal goodness, I recall one of those stowed-away recipes.  Didn’t use all of the goodies from the market run, just most.

Great 'Get' at the Market

* Those are oysters mushrooms in the lower left corner … got that question a lot too:/

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By the end of my ‘Top Chef’ cooking moment, I had this savory and flavorful little ditty:

Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Pepper with Roasted Tomatillo Avocado Sauce

 PEPPER

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This pic is of the finished Stuffed Pepper as it appeared in the recipe {along with the some of the individual ingredients}

Turkey & Quinoa Stuffed Pepper

And now for the Recipe…

 Don’t like or have Quinoa on hand?

You can use any kind of grains or rice.  This dish will love it!  Trust me.

 

While all of that is simmering, you can turn you’re attention to the making the ‘dish topper’ — The Roasted Tomatillo Avocado Sauce

So How’d  You Do?

Isn’t it Yumlicious?!

I’ll definitely be making this again.  Will you?

… do tell?

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#NaBloPoMo, Farmer's Market, Friendships, NaBloPoMO, Randomness, WeekEnd Luv

No Problem

one of the few things that I look forward to on the weekend is my Sunday visit to the local farmer’s market.
this market is not your run-of-the-mill super-mega-gigunda market.
it’s your good old-fashioned country market where you’re greeted at the door by a local farmer and the aroma of seasonal fruit.

 a country market where there is a free cup of warm apple cider to cut the chill of a  blustery winter.

  and

  a fresh-squeezed cup of lemonade, sold by the neighborhood children, to quench your thirst in the heat of the summer.

customer-service1

a country market where homemade bread is baked daily and the only thing more tempting than spending an hour catching up on the latest neighborhood happenings is the smell of freshly roasted coffee grounds.

and, although a seemingly small thing, the entire staff is well over twenty-five years of age.

that seemingly insignificant detail makes it more pleasant because you do not have to endure the lackadaisical disposition of today’s youth –
who have somehow managed to escape learning the fundamental lessons of social grace and respectful people skills.

Happy Sunday, Luv-lies

How did you spend your Sunday?

Do tell …..

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#AsphaltLuv, #NaBloPoMo, Fitness, Goals, Inspiration, Video, WeekEnd Luv

8 stages of marathon running… Just in Time for the NYC Marathon

Good Morning Luv-lies,

Well, today is the day that thousands – according to the talk in the running community- 47,000 runners have been eagerly awaiting….. The New York City Marathon!!! 

Cancelled last year due to , what is now referred to as ‘Super Storm Sandy, I’m sure that that the energy among the runners there is palpable!  

I’ll be watching the race along with all of you. 

As a show of support, I’ve found this light-hearted video, as a tribute to these everyday Heroes 

 

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this fun-filled look of what it must be like – at least for some – in the pursuit of this much applauded 26.1 miles of victory 🙂

 

So Luv-lies,

What will you be doing on this NYC Marathon Sunday?

Do Tell……

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#AsphaltLuv, C25K Workout, Fitness, Goals, I am Woman....Roar!, Inspiration, WeekEnd Luv

One Down! … Many More to Go!!!

Helloooo Luv-ies,

Great News this morning!
Yesterday I Finished My First Official 5K Race!!!

I started training a couple of months ago with the intent on running the race earlier than now, but that didn’t work out.  I joined a running team from the fitness center where I work out, and with great hope – much trepidation – started the training program.  The first training day was followed by many more, with the team convening once a week, to review and implement the weekly workouts that we each received via email.

After three weeks, I had to drop out of the team practices, but I continued with the e-mailed training program on my own.  I was determined to successfully run a 5K before the weather turned cold.  Well, Labor Day came and went, and I did not run the race, with my team mates, but I continued to train for a race that would come to mean much more.

As the weeks passed with repeated speed work and strength training workouts, I selected a race that had great significance to me.  I decided on a local race called ‘Hero Palooza’ – A Bike Tour, 5K Run/Walk & Family Festival Crab Feast.  The mission/vision of the organization is to restore hope to Leukemia patients and their families by increasing bone marrow registrants, providing nutritious meals, and supporting blood cancer research.

And so, I registered….

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After a good night’s sleep, I arose the morning of the race early. Registration was scheduled to start at 8:30am and I did not want to be late… it’s my first race, after all!

Because my stomach tends to be temperamental, I decided that I would have a glass of orange juice and a bottle of water. I’d see how I felt once I got there….
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One last once over and prayer for a successful (and uneventful) run, I was on my way…
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As a very young girl, I lost my younger Brother, Kenneth ‘Kenny’ to Leukemia.  This race is my way of honoring him and celebrating his heroic fight to beat this disease.

Once I arrived, I snapped a picture of the welcome sign and sent one – of many – Tweets dedicating this race to my HeroPalooza Brother and celebrating my participation

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I was very early arriving but it didn’t seem matter to these ladies. It was so refreshing to be greeted by these smiling faces. They were extremely helpful during the registration process. Being a newbie, I had loads of questions. None of which seemed to be too silly for them. Thank You Ladies … you only get to be a newbie once!

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Even though my stomach was not completely settled (it had to be nerves), I grabbed a couple bottles of water and some fruit.  My race, the 5K, was not scheduled to start for another hour and a half, so I thought I’d put something on this nervous stomach

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Finally it was time to get warmed up. That meant that in twenty minutes, I would be running my first official 5K race! !Woo Hoo!

The warm up was lead by one of the instructors from the fitness center that I belong.  The energy was electric and the enthusiasm contagious.
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One last pose before the start of the race. Thank You to the willing stranger that I snagged to take this pic.

Note to self – take someone with you so that they can be the unofficial photographer of all of my madness
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The next time I see this display, it will have the ‘Finish’ banner in place
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FINISHED!!!

YEEEEAH ME!!!
The run was great! The road was mostly flat. That was a good thing…

the temperature was close to eighty degrees by the time the race started. That made the road hot and the air hotter… not used to that!

Another note to self – train in all types of weather and humidity levels.
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I’m a 5K WINNER!!!

Thirty One minutes Later….

I felt elated! I’ve definitely caught the bug!

There will be many more races to come!
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Stay tuned for more races!

What goal have you reached this summer?
Do Tell….

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WeekEnd Luv

HaPPy SAtURdaY

Put Your Feet Up.... It's Saturday !!!!

Put Your Feet Up…. It’s Saturday !!!!

Good Morning Luv-lies,

Happy Saturday…. hope that your week has been a productive and rewarding one.

I tell you, for me, this week has flewn by – like a flock of birds heading south for the winter!   It’s been a week of mostly goods and ……. not so goods  okay, so when it wasn’t good, it was reeeealllly bad!

Well, let’s get to it…..

The Week’s ‘Good’ Stuff…  {starting with the most important first :-)} :

My Little Ones.... Luv Them Babies

My Little Ones…. Luv Them Babies

Spent almost two hours video chatting with my three Grands…. affectionately referred to as ‘My Little Ones’.  I LUV them babies!!!

My six year old granddaughter (that’s her with the awesome make-up on the left) read me a story from one of her favorite books.  That was amazing!  While she was reading, I had a ‘light bulb moment’.  She was really reading! Not from rote, but, really reading with passion and emphasis.  WOW!!  She is growing up so fast….

Her oldest brother, my four year old grandson (he’s the one with the amazingly infectious smile on the far right side of the picture), also growing far too fast, sang me his rendition of  the ‘ABC’s’.  It took some coaxing – I had to sing it first… incorrectly.  He was in and out of a few small tantrums during the chat.  My silly rendition of the ‘ABC’s’ helped him out of it…  Besides, I he’s so proud of himself when he done.  And, of course, I am major scale proud of him!  I have a feeling that reading is on the very near horizon…. Yey!!!!!!

Then there is my youngest of the bunch (he’s the cutey in the middle).  He’s two years old but I swear that he’s been here before.  If he were just a little taller, one would think that he is the oldest.  He takes over! And, I have a sneaky suspicion that because he’s the youngest, his brother & sister let him take over –  but not for too much longer!  He likes to be the ‘holder of the phone’.  Because he talks in ‘two year old speak’ most of the sounds that I hear while he’s holding the phone is heavy breathing.  He’s soooo damned cute!

During most of this, my daughter was preparing dinner.  So I got to be the ‘virtual’ babysitter (hey! how did that happen? :-0).  But most importantly, I had a chance to visit with my family, who I miss soooo much!

More Goods!!!

My Weight Watchers Dashboard

 Seven months of Weight Watchers and commitment to moving my arse has rewarded me in several ways.

I’m down 0.4lbs {that’s 15lbs closer to goal}

Several garments that have been hanging in my closet – still with price tags and size tags (of a smaller size than I was seven months ago) – now fit –  with plenty of extra room – Whoa Hoo!!!

And most, inspirational and humbling….  at work, a few of the Ladies have been very complimentary (and forthcoming) with compliments on the amount of weight that I have lost and how ‘good you look, girl’.  Their compliments have been, among other things, encouraging and flattering.  They have been so inspired, that, we have decided to form a support group where we focus on healthy weight loss and healthy lifestyle.  They have appointed me as the mediator of the group.  Again, I am truly humbled and flattered.  There will be loads of posts about this group…. can’t wait to get started!

More Good Stuff !!!

I ran 36 miles this week!!!

I ran 36 miles this week!!!

This week, I’ve run a total of 36 miles!!! YEY ME !!!!!!!!!

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Ohhhhh   Soooooo   Baddddd   Stufffffff !!!!

Im' Out of Control!!!

Im’ Out of Control!!!

I over ate !!!!!!  Yes! that was reallllly bad…. but not until Thursday.  And only on  Thursday !  I usually don’t touch my 49 Weekly Points that the WW program allows, but, not only did I eat my allotted points, I ate ALL of the 49 Weekly Points – In One Night!!! …..  whhhhhaaaaat!?  …… riiiiiiiight!

I did recover on Friday.

And the plan today is to STAY ON PROGRAM!!!

……… That’s my week, Luv-lies,

How was your week?

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Goals, I am Woman....Roar!, Inspiration, My Weight Loss, Strategy, The Weight-ing Game, WeekEnd Luv, Weight Watchers ... The Way I See It

It’s All About…. Perspective

br(ok)ken

Good Morning Luv-lies,
I’m coming off of a long weekend – ‘Thank goodness for holidays’. How was your holiday weekend?

I spent time, attending an honorary tribute to our veterans… a very sentimental and emotionally rewarding experience.
But now, it’s back to the daily grind. It’s funny how the principles and practices that are taught in the WW meeting reallllly are applicable to our everyday life and experiences. Earlier today, I was in earshot of a conversation that an individual was having with herself. …. Come on now, you know there are times that you’ve had a serious pow-wow with self … *wink wink*. What I actually overheard was the tail-end of her self-conversation. It went something like this, …. ‘I have such a short attention span.’ To which I spontaneously replied, “well, one thing that you can say is that, you are never bored”. Between a contagious chestershire cat grin she replied….’ I like that perspective better.’

I walked away – feeling good about making someone else feel good – thinking, ‘funny, this is what we talked about on Sunday during our weekly WW meeting…’
As you well know, this weeks topic centers around what one can do when food is not enough? We learned that one strategy that can be used is called ‘reframing’. We talked about activities that can be employed to substitute for eating, but I still pondered, ‘just what is reframing and how does that work? …. you know… on a brain level? So I do what I always do when I am curious and want just a litttttle bit more information, ‘googled it up’.
This is what I found:

*I’ll try not to turn this into a lecture…because, who the heck needs that, right?*


So what is this idea of ‘reframing’ and how can I make it work on my journey to a more fit and healthy self?  During my reading,  I found that ‘reframing’ is really about perspective and giving something a more positive ‘spin’ *if you will* According to ‘the experts’, one of the most important and useful principles for managing change relates to the notion of positive intention – you know, looking at things as, half full. When you operate from a perspective of positivity, you are able to envision more choices and options for satisfying an undesirable/unwanted behavior.

In a word (or two or three)… focusing on the positive aspects. A positive perspective focuses on one’s strength… and being looked as a strong is always a good thing…

Here’s the part of the program that we taught about techniques a.k.a. “okay. It sounds all well and good, but how do I make this reframing thing work?”

And the Top 4 List is::

4 – Identify the problem ….. ‘what do you want to change?’ Pay attention to images and/or feelings about the ‘thing’ that you’re trying to change
3 – Understand the motivation…..‘the why of it all’
2 – Brainstorm Solutions…’ K.I.S.S.. – ‘keep it simple sexy’ – This is where you get to use your more creative side. don’t overwhelm yourself. Keep the list to three alternatives to using food.
1 – Use positive terminology…. your terminology gives you a different perspective

….AND IT’S ALL ABOUT PERSPECTIVE….RIGHT?
….class dismissed…. *smile* *wink*
What techniques do you use to reframe (and refrain from emotional overeating) when food is not enough?
Do tell…..

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