January 19, 2014

Weekend in Review

Friday Recap:

An evening with my Biker B!tch Crew for some good eats and drinks at The Classic Cafe in Malvern, Iowa.   Was so good to see these beautiful women and have a night of laid back conversation and a few good belly laughs.

ImageAshley, Kayla, Regeana, Liz, Lara, Anna, Tyree, Me, Baby Kaeleen (future Biker girl) and Sara

 

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Thanks Hy-Vee!  Frosting = the best part of the entire cookie

 

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Liz doubling it up.  How else do you numb the pain of a recent tooth extraction? 

 

Saturday:

Spent the good part of the morning and afternoon at the Med Center visiting my brother.  You know what is absolutely fantastic about the below photo?  The fact that Gabe isn’t in that bed but rather sitting in the chair next to me.  Pretty phenomenal considering 24 hours prior to that he took it upon himself to pull out his ventilation tube while he was still half sedated.  Talk about panic mode for the nurses, but he was clearly done with it and ready to fight on his own.  Simply AWESOME! 

ImageGabe managed to stay awake from 10-2pm that day.  He had a packed room with mom, Dave, me, Grandma and her friend, Pat, as well as our Uncle and Aunt Kam and Sarah.  A little after 2 hit and he was ready to lay down again.  Can’t say I blame him. 

It was so very good to see him awake, talking, laughing and eating.  The kid is a fighter and a half!

 

Sunday:

Today I was able to watch my cousin, Megan, play league volleyball.  She is a powerhouse!  Awesome to see her play!

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This afternoon I went for an easy jog around Zorinsky lake thanks to the fantastic weather we had around here.  I am absolutely LOVING my new Asics Kayano’s.  They are a dream to run in.

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I came up with a new recipe tonight using ground Turkey.  I have been hesitant to cook with Turkey for a while now (lack of flavor) but these turned out great.  Recipe coming soon!

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And, the best part of the day!? 

GABRIEL IS HOME!  

The doctors are truly amazed by his recovery.  Considering we damn near lost him last week, it is a miracle he is doing so well less than 48 hours after leaving the ICU.  Thank you all so much for the thoughts, prayers and well wishes.  They were all felt.

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January 17, 2014

Friday Faves

Who else is pumped for FRIDAY?!?!

If you have been following along with my posts, this week has been a little nutso.  However, the sun is shining, my brother is healing, and I have a day of pampering… spa, lunch with a friend, hair cut and color, an afternoon with two of my bff’s and an evening dinner with 10 Biker B!tches.

Friday, you have never looked so yummy.

Friday Sexy

Friday Faves

1) Eat By Date

For anyone that knows me well enough also knows I am a FREAK when it comes to food sitting out.

And prepared food that has been in the fridge for more than a day?  Forget about it.

However, with my busy weeks, I wanted to do food prep on Sunday’s so I can just grab and go (like I already mentioned).  In order for me to come to terms with eating a piece of chicken on Wednesday that was cooked on Sunday, I needed to call in the reinforcements.

Ladies and Gents, let me introduce you to this little gem of a website:  http://www.eatbydate.com/.

Eat by date

Those internet fairies are MY new heroes.

I should probably mention that I take their suggested eat-by dates, and subtract a day.

I know….. Give me a break.  I still need some control over this, people!  😉

 

2) Scheduling Blog Posts

Say what?

First, there is this heavenly word called DRAFT.  I can start drafting a post and save until later.

Second, there is this cool calendar that I can set to publish a post at certain dates and times and like magic, it happens!

I am using this tool a little more lately in order to manage my time wisely.  This also requires me to be a little more proactive in preparing blog posts.  The ones I can start drafting early (like stories and recipes) I get started and edit as I go along, that way I am not trying to do it all at once.  As a person who runs a tight schedule, this little feature is a big fave of mine.

See?

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Magic!

And time management awesomeness.

 

3) My Beachbody Peeps

I was supposed to attend Insanity Certification last Saturday in Lenexa, KS with the GREAT Sara Easley, but had to cancel my trip due to my brothers illness.  All I had to do was text Sara briefly what was going on and she immediately called Beachbody headquarters (they own Insanity), told them my deal, and within 3 days I had a full refund.  What an awesome company!  What an even cooler trainer and coach to take care of me from afar.   Sara was first my TurboKick Trainer and has since become someone I would call a friend with all our  communication that has happened since I met her in September.  THANK YOU, Girl!

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PS.  I am slated to now attend Insanity Certification on Saturday, February 1st with Danielle Katz!  She is a regular in Insanity videos.  Oh boy!  I am ready for an ass kickin’.

 

4) HSI Professional Flat Iron

This baby just showed up on my doorstep yesterday.  Made my hair smooth as silk.  YAY for new beauty products.  Now I can keep a flat iron at home and keep one in my gym bag at all times.  Score for efficiency!

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Wherever you are, and whatever you do, make today a great one!

 

Chestbump-Friday

January 16, 2014

Finding the Good Things

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Celebrating the Good!

1) My brother Gabriel is making significant progress!! Completely off nitric oxide (which was helping to inflate lungs) and today they have been reducing his reliance on the ventilator. Also trying to dial back the amount of sedation, however, he keeps trying to pull the vent out when he’s in the magical world of half reality and half twilight zone, so this step is proving to be tricky. Makes me wonder… If he is so good at getting his hands out of restraints while sedated, how many times did he sneak out of the house in high school?

Ya, I’ve got ya figured out brother.

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2) I made it through a week of teaching SIX fitness classes, training my predecessor at my 8-4, teaching my university students at night and visiting the hospital all with only a minor cold. SCORE!

3) My new boss’ boss bringing me flowers and chocolate. Because “that’s the only proper way to cope”. I’ll take it since it would probably be inappropriate for her to give me alcohol?

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4) Absolutely hysterical car stickers in the hospital parking lot. Mildly inappropriate? You bet!! #sorrynotsorry

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5) A fabulous friend who made us Chicken Lasagna to help out this week. Oh my. This stuff was so good! And my mom and step dad sure appreciated a hot, home cooked meal!

6) New faces in my fitness classes!! As of tonight I have now had 30 new people just THIS week! I’m over 50 people attending my TurboKick classes consistently! Sure am loving my FIT family and their energy!

7) A husband who can work on my Jeep. Even though said 2012 Jeep SHOULDN’T be having issues since I just bought it in August. Grrrr
Oh wait, this post is about finding the good. Yes, yes. Glad he can work on the piece of crap awesomeness.

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8) Friday. Tomorrow! Ya buddy! A day off for some pampering, an afternoon with two of my best friends and an evening with my Biker B!tches!!

Did you find the good in your day?

Cheers.

January 15, 2014

Recipe for Black Bean Patties

Don’t run away yet.  Trust me, these are worth trying!

Filled with black beans, artichokes, olives and green chiles.  Seasoned with hot sauce, chili powder and cumin.  Thickened up with oatmeal!

Spicy, Healthy and Cheap to make.

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Ingredients:

• 15 oz. black beans
• 4 oz. can diced chiles
• ½ onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 6 oz. jar artichoke hearts
• 12 large black olives
• 3 Tbsp. Egg Whites (or 1 egg)
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. cumin
• 1 Tbsp. hot sauce
• ¾ cup oatmeal

Directions:

• Drain and rinse black beans
• Mash black beans and chiles
•Chop onion, garlic, artichokes and olives in food processor.  My processor is tiny so I had to chop the onions and garlic in one round and artichokes and olives the second round.
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•Add chopped mix, egg whites and seasoning to beans
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• Once ingredients are combined, add oatmeal.  Mix should be sticky
• Place in refrigerator for 15 minutes
• Form 6 patties, place on prepared baking sheet
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• Bake 30 minutes, flipping half way through
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• If desired ‘fry’ patty on pan sprayed with olive oil for a few minutes if you prefer a crisper outside.
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I added a little hot sauce on top for a bit more kick (I could eat Cholula Hot Sauce on most everything).
Enjoy!
Black Bean Patties
Nutritional Info for 1 patty (if making 6 patties)
146 Calories
22 grams Carbohydrates
9 grams Protein