Planning for Success

Hey friends! Thank you all so much for helping me count down to my glorious day of freedom last week :) Your kind words always help me get through the busy times! I enjoyed my day off by spending some time with Delilah and then relaxing and watching a bunch of TV. Probably not the most productive way to spend my time but I was able to rest my body and I was happy to be able to do that.

Today's post has a little bit of everything I think! I have a meal from yesterday, some planning for the week and some inspiration :)

Last night's dinner was really yummy. A home made Chipotle bowl with rice and beans, salsa, daiya and avocado. I served with with a tortilla since I'm too much of a spazz to roll a decent burrito that actually stays together. After this meal I put the rest of my Daiya in the freezer because a) I've been eating it too much lately and b) It seems to be lasting forever! Seriously the bag just won't end!

The perfect bite!

Today I took a ton of time to get a lot of fruit ready for smoothies for the week. I really want to get back into the habit of drinking smoothies every day and being prepared is key. I added 4 more bags of cherries to my other two in the freezer (I'm going to make these last!) as well as some strawberries. I had the bananas already and just added them to the pile so you could see how much fruit I have ha! I also have half a bag of frozen blueberries as well as some frozen pineapple. I think I'm set on smoothies for a while!

While I was cleaning I found this old fortune and thought it was so perfect for the headspace I'm in right now. "You'll never know what you can do until you try." This is so true!

So I have a question. I just tried to upload another photo and it said that I'm out of space in my Picasa account or something. I didn't even know I had a Picasa account and when I clicked to get details it said I had 5 GB of drive space that I wasn't using. I'm confused I guess and if I don't upgrade does that mean I can't upload any more photos at all? Has this happened to any of you, and if so did you just pay to upgrade? Please let me know, I'm so confused! 

I hope that you all had a great day and that Monday wasn't too tough for you!

Fun Friday!

Hi friends! I'm sorry yesterday was a bit of a bummer but I promise today will pick up! I've been a little bummed that I haven't been feeling well and that I haven't been able to exercise but you know you can always count on Pinterest to lift your spirits! This round of Fun Friday is going to be based on some fun and inspiring things that I've found on Pinterest recently :) Trying to stay positive and tell myself that better things are on the horizon!

I don't know why but I thought that this was really beautiful and perfect. The idea of this instantly makes me happy and puts me in an better mindset. 

This just makes me laugh my ass off. It is so simple but perfectly hilarious!

I found this quote really inspiring because I can be guilty of this. I tend to let a bad day linger and I can blow it out of proportion and/or take it out on people I care about. It is so important to remember that a bad day is just a bad day. Things will get better. And it they don't then you know that it is time for a change!

This is what I try to do every day :) I love this, I kind of want to find this or make one for my bedroom.

I repinned this from Sage who always shares the best advice.  This is so inspiring to me because it is so true. I've been afraid of chasing my dreams for so long and constantly make excuses as to why I shouldn't or CAN'T. Can't should be considered the ultimate four letter word because it carries so much more weight than "fuck" or "shit." Seriously. Anyway, it's time to pursue my dreams. And I know what the first step is to take ;)

Um, can we talk a little bit about how AMAZING and HILARIOUS these rings are?! I don't know where this whole mustache craze came from but it is so funny. I love the guy on the right with the hat.

I'm pretty obsessed with these super cute DIY glasses! She just used the back of a paint brush to dot acrylic paint on the glasses. Then she put them in the oven (I can give you specific instructions if you are interested, or just check out the pin! ;]) and check out these super cool glasses! I think I definitely need to make these.

Alright friends, I'm off to run some errands before my wedding today. Yes, I know it is 8:30 am but alas this is the only time I have :) I like it better too because the stores aren't crowded. It is my good friend's birthday tomorrow and I'm working with her on Sunday so I am putting together a super fun gift so I need to go and grab a few things for it :) I'm so excited about this gift and I'll definitely show you guys what I came up with... probably on Sunday! I hope you all have a great Friday and I'll definitely do my best to pop in and keep you updated on my busy weekend and the yummy food I'm eating to keep my energy up :) I think I have next weekend off too which is great motivation for the next week as well!

Happy Friday friends! Hope you all enjoyed this Fun Friday post! :)

Fun Friday!

Hey everyone! I hope you had a great week. Mine was fine but not over. I have to be up at 5 am for a day wedding tomorrow then I have another wedding on Sunday. Fun times!

So for today's Fun Friday post I figured I'd do a workout post :) Some of you asked me to talk about workouts so I figured I'd start broad and narrow a bit as the weeks go on. I think it is important to include variety in your workouts so you don't get bored. I have tried tons of different workouts in my life and some have stuck and some haven't.

Check out the workouts that I'm loving the most right now!

You all know I'm a big fan of the Tone It Up girls. This is one of my favorite workout videos that they've put on Youtube. I love how they all have a beachy theme too :)

You all knew kickboxing would show up sooner rather than later. This is Gina Carano training with an amazing view. That normally doesn't happen though. I recommend it because it is a great stress relief, teaches you a lot of skills you can use in self defense (which you would hopefully never need!) and it really just feels good to kick ass! I'm going to miss it during this break but hopefully when I get back to it I'll be back to normal!

I have practiced Bikram yoga for two periods of about 4 months each. The first session is absolutely miserable but after that it feels amazing. It is cleansing, your flexibility improves exponentially, you learn how to deal with the heat and it is such a feeling of accomplishment every class. This is what I have been thinking about doing for the next month while I have to eliminate impact training. I think it will help my neck a lot. If I remember correctly, it helped the last time I picked up the practice... about a year and a half ago. I'm going to run it by the physical therapist before I start.

I have mentioned it a million times on here but don't know if I explained it well. This is the arc trainer. I love this cardio machine and it is one of the only things that doesn't aggravate my shoulder/arm. I usually describe it as a cross between a stair climber and an elliptical. Love it.

This is actually something that I've always wanted to try! Have any of you ever been mountain biking before? It sounds like a great challenge and like so much fun! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

Sorry if this post is boring but these are some of the general workouts that I either love or am interested in trying. I will be getting more specific in future Fun Friday posts :) I'd love suggestions for specific things you'd like to see and also workouts that you love that you think I should try! I'd love to try some new things :)

This isn't a workout but it is something that my mom emailed me and had to share because it is so cute!

Haha I love it! So perfect for the heat wave we just had. Today we had a monsoon like storm that naturally started while I was driving and ended just after I got soaked getting out of the car ;) Gotta love that! At least it won't be a million degrees over the weekend when I have to work.

Hope you all had a great week! Do something fun over the weekend for me! :) I'll have to live vicariously through all of you!

Things That Inspire Me...

Hey everyone! First of all, thank you so much for all of your support through the process of figuring out what the hell is wrong with my neck/back/shoulder. It means a lot! My MRI went pretty well I think. I am actually now pretty convinced it is indeed my neck. While I was in there they stabilized my neck and it was almost like it was in a brace. I have NEVER felt as much discomfort in that shoulder or arm in my life... it was actually quite painful. HOWEVER, when I got off the table and out of the stabilizer brace thingy, my shoulder actually felt better than it has in a long time. Very little discomfort, stretched out and just better. So much so, in fact, that my training session today was amazing. 7 rounds on the heavy bag with zero problems, no fatigue and even my breathing felt better. It was crazy! I am waiting to hear back from my doctor about when I can get the results but I'm feeling pretty optimistic. There was one casualty though. I had to take out all of my ear piercings and go figure, one actually closed up IN AN HOUR AND A HALF! And I had that one for 10 years. The scar tissue in the bottom hole of my industrial just completely closed it up. It is sad because I loved that piercing but I guess if I am on the road to getting better it is worth it.

I went to Whole Foods tonight to replenish my grocery supply. I walked out with mostly produce since I'm still working on the pantry. I got some carrots, cucumber, spinach, artichoke hearts, portobello mushrooms, and cauliflower. I also got 3 of the small Vita Coco coconut waters (on sale 3 for $5, I got 2 pineapple and one peach and mango) because it is the only brand of coconut water I can actually get down. I think Zico is kind of yucky :X I have some great meals planned so sit tight :)

I have been doing a lot of thinking about life and where I am and where I want to be and realized that I have a long way to go. What I'm doing and what I want to do are two very different things but I've decided that life is too short and now is the time to start chasing my dreams and make things happen for myself. I have some projects planned for myself and I'll fill you in on them once I get rolling and make a good deal of progress. Exciting things are happening because I've decided it is time for me to focus on becoming the person that I dream of being.

Which brings me to the real subject of this post, inspiration. I know that I've been bringing it up a lot, but I'm REALLY happy that I joined Pinterest. I know that it is a great way to promote my blog and all of that stuff, but I have found that I love it more for the inspiration it provides me. I love seeing things that are cool and then coming up with ways to make them my own. I decided that since I don't have food photos for you today, I'd show you some things that are inspiring to me that I've found on Pinterest.

Repurposed Etched Spice Jars. This DIY project is beautiful and gives your kitchen such a unique look AND is a great way to recycle your old bottles. I'm really loving these.

How cute are these Oreo Pops!! I love things on a stick and these Oreos are so easy but look really great! These will be a great holiday treat using Candy Cane Joe Joe's.

How hilarious is this mustache Rainbow Cake? I've always wanted to try making "tie dye" cakes and this one is just too cute. I need to get on that :)

I'm pretty much obsessed with these Melted Ice Cream Cupcakes. They are so adorable and I wish I had though of them! These inspire me a lot to really push my creativity :)

Finally, this presentation of a beautiful summer fruit salad is brilliant. I tried to click back to the source but couldn't find it. I think it is so simple but really smart and pretty to look at. 

So the moral of this really long (sorry) story is that I've become really inspired by the things I've seen on Pinterest and just all around me and I'm hoping to be able to use this inspiration to create some new, fun things. I'm also hoping that this inspiration will find its way into some projects I have in my head that I'm really pushing to make a reality. It's time for change my friends. And I'm bringing you along for the ride!

Sorry this has turned into a mammoth post! Just one more thing though. As of last night, I've gotten my paws on tickets to the UFC fights in Jersey on Saturday! I'm so excited because I've never been to live fights AND to make it even better, Nate Diaz (one of my favorite fighters) will be fighting in the main event and will be cornered by his bro (and my all time fav fighter) Nick. SO. AWESOME. Yay!

Ok, I'm done I promise! Thanks for bearing with me! Have a great night!

Bucket List

Hey everyone! I know I said I probably wouldn't be posting but I just can't stay away! No food today but I remember a while ago I posted my Fitness Bucket List and mentioned that I have a regular Bucket List. I remember some of you expressing some interest in it and as I've been working on my boards on Pinterest I dug out my bucket list so I figured I'd share it with you. I think Bucket Lists are a very good way to get an idea of who someone is so here's mine! I only have 75 items right now but I'm sure I'll add more :) The ones in red are what I've done. Looks like I have to get cracking!

1. Open a vegan bakery.
2. Go on a road trip along the California Coast.
3. Learn how to surf.
4. Learn a new language.
5. Visit Easter Island.
6. Cliff jump in Santorini.
7. Participate in a ghost hunt.
8. Feel comfortable in my body and be a confident woman.
9. Improve my photography skills and take pictures everywhere I go.
10. Take a trip by myself.
11. Adopt pets.
12. Participate in a large scale scavenger hunt.
13. Get a half sleeve tattoo.
14. Learn how to make jewelry. 
15. Become more adventurous and take more risks.
16. Mindfully celebrate the autumnal equinox.
17. Get in top physical shape and maintain it.
18. Spar with a partner.
19. Participate in a sanctioned boxing bout.
20. Build a fort and have a slumber party.
21. Grow my own fruits, veggies and herbs.
22. Travel Scandinavia by bike.
23. Become a more optimistic person.
24. Start celebrating my birthday.
25. Support small local businesses.
26. Become the woman I was meant to be.
27. Buy myself a new wardrobe.
28. Learn the bagpipes.
29. Go to New Orleans.
30. Host dinner parties.
31. Learn how to properly do hair and makeup.
32. Stop being so hard on myself.
33. Foster my creativity through art.
34. Reconnect with old friends.
35. Make new friends.
36. Do a photo shoot at Eastern State penitentiary
37. Go on an archaeological dig.
38. Become a roller derby girl.
39. Live a “greener” life.
40. See the Northern Lights
41. Create my dream home
42. Visit a volcano
43. Ride a Vespa
44. Learn more about Eastern religions.
45. Go to a taping of a TV show.
46. Zipline through the rainforest
47. Experience Oktoberfest.
48. Have a cup of coffee in each of the 50 states.
49. Fill up my passport with stamps.
50. Have a nice picture on my driver's license.
51. Dye my hair blonde just to see what it would look like.
52. Experience 24 hours of daylight in Alaska.
53. Inspire someone.
54. Have a big ass food fight.
55. Go to a drive in movie theater.
56. Shop for a bed in my Pjs.
57. Listen to my iPod all the way through on shuffle.
58. Put up some videos on Youtube.
59. Learn how to nunchuck.
60. Visit an animal sanctuary.
61. Go one week without spending any money.
62. Make someone's wedding cake.
63. Learn more about astrology.
64. Walk around in a gown all day.
65. Maintain a blog.
66. Make a large donation to charity.
67. Own a beach cruiser.
68. Make someone's day.
69. Get more organized.
70. Pull an amazing April Fools joke.
71. Donate hair to locks of love.     
72. Participate in the Run For Your Lives 5k.
73. Complete a duathlon sprint.
74. Join an MMA gym.
75. Eat more raw food.

Here are some cool images I found and pinned :)

OK hope you liked this post and found my bucket list at least a little interesting ;) Time to get ready for my mom's birthday dinner! Hope you all have a great Saturday!

Feeling Human Again & Marmalade Umlaut!

Hey everyone! It took a while but I finally feel human again. I have an appetite, I'm eating real food (just smaller portions of it) and I'm feeling good. I went to the gym and did 50 minutes of cardio this morning before work and it felt great. It's so good to be back in business, it sucks being out of commission for almost a week, but it's nothing that I could help.

Breakfast was my second attempt at a green smoothie since I got sick. The first one was an epic fail because it was so sweet it just made me sick again. This one was way less sweet. All I used was a banana, some almond milk, some Vega shake and go smoothie powder and a lot of spinach. I was in desperate need of greens and they cut the sweetness a lot. I drank about 3/4 of it. Success!

Since I didn't have much time between the gym and work I only had time to make the smoothie so I grabbed lunch next door. I couldn't get a photo since I wasn't alone but I had this one and it is the same exact thing I ate for lunch. Rice and beans with stewed green beans and tomato. Smaller portion than this though. Another great meal.

I got home from work at about 3:45 and decided to have some avocado on toast as a snack to hold off until dinner. As you can see this poor avocado needed to be eaten since it had been sitting all week. I'll finish it off tomorrow I'm sure.

For dinner I'm planning on a salad. A small salad. Yum!

So, as I promised here is a review of:

Marmalade Umlaut!!! This is Maud over at Food Feud's awesome zine that she has been producing since 2007. As I have mentioned before, I had intended on purchasing a few issues for a while but for some reason just never did. I FINALLY came to my senses and decided that I would get 4. I chose issues 13 and 18 where raw foods are a focus and then decided to let Maud choose the other two for me. She chose issues 6 and 15 and they were both great choices!

Truth be told I had never really seen a zine before and wasn't sure what to expect. Needless to say I was really excited about what was presented in these zines. Maud provides funny anecdotes, amazing recipes (duh!), kick ass cartoons (like seriously super fun and cute), holiday menus and conversations (the conversations were a great touch, I really felt like I was a fly on the wall), poetry, tips and her insights on a variety of topics. She has a very conversational tone and the presentation is fun, unique and incredibly creative. I can't say that I have a favorite issue because I enjoyed all of them so much. I can't wait to make some of the raw recipes. Raw pad thai?! Yes, please! Thanks again Maud, and if you haven't already had the pleasure of reading Marmalade Umlaut, definitely order some issues. You won't be disappointed!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend so far! Mine finally began at 3:30 this afternoon. I was bumming about not having Showtime because the Strikeforce fights are on tonight.

Notice anything interesting about tonight's main event? Yup, the main event features a WOMEN'S TITLE FIGHT! The UFC could learn something from this. Dana White (UFC President) has stated that because of the lack of talent in the women's division and the lack of interest (read: not enough potential for big $$ for him) we will pretty much never see women's bouts in the UFC. I think that is a load of bullshit.

Anyway, I think that this fight has the potential of really paving the way for women's MMA (and to make Dana White regret making that statement). I really wanted to watch it and then I found out my bro has Showtime! So tonight I'll be heading over to his house to watch the fights there. I've seen women's MMA before but this fight is going to be awesome because these two broads pretty much hate each other. That makes it so much more fun :)

I hope that you all have a great Saturday night! I'll be back tomorrow with more yummy eats :)

My Fitness Bucket List

Hey everyone. I'm still sick but I'm sure you figured that since bronchitis doesn't magically clear up overnight (although I wish it would!). I'm also incredibly bored and now I have pretty much no voice left. I sound like a cross between a 13 year old boy who's voice is changing and an old man that has smoked a pack a day for 60 years. I called the gym to cancel my training for the rest of the week (you can imagine how bummed out I was about that) and he was like wait the phone is breaking up and I basically had to assure him that it was just my voice. Oy!

I cyber wandered over to Oh She Glows and got sucked into the pages and pages and pages of archives that Angela has accumulated over the years and bookmarked and printed lovely and inspiring recipes that I can't wait to try. Then I came across her Fitness Bucket List post and decided it would be fun to create my own bucket list while I'm collecting enough photos of my sickytime eats to post.

So here we go, my Fitness Bucket List:


1. Take classes in an MMA Gym


I am lucky to have a really great trainer that has taught me A LOT about fighting. I am very confident in the skills that I've acquired over the past few years. However, there are lots of benefits to training with people that will throw punches back ;) I'd like to supplement my personal training with classes at an MMA gym because I think I'd be able to learn a lot sparring with other people (more on this later).

2. Start to train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 


I've been floating around the idea of trying out Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and learning more about it.

And you better believe I'd rock the pink Gi like these ladies!


3. Spar with a sparring partner - learn more about how to fight against an actual human being instead of a heavy bag or pads


I have wanted to spar for a long time but there are no women at the gym that I go to that are basically at a sparring level. It's not that I'm all that phenomenal because I've got A LOT to learn...it's that my goals in fight training are different than theirs.

4. Participate in a legitmate boxing bout


I really do eventually want to fight in a legit bout. I feel pretty confident that my boxing can get to a place where I am 100% confident getting into a ring. It is a dream of mine to really finish this journey. I don't tell a lot of people about this, but it is at the forefront of my mind every single time I walk into that gym.

This picture motivates me every time I see it :)

5. Run For Your Lives

This just looks like a really fun way to start running races. I would love to participate in this one day!

6. Indoor Rock Climbing

7. Have a membership with a Yoga Studio

8. Run a 5K

9. Learn How To Surf (I know I've mentioned this before!)

10. Get Around By Bike Instead of a Car

I would love to be able to rely on a bicycle more than a car in the future. Great for my health and the environment.

Kind of love this pink Cadillac cruiser ;)

I'm sure there are a ton more but my brain is a little foggy right now. Hopefully I'll be back with some food tomorrow. I figured I'd wait another day so I can supplement today's sad showing because I had pretty much zero appetite. 

Have a good night and thanks for the well wishes. I'm not sure if I'm staying home tomorrow, I'll see how I feel when I wake up.

Vegan MoFo Day 29: Snow Day and Some Changes

Hello Chickadees <3 First of all, I just want to thank you all so much for your support and well wishes for me. Unfortunately the journey to figuring out what is going on with my should hasn't even begun because I'm still looking for a primary care physician. I doubt I'll have any tests done for at least a month. It is really upsetting and really frustrating but I just have to make sure I stay diligent in my search for doctors and for answers. This has been going on for years and I doubt it'll ever really get better. For now, I think it is a matter of learning how to live with it and how to maintain the most comfort possible while still participating in activities that I love. 

My body has been rebelling against me. I've been feeling crappy, never completely getting over my illnesses, my shoulder is flaring up and I am just tired and in bad spirits. I don't like feeling this way. I've decided that for the month of November, I'm going to do a 30 day cleanse. It will be a repeat of the cleanse I did when I decided to go gluten free. For the first two weeks to completely clean my system I completely took all grains, starchy veggies and added sugars from my diet. I ate mostly fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, seeds, and a little tofu. It was clean clean clean. After two weeks I felt phenomenal, I had energy and just felt so much better. I added back some grains (obviously gf grains only) mostly in the form of oats and brown rice and tried to limit it. This was for another two weeks. Then I started to use a little more of the added sugars such as maple syrup, etc. Recently with all of the baking I've been doing and because of my schedule I've eaten more processed food, gluten and sugar than I like so starting on Tuesday I'm ridding my body of the crap and getting back on track.

I found these two photos and they are truly inspiring...they are so beautiful and vibrant and they make me crave fresh produce!!

   

I've got a major hunch that my shoulder issues have stemmed from a pinched nerve somewhere. I'm not sure where but I just really believe that's what it is. I've read that posture is key in maintaining comfort with pinched nerves and I know that yoga helps with posture so much. I'm going to try and practice for at least an hour every other day and hopefully the combination of stretching and proper posture will help alleviate it. In addition, over the next two weeks I won't be hitting anything, just working on core and lower body. I'll probably only cut down to 2 sessions a week while I have to limit my workouts and then use the other days to focus on yoga and cardio.

It is a really yucky day here in NY. Heavy wet snow is coming down and it is just ugly. I went to the studio to do some work for a few hours and then I just came home to relax. I'm in warm pjs relaxing in bed with tea watching old UFC fights in a UFC Unleashed marathon on Spike. It is an ugly day, but it is a perfect day to rest enjoy a day inside. Now, lets check out the food!

For a snow day treat I enjoyed this slice of GF Carrot Spice Oat Bread and a mug of spearmint tea. It was the perfect treat! I warmed up the bread and the warmth of the spices were really lovely on this chilly day.

To continue the theme of warming from the inside out, I had a bowl of hot and sour soup. Check out all of the chili flakes! Super spicy and delicious :)

Just as a reminder, you can vote in the second round of the Holiday Baking Bracket until midnight tomorrow - Sunday, October 30! Get those votes in! The final round is approaching!

Stay warm and dry everyone and travel safe!