le sick

Yep. I’ve been dodging illness for a while now, but my immune system finally lost the battle of all the germs out there. I woke up with a sore throat on Friday and have progressively gotten worse since.

I stayed home from work today and pretty much slept for 17 hours. I still feel like crap too, so I suspect an early night is in the near future.

The weekend was challenging. It was JAM packed with activity, which made working out impossible. Usually my approach is to workout like crazy when I know I will be indulging… but this time I tried the reverse. Don’t eat a lot because you’re not working out. I’d like to think I was quite successful. :)

I was lucky to have my wonderful husband prepare my dinner as I was under the weather. He had a helper too.

 

The ultimate comfort food when you’re feeling under the weather. Tomato Soup and Grilled cheese.

And just because she’s cute (and makes the best photo model ever) here’s Jersey shot. I am sooo happy with my decision to get the SLR… even though it was more then a mortgage payment. Its one of those things, that the up front cost isn’t THAT much, but its all the accessories/lenses that add up. Well worth it in my opinion, especially for moments like these:

Good night!

My girlie side

I’m definitely not one of those girls that’s known for my beauty skills or my fashion sense. The lovely Cat is known as a make up guru, and when I think fashion Jen is the first one that comes to me mind.

That being said despite my love of sports and the fact I pretty much live in workout attire I’m very much a girlie kind of girl.

I dress up for work each day, and live for make up. Especially MAC.

This weekend I had a Vegas themed wedding to attend. I wore an old dress that I bought at Rickis this time last year. Somehow I was busy taking pictures, so I didn’t get any pictures of me in my dress.

Usually I wear pretty neutral colors for the day but because this was an evening event AND Vegas themed I thought it was the perfect opportunity rock the smokey eye.

First I primed my lids using Paint in Base Light. Then I used MAC’s Crystal all over my lid. I was lucky enough to pick up one of the holiday pallettes this week, so I used shades from Sorceress to create the majority of my smokey eye. I lined my upper and lower inner lids with fluidline in Blacktrack. Curl my eyelashes and add two coats of Lancome Hypose Mascara, and I’m good to go!

I primed, added foundation, blush, and brushed on some mineral veil.

Because I went heavy with my eyes, I kept my lips neutral with just a smidge of gloss. My faaaavorite lip gloss ever is CO Bigelow’s Plum Mint.

I don’t always act it, but I’m very much a girlie girl. :)

My first SLR images

My life has changed forever

I just procured a Canon XSI.

Stay tuned for pictures.

I think I might quit my job and become a photographer.

My constant support

I read this in post by the amazing and beautiful Krissie, and instantly knew I wanted to write my own post dedicated to my number one fan and support system.

My incredible husband, Andrew.

Sometimes I wonder what it is exactly that he loves about me, but I can tell you I love him to bits, but especially because:

He climbs on the roof to rescue my kitty.

He flies across the country to hang out with my internet friends.

  He killed his balls horseback riding with me in Dominican.

He lets me hit on hot Italian man, and takes pictures of it!

He’s realllly good at baseball.

He gives good smootches.

He makes me laugh.        

He’s perfected the self portrait.

He’s great a documenting life’s special moments, while I drink my face off and dance with my family.

He puts up with this.

He teaches Jersey great tricks!

He has grown to appreciate the “Amy Sandwich”

He’s not a Yankees fan, but he does hate the Sox!

He’s not afraid to get dirty, or to lend a helping hand when needed.

He loves his Mom.

And for some odd reason, he loves me unconditionally.

These are just a few reasons of many that I love this man. I am so incredibly lucky to have him in my life.

Andrew, thank you for putting up with me.

Thank you for loving me.

Thank you for making me the happiest girl ever. I love you.

holy mother of god

Group Fit tonight kicked my ass…. well, not so much my ass but my arms. The devil Carolyn had us doing push ups with our feet on the wall. Dude. Try it. Its brutal!

Onto the food aspect of my day. My dear friend Adam and I were corresponding via email today, we the topic of Harvey’s Veggie Burgers came up somehow. All day I had been craving one. My route home from Group Fit takes me right past Harveys.

It took every ounce of will power in my very being not to turn in. We’re on a bit of a budget these days (albeit, I spent $70 at MAC and $50 at Aldo today, I SUCK!) and I hate spending money on takeout.

I made this tasty little gem when I arrived home; one of my favorites: TACO SALAD.

Extra lean ground beef, homemade guac, old cheddar, crushed multi-grain tostitos, ff sour cream on a bed of baby romaine, peppers, cucumbers.

Tossed in salsa, rather than dressing.

For dessert: yogurt, with a sprinkle of granola and orange wedges. 

Another great day for me. Woooo!

Wordless Wednesday

Ok ok… so my wordless Wednesday has words. I can’t shut up, nor can I post a picture like this without any explanation.

After noticing several grammatical errors on signage, Cat’s man and I made a point of drawing attention to every single one we found. Surprisingly we actually found quite a few, but this one was pretty awesome! I think was made it even “awesomer” was the enthusiasm displayed by the man running the booth when he noticed I was taking his picture.

Check out this site if you’re looking to kill some time and want some laughs!

Another Annie’s Night

I know I posted this afternoon about Annie’s, but in fairness to me, I actually wrote that post on Sunday… so it feels like new material!

I present another healthified version of Annie’s!

Tonight I added frozen peas, black beans, ground turkey, spinach and a can of tomatoes.

On the side, one cup of mixed veggies:  roasted brussels and some of PC’s summer blend veggies.

I was catching up on Twitter this morning, and I saw that Bob Harper’s challenge was  “Tues Challenge is to try taking a yoga class. Great stress reliever and keeps you young. You can also try a yoga dvd.”. It just so happened that there was a Body Flow class at 4h30.

Yep. I still hate yoga. Not enough punching or sweat involved for me.

What made it even worse was that my run afterwards SUCKED. I was sooooo relaxed it felt like I was having to peel my legs off the treadmill. Finally after about 25 minutes I found my groove and managed to bang out 50 minutes.

I feel like I’m pretty boring of late. My sincere apologies. I guess there’s not a lot to write about when you’re actually tracking and paying attention. There hasn’t be an “Ooops/I ate too much” kinda post in while! :)

Its been exactly 24 days since I’ve been back on track, and it feels friggin AWESOME!

Healthified Mac’n’Cheese

I was able to score a great deal on Annie’s Mac’n’Cheese last week at Costco.

Saturday night, Andrew went out with his boyfriends and I wanted something quick, simple and full of veggies.

I present: Healthified Mac’n’Cheese!

When the pasta is almost cooked I tossed in a handful of broccoli to bulk it up and add some fibre.

Another great tip that is great to trick yourself, is to have pasta as a side dish instead of a main entree. I had a side of brussel sprouts.

Macaroni and cheese doesn't have to be bad for you. Enjoy!

The Great Heart Rate Experiment

Last week, I decided to get reacquainted with an old friend: My heart rate monitor.

I wore it to all of my workouts last week. Those of you who follow me on Twitter were able to see the results, but for those of you who don’t I here you go!

• Monday: Group Fit = 634 calories burned
• Tuesday: Day of rest
• Wednesday: Group Fit = 521 calories burned
• Thursday: Spin Class = 677 calories burned
• Friday: Body Pump = 348 calories burned 50 min run = 458 calories burned
• Saturday: Body Attack = 702 calories burned
• Sunday: Body Combat = 659 calories burned

Not too shabby eh?

3999 calories burned in one week. WOOOOO!

Where did the weekend go?

I know I say this just about every Sunday night, but holy frig, where did the weekend go?

It was a pretty mellow weekend, but thats just what I was looking for.

Today was pretty low key. Started the morning out right by heading to the gymbo for Body Combat. I was a half hour early by mistake, so I was able to squeeze in an upper body/core workout in addition to the class.

I arrived home and fueled up. A smoothie with spinach, milk, berries, yogurt, and Amazing Grass Berry Superfood. On the side, a banana burrito: Tortilla, banana and peanut butter.

 

Andrew and I drove out to an open house this afternoon while we had a showing at our house. We found another super house (its looking like the one we have an offer on may not work out) but we’re not really sold on the location. The house is great, but its very close to the highway.

We hit up doggie heaven on the way back home and arrived home to prepare a quick and easy supper.

Pizza, brussels and ceasar salad.

I’m off for some TV time before bed.

Check in tomorrow for the results of the great heart rate monitor adventures!

Night!