BREW99's SparkPeople Blog

WIAW #6: Warm Finally

Thu, 30 May 2013 15:04:34 EST

I had my doubts it would ever happen but it finally did, it turned warm. Hooray!!!! *dancing, dancing, dancing* My perfect day has warm weather which for normal people brings whimpers to their lips and promotes most to turn on house AC units. Yep, I’m the one sitting outside in 90’ish degree weather with a big smile on my face. When I was young my family did not have air conditioning so I’m not a big fan of forced air into a house – when heat is unbearable and we do in fact turn it on, I...

Long Run Comparison Chart

Mon, 27 May 2013 16:32:06 EST

DH and I are following along with the Garmin Connect's training chart for running a 1/2 marathon. It's really challenging but we are trying to stick to the plan. This Saturday marked the second week of long runs so I decided to do a comparison chart to see how we were doing. Not only did we feel a bit better this week while running the longer distance (through our new hilly terrain) and did improve upon our average splits. Yay! DH and I both have Garmin GPS running watches which we wear ...

WIAW #5: Stressed

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:14:50 EST

Wednesday’s are normally my hard work days, too much for too many hours in the day. Additionally it is the day I am conflicted with lack of motivation after seeing we still have a few more days left of the work week. This week beheld no shortage of stress and work… Without trying to say too much, our landlords have been setting up a lot of ‘maintenance’ appointments each month which we have to take off of work to meet them at our house (we rent in VA). So this last appointment we were tol...

WIAW #4: Back to Raw Vegan, Kinda

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:59:25 EST

Every year around this time it always hits me, I become addicted to raw vegan food. Not that we don’t eat raw vegan in the winter too but there is just something about crunching into a large bowl of something fresh from the farmers’ market. Yum! The last two weeks I have had cravings for raw vegan salads and seem to not be able to get enough. Today was no exception and tomorrow won’t be either…

Breakfast: Oatmeal, molasses (20% DV iron in 1 tbsp), coffee and an English muffin w...

Weekend in Review: Groceries Galore

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:25:12 EST

Clothes shopping brings me just short of hyperventilating but grocery shopping turns me into a dancing geek of excitement. Our new residential area does not contain much international flare hence we have to drive 1 hour (3-4 in rush-hour traffic) up to Washington D.C. area for more options. It didn't take us long before finding some great stores that contain a lot of what we prefer to eat on a daily basis (if only it were closer-thank goodness for our Prius). Our favorite stores so far hav...

WIAW: Boring #3

Sat, 11 May 2013 20:41:32 EST

For so long I have watched WIAW blog posts from others and have been inspired. As I look at my meal tracker and photos, I am constantly thinking "wow, I'm a boring eater lately". 246 We all get in food ruts though, right? Guess that's why it is so important to eat healthy foods so when one does get in a rut, it's at least good for the body.

Two differences one might see in my food is basicall...

WIAW: Snoop into my Kitchen & Workout

Thu, 2 May 2013 16:51:44 EST

Snooping around someone’s life is fun right? I’m sure I’m not the only one that loves the idea of looking around someone’s house during open houses or even thinks of taking a sneak peek inside a person’s fridge. You know you want to too! I’m not one to visit a friend and peek inside a medicine cabinet without a reason (I’m quite a whimp when it comes to the rules) but when someone offers… So that’s what these WIAW offer – a free invitation into my vegan life. I’m not 100% healthy with me...

WIAW: Shall I Start This?

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:01:52 EST

Have you seen these “What I ate Wednesday” blog posts that people spread around the web? I’m always enthralled in them and have become quite addicted setting myself a place at other people’s tables. Sounds like I’m a stalker, right?! Ha-ha Normally I sit at my computer screen procrastinating and wondering what I should prepare for the next meal. Sometimes I make the mistake of stalking meal plates when I’m hungry bu...

Hard Week, Hoping for Better Weekend

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:01:59 EST

Oh boy this week has been different to say the least. Sunday night we once again had snow so my "winter blues" returned for the two days it took for the snow to melt. Now thankfully the sun has showed its face once again but the wind here has been very strong and challenging. If only there were a magical pill to defend against the winter blues, am I right? This week I have run one day in total on Tuesday which was 3.80 miles in total. It felt great to get out there again and run with the...

Meals Lately in Photos

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:36:10 EST

Today I finally had the time to take the photos off from my cell phone. I take way too many photos and then forget to put them on my laptop to put online. Ooops! But I thought I would still post everything that I have taken lately for food inspiration to you all. Not that everything has been 100% healthy but it is inspiration and you can take it for whatever you want...

Lunch Vegetable soup

Home...

Less than a Wk until Easter

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:20:51 EST

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Hooray! I love Easter because it is a time to really reflect on how ones' life is moving along each year. It's like a Christian New Years. This last 40 days of Lent I have been really thinking about where my weight loss has been going and how I want to correct it. Since we have moved to VA I have gained about 5-6 pounds which took about a year to remove last time. I do not...

Snow, snow snow...

Thu, 7 Mar 2013 15:50:12 EST

I just wrote about my experience with the Snow Storm that hit us hard (yep, we live between Fredericksburg and Culpeper, VA). It was amazing how much snow can fall in just a few hours and then there I was 4'11" shoveling snow so my husband could get his car into the drive. ha-ha My neighbor nicely came out to talk for a few minutes and watch me shovel - so nice. :) But then again he knows how much I love to work...

Biggest Loser: Be Yourself Episode

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:19:01 EST

You all know the show - how it's driving me crazy! 246 I love the determination of the trainers but the contestants I just wish realized the privileged they are being given - one that many people are literally dying to be given a chance. I always tell my husband that I would be the contestant that would be crying the entire workout session. It wouldn't be from fighting my inner demons though but rather lo...

Tuesday Recap...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 16:21:36 EST

It's been a while since I have done a daily recap but I hope to get more involved again. I've taken into consideration everyone's kind words and just feel better about posting photos again. I actually forgot to take photos of a few meals but I'm sure you all can use your imagination and create an image in your minds, right? 211

It was cold today and rainy so not really a day to run outside, grrr... I was totally involved in work so I didn't get to take some time of...

Cell Phone Photo Drop

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:03:29 EST

I've been really busy with everyday things so I haven't gotten on here for a few days to post a blog. Hence, I have a lot of photos that I had wished to share with you but then changed my mind after not finding the time to post last week. I'll share a few now...

Healthy Grocery Shopping is so gorgeous isn't it? This was this last week's purchase.

Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Tuesday. I made both a ...

Happy Valentines Day!

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:40:44 EST

Hope you all have a wonderful day filled with love and happiness. 26

Hello Outdoors!

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:41:19 EST

Weather has turned for the better today and we are soooo unbelievably happy. The furry baby is a bit tired after two long walks (1.21 mile walks each) but she is totally absorbing the warmer weather. She's only 9 pounds and is 8 years old, so she uses that stats to take a bit longer to go down the road. (Yeah, I know pup you're just sniffing the ground.) It takes us around 29 minutes to go this distance - even with...

Back in Court

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:09:04 EST

Yesterday the weather turned a bit nice so the husbster finally agreed to go out to the courts with me. Yep, being back in the court felt like old times. I'm not sure how much I have stated this before but I used to play tennis when I was in high school. In fact, I used to train with a retired professional tennis player whom had to retire due to a knee injury that wouldn't allow her to compete anymore. It was a...

Still Going Minus Processed Foods

Thu, 7 Feb 2013 10:54:35 EST

My goal this week and hopefully this month is to go with very little processed ingredients. I find that many vegetarians and vegans switch from meat to mock meats and I fit that category. Now I'm not saying I will 100% go mock meat free but I would like to reduce the amounts of it that I can on a daily basis. Plus, it's nice to reduce the amount of other processed things that I normally would eat that may necessarily not be the best for my body. The hubby has been taking it in strides too...

February 2013 Measurements

Tue, 5 Feb 2013 09:13:49 EST

It's that time again, the beginning of the month and measurement time. In January I also took my measurements and each month I hope to get them up just to see how things are coming along. So without much more to say, here they are:

207 Changes:
Waist: 1" inch down
Hips: 1.5" down
Body fat %: .5 down
Weight: It is down right now but shows I gained about .5lbs since New Years. I'm not tracking it as much right now though because it's TOM. (All t...

Thursday Snow Please Go

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:14:15 EST

Oh no! It happened, it snowed! I have this habit of peeping out the window every morning right now to see if the prediction was correct or not. Today they were again correct, well a bit. It was colder than they had predicted. 39 It snowed about 1/2 an inch. (I know I'm a whiner...haha) It was cold enough though that they closed all the schools and even the colleges! Up North they don't close colleges- I remember many days trying to drive to classes and taking hours because...

Sunny Tomorrow?

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:55:35 EST

Whew! Tuesday Recap - seriously where did I go on Wednesday & Thursday? 40 At least it's a pleasant surprise to note that today is Friday. Boy do I need to get a job outside of the house! haha

363 Exercise:
The furry baby has been sitting at the window and occasionally looking over at me with these really sad eyes. It breaks my heart. So, I took her out on a 1/2 mile walk ...

Freezing Temps = Lazy Girl

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:37:11 EST

Yep you read that correctly, I am lazy! Today I did not do one thing as far as exercise. We have a "heat" pump (which I'm sure all of you are tired of reading about now) and it doesn't work under 30F. Last night it went down to 7-9F!!! Yikes! That means that it was running in circles and not making any progress (oh my! I think it takes after me lately). So cold in our house - seems like a waste of electricity to me. So we woke up and our house was in the 50's. Brrrr That lead me to b...

Monday Recap

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:15:50 EST

259 Wow! Where did this cold snap come from this time? It seems like this last weekend it was sunny and I was working it out in capri pants. Temperatures have dropped way below 30F and now unfortunately we can't go outside for long periods of time. *pouts* 46 I got really close to going on for a short run yesterday but it was only 20F so I figured it wasn't the best idea. Does anyone else feel like a caged lab mouse right now? (Of course it could be since I work ...

Warm Weather & Movements

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:46:00 EST

Hello Everyone, Happy Monday! Hopefully the weather was as gorgeous where you are located as it is where we are right now. We actually got close to around 70F- amazing for this time of the year for us Northerners. 40 Don't get confused though, it's not a complaint. I could live with 90F everyday and be just fine with it.
Here's the weekend recap:

406 Exercise:
To commemorate the wonderful weather (it's not everyday we see the sun & be warm)...

Teavana for Better Life

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:26:24 EST

Something I learned my first year of eating better and taking care of my body is that I have to stop eating as many snacks. When I read of other people having issues with this too (I still have bouts of it) I am always reminded that my mouth is just needing something to do. My best method to stop over indulging with snacks is drinking tea in the winter. In the summer I love to drink iced tea or iced lemon water, whic...

Rainy Day In...

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:52:44 EST

Hello Everyone! Today I finally woke up without a headache - now at the end of the day I do have a tiny bit of a headache but nothing I can really complain all that much about right now. Hooray! That means I think I can get back into the swing of things tomorrow, I was hoping to today but something just didn't feel right about it so I chose to stay clear one more day for health purposes. Health after all is the most important thing when trying to live a "healthy lifestyle".

...

2nd Post Today - recap

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:46:36 EST

Sorry, I thought the last entry was getting a bit long so I decided to post another entry today since I had to recap over the duration of three days.

Monday was a bit nicer and more remembered. Sunday I didn't really do much but take medicine and sleep. We did manage to finish our puzzle and take a long walk outside - that's really about it though I'm afraid to say. Our intentions were to go to church and then grocery shopping but due to my head I just couldn't manage going out ...

Cold medicine but going...

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:29:01 EST

Hello Friends! I'm so thankful to be back today. It's only been a week but boy has it been a week that I will definitely try to forget, haha. Not to go into too much details but I have been really struggling with my T.O.M. with cramps and terrible migraines. Well, I thought it was migraines but as I read further into my symptoms, I'm wondering if I have a sinus infection minus all the side effects (apparently it's possible). When we moved to the Shenandoah region, my husband was advised ...

Tuesday Back in Action

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:26:50 EST

Hello Spark Friends!!!

It's been a very hard last week and the end really blew me for a twist - a lovely migraine that took me three days to overcome. Today I'm feeling much better and finally my T.O.M. has ended and things are going better tonight. So I hope to be back tomorrow and get back into things barring anything goes wrong tonight. Hope everyone is doing great on their journey this week!

Wednesday Oopsie...

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:36:32 EST

Sorry for the last two days, I've been fighting some major woman issues and have not really been in the mood to write. My mood has been a bit ugly so trust me, you're lucky to have missed me the last few days.

Wednesday:
2 Mood: Terrible to tell you the truth - so grouchy due to harsh cramps (sorry, TMI). Not much really to tell you otherwise... haha

312 Exercise: I've kept to my plan and ran the last two days. I can't really say too mu...

Tuesday Ramble and Food

Wed, 9 Jan 2013 15:52:22 EST

Today the weatherman stated the temperature was warmer however I'm afraid he/she has gone a little bit off the wall. It was really chilly outside but the sunshine felt really nice streaming through the house. The sunshine really increased the furry baby and my happiness level - we were thrilled to see the sun again and just were singing all around the house. I'm still not feeling 100% right now for some reason (low iron or sugar possibly?) so I'm taking things a bit easier but still being ...

Back at it Monday (in review)

Tue, 8 Jan 2013 17:21:04 EST

As always I am one day behind on my posts because I like to have all the food photos from the previous day up and I tend to have no energy after cooking dinner to post anything. So, here it goes - Monday in review.

211 Mood: High energy levels today as I was eager to get started on my plans for the day. Last week I took the time to plan out my entire schedule for the work week and that meant mor...

Weekend Escapades in Review

Mon, 7 Jan 2013 16:46:23 EST

So the hubby is still under the weather with his cold (first one in about 7 yrs!). That meant we were shut-ins more than not this last weekend. I know, not that exciting... But we did get into some things such as healthy food and a nice almost 4 mile hike!

Saturday:

(photo: Us being silly at the beach -that's sand not snow..hehe)

Nothing really that exciting besides leftover Rosemary Infus...

Running in 2013 Photo

Thu, 3 Jan 2013 19:15:11 EST

Today was another great day - three days in the new year and three days of workouts. I just wrote about it on my blog genkikitty.wordpress.com. I wanted to get it up here tonight but I'm running (hehe) out of time so I'm just letting you know it's on the site to read. Hopefully tomorrow I can post once again on here.

Birthday Run 2012

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:20:25 EST

Hooray, another birthday that included a healthy fitness section to the party. Okay, so maybe not a party but I did celebrate personally with myself by running 2.5 miles even though I wasn't feeling the best. Mother nature wasn't as kind to me this year so I've been a bit under the weather - but I'm not going to go into too much detail about that... haha. So even though I wasn't making records with the mileage, I still did manage to get out there and make it count.

Today is not ...

Almost December?

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:59:04 EST

Thanksgiving Day Friend

Oh where did the time go? It's almost December and I can't even remember November! Anyone else in the same boat?

Well, we had a lovely vegan thanksgiving that turned out perfect. We had two house guests which was great fun - we couldn't be with our family this year because we live a little to...

Healing

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:06:37 EST

Welcome back week! Such a good weekend full of sunshine and traveling to Washington DC - Smithsonian Aviation & Aerospace Museum, Lotte Store, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods Market. Oh I'm dreaming... 407

So anyways, the hubby and I got a lot of walking around this weekend seeing as it hurts to run still. The bruises just might be getting worse but I know from experience that is usually a good thing. My cut has finally built a nice scab and is less inflamed, yay! O...

Road Burn...

Fri, 9 Nov 2012 06:37:47 EST

Oh, it's been two days since I actually was on here writing, so sorry about that... I've been a bit depressed seeing that I ran at night for the first time the other day and injured myself. Nothing too serious but I have had to stop running (and going up stairs) for the last two days. I was getting into the groove of working out again and then I had to stop abruptly. It was brutal and rather heartbreaking. For some reason I didn't write about my experience here but if you want to get cau...

Run, Clothes, & Food

Tue, 6 Nov 2012 15:22:31 EST

Today was really great! I actually managed to encourage myself while ignoring my intimation of hills to run outside again today. I'm working on doing at least 10 minutes of exercise (no matter what it is) for the entire month of November. It's rather of a kickoff to working out more often. In the last few months of moving and total stress overload, I managed to pack on the weight I lost this last year. Yikes! That's about 7 pounds, grrr... So I'm kicking off the holiday training and wo...

Running In the Cold

Mon, 5 Nov 2012 17:32:51 EST

Brrr, where did these cold temperatures come from lately? Sadly, it's only started and I'm already complaining about it. 246 Today I got out of the house and did some leaf blowing for about 1.5 hours (boy do my wrists hurt). Afterwards I managed to jump on the road and run 1.41 miles. It's not record breaking but I was hoping to go run with the husband tonight. The hills around our new house are really killing me... Okay, so maybe not killing but it's creating an issue with...

Running Gloves

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:07:31 EST

Photo Shown not the women's but men's

Brr, it's cold out there. Okay, so maybe it's not as cold as where we used to live but the temperatures sure did drop last night. I'm using it as a sign though that I really need to get into action to purchase my fall/winter running clothes. I've been wanting to get some running gloves for some time now but haven't really taken the jump to pick one out. Today, I was so...

Boy Those Hills

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:15:47 EST

Wow! Going from the flat Midwestern states my entire life to the very mountainous/hilly terrain of VA really does tire a person out. I just finished my second run outside at our new house and am thrilled to finally have gotten myself out there. It's been rainy the last two days and I don't have a running raincoat just yet but as soon as I do, then nothing will stop me. So on to yesterday's report...

Whew, At Home

Fri, 5 Oct 2012 15:33:13 EST

Finally, I'd like to announce we have arrived at our VA house and are getting settled in, kinda. This last week seriously flew past and I have been so busy with unpacking and cleaning the new house. It's a bit smaller than we had anticipated but we are making it work. It has lots of sunshine all day long and is quiet all night long. (minus the raccoons that seem to have misplaced their toys with our locked trash bin) It's all going to be a learning experience going from the city to the c...

#2 Enjoying it...

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:24:21 EST

Okay, so I have to admit I'm getting a bit spoiled being a corporate wife at the moment. Usually I don't talk about it much but I am a housewife and I do a bit of work on the side to keep my sanity. But, I love being here in a hotel where there is a lot of people going in and out. Plus, I love having a gym and pool in the same building.

1st Day Back

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:04:31 EST

Hello Everyone, Happy Monday! Today was my husband's first day at his new job! Hooray! It's a large change for him going from government work at NASA to the private sector. For me it was the first day being a housewife/freelancer from our hotel room. We have three weeks in this hotel room but I'm not complaining because it is pleasant. The only thing I fear is that I might get too spoiled and not want to leave. Everything went really good today and I was surprised that I got a lot done ...

Welcoming the Sun...

Wed, 5 Sep 2012 19:32:09 EST

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Hello Everyone! Happy Wednesday! Sorry I missed yesterday but we were out and about getting things ready for the big move on Friday morning. For now we are still in Michigan and loving the relaxation of our hometown. Things have thankfully calmed a little seeing as we potentially have a house! Yay! We are just waiting for the final lease to sign from our Realtor and then we will have a place as of O...

Finally a Run...

Sat, 1 Sep 2012 22:39:20 EST

Today I finally got myself back into the swing of running, well at least I started. I've wanted to get back into things for the last month or two but it's been so crazy with the Hawaii trip and then the soon to be move to VA. I took Island Sharon's suggestion with planning out a schedule and just making sure everyone knows about it to assure I get my workout in. Today I made sure I went ahead and run outside at around 3PM, my normal daily schedule before I went on a hiatus from it. It had...

Fun Friday

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:18:55 EST

Hello Everyone! Twice in one week, impressed, I know... We are still living the life of the "homeless" lifestyle at my parents house in Michigan. Today is our one week countdown before we make the official move to VA! Hooray! It's been one week since I left OH and a few days since we moved our things into storage. As an update, we finally sent in our request for an extended stay hotel of two choices to our relocation company. Feels so good to finally have two options for a hotel for ab...

Goodbye Ohio

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:49:15 EST

So we did it, we moved out of our Ohio townhouse. It's a strange feeling to be in limbo between places but we are thankful we finally got everything packed up in Ohio and into storage for around a month or so. We have no idea how long because we are still waiting to hear if we got the house we put in for an application and paid $60 to get. (yep, you have to pay to put in an application that is non-refundable) Praying we get it so we don't have to worry as much.

Right now we are...