Workout Gear!

As I'm trying to amp up my workouts {by amp up, I mean just actually get my butt out of bed, off the couch, out of the car and move!} I don't know about y'all, but when I get new workout clothes, a new water bottle, or even just some fun workout gadget it really motivates me! So I decided to share some of my favs and some of my wish list items!

MUST HAVE FAVS!

I have two things that bother me when I workout, my boobs! {Sorry, no easy way around that one} A good sports bra is a MUST for moi! I have a couple that I really like! I recently went to Lululemon for the first time and found one I really liked and while it says it's light support, I find it very supportive! 

Energy Bra

I also love the Nike Pro sports bra!

Nike Pro

Enough with the tatas... let's move to pants! I'm not a fan of working out in shorts, so while I have a bunch of Nike shorts, I use them for running errands or lounging. I hate to be on a Lululemon spree, but these capris have pretty much changed my life!

Wunder under crop

I got a Polar F6 years ago and LOVE it! I love watching my heart rate and love that it gives me a pretty accurate calorie burn reading! I couldn't find a picture of it on their website, as it's an old model, but this one is pretty!

Heart Rate Monitor

I'm an avid water drinker, so a cute water bottle is a must!

Tervis

WISH LIST!

Everyone  A few people I know have Fitbits, Jawbone Ups, Nike Fuel bands...and I want something like that! My mom and I had a convo about it last weekend and she was all "That's a waste of money". Then she sends me an e-mail last night saying, "do you want one of these?"

Viviofit

I mean, it's purple {check}, it does everything the other bands do {check}, PLUS it can be used with a heart rate strap {check}!! So I said oh yeah!! I do! It's a Garmin and doesn't do GPS tracking, but I'm okay with that because let's me honest, I'm not gonna be going on any long runs! ha!

I haven't even talked about tennis shoes! By the way, do you call them tennis shoes or sneakers?! I almost typed sneakers and thought no, that sounds funny! I wear Nike Air Pegasus+29 tennis shoes that I found on clearance on Nike.com and I actually love them! I have two pair! I like neutral sole shoes because I tend to supinate and can't find a good pair that work better than neutral shoes! So I'm looking to y'all for some good recommendations. I'm not going to be running very much, basically doing cross training, weight lifting and some good cardio stuff. What do y'all like? Also, I'm not looking to spend a small fortune! :)

What are y'alls favs and wishes?

Ps. I am trying to get better about logging into MyFitnessPal, so feel free to friend me on there and we can cheer each other on!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/samanthadiane3

Five on Friday!

Good Morning Lovies!

Decided to link up again this Friday, since it's been awhile! 

You can link up also...

So here we go!!

-ONE-

I'm going home for Easter this weekend, actually, I'm leaving in about 3 hours! I'm really excited! I love Easter and all that entails! My mom goes way overboard on holidays, she sent me the menu this week and I.Cannot.Wait! Let's just say my free day from my clean eating will be Sunday! I'm also looking forward to visiting my church at home and getting to celebrate our risen King with my Journey Church Fam!!

-TWO-

My sweet forever friend Kacee and I started something new this past Sunday, we send each other a list of prayers and we spend the week praying over these for each other. Some of the prayers have already been answered and it's awesome to see how praying works! If you ever have anything you want prayed over, shoot me an e-mail and I'll add you to my prayer list!

-THREE-

This sounds minuscule but it really has been a huge blessing for me and given me peace. There are some days where I am gone almost 12 hours and it's just not fair for my pups {who are my children} to be stuck in the house without a chance to go potty, or play. Enter in Petsmart Doggie Day Camp! Yep...it's like day care for your dogs! They go in a pack of dogs and play all day! They come home worn out and I get a Pawgress report{see what they did there?} about who they played with, if they ate, slept and anything else I need to know. The first couple times they went, they were nervous, I was nervous, my two do not get along with other dogs very well...but shockingly they do great with the other dogs!! Which means it's me that they protect when I'm around and another dog approaches! They went yesterday and apparently had a blast...they slept all night and are currently sleeping again! Jackie took over the slide and remained queen of all! ha!

-FOUR-

I have had some incredibly sweet patients this week! Well, one carried over from last week, but she's still super sweet and told me when she is feeling better she wants me to come up and go to Downtown McKinney to shop and have lunch! I mean, come on! The other sweet lady was so nervous and I spent extra time with her because I knew she was scared and she was quite intriguing! She's a pianist and had THREE pianos in her den...I was in heaven! She promised to give me a concert when I come to pick up her machine in a month and I'm going to hold her to it!

-FIVE-

I've been doing the 30 day Green Smoothie Challenge and it's going well! I also am doing a 6 week challenge through my Revolt facebook group...it's not going as well. We have a list of things we must do every day and this week has been a struggle for me on the food end. The exercise is an issue because now that I don't have to be up at a certain time I can't seem to get my lazy butt up early enough for a morning workout! So I'm looking forward to next week and it being better than this week!!

I hope y'all have a Fantabulous weekend and a Blessed Easter!!

Chicken+Tomatoes+Basil+Mozzarella = HAPPY!

I've been wanting to try a new recipe each week, but my boring-ness keeps me cooking the same things over and over each week! Basically, I make grilled chicken, pork chops or baked chicken with either broccoli, brussel sprouts or roasted potatoes. I have been getting fancy and putting balsamic glaze reduction on my chicken and brussel sprouts! I know, you're amazed! Sometimes I'll pop a tomato and low-fat swiss on top of the grilled chicken {but only when I'm feeling CRAZY, haha!}.

I love Caprese Salad, so when I ran across this on Pinterest, I pinned it and thought one day I'd try it! On a side note, what did we do before Pinterest? I don't spend nearly as much time on there as I used to, but still! I tweaked the recipe a bit but here it is: (I copied it straight from her website, but what's in BOLD I've changed)

Caprese Chicken 

Yield: 4 servings

recipe note: Balsamic vinegar comes in many forms. I really recommend a higher quality one - it truly does make a difference. A low quality balsamic vinegar is very thin - like water. A higher quality one is slightly thicker (not as thick as balsamic glaze, but somewhere in the middle of the two).

I halved the recipe, it's only me. I also grilled my chicken instead of putting it in the pan. 

ingredients:

4 skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper I used garlic salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
10 large basil leaves, finely chopped
8 oz fresh buffalo mozzarella, sliced in 1/2 inch thick slices I used low-fat mozzarella (shredded)
balsamic vinegar, to taste I used balsamic glaze reduction (it's all I had)

directions:

Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts and set aside.

In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add chicken, cover pan, and cook for about 10 minutes. Flip chicken breasts and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked thoroughly (or has reached an internal temp of 165°F).

While chicken is cooking, in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add tomatoes and continue sautéing until tomatoes skin starts to soften/wrinkle, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil. Set aside.

Once chicken has reached desired doneness, top the tops of each chicken breast with 2 slices of mozzarella. Pour tomato mixture on top. Cover pan with lid once more and let the mozzarella melt, about 1-2 minutes.

Lastly, drizzle with a splash of balsamic vinegar and serve immediately.

I'd rather grill my chicken and other than that, I only tweaked a few things more to my taste! If you have a Trader Joe's near you, I suggest you go buy their Cage Free Organic Chicken Breasts...they're slightly more expensive but OH.MY.GOSH. they are soooooooo amazing!! The absolute juiciest chicken breasts I've ever had!! They drip with juice when you take them off the grill! And I of course made broccoli on the grill to go with it...gotta stick to what you know! I actually got it a little too done but it was still good!  

I had it again tonight, because those pieces of chicken are huge and I cut them in half so I can basically make four meals out of it! It was just as good, if not better today!! 

Enjoy this meal...if you like all the ingredients it's a must make!

Gentle Reminder

Next month, it will be SIX months since I've moved here! Say what?! That's flippin' nuts! I cannot believe it's already almost been half a year! Time sure does fly!! Am I where I thought I would be at this point? Nope...but I'm where God wants me to be. On my way home from my Houston visit last weekend I was listening to KSBJ (the local Christian radio station) as far as it would get reception, the song, In Christ Alone came on and immediately I turned the radio up loud and got my praise on by myself in my car! I then downloaded it to my phone and it's been on repeat since! I listen to it every morning on my way to my first stop of the day. I have been making it my prayer because I need to remember why I'm here. This verse from the song its my favorite! I need to strive to make Christ my center, my all, because He is the one true constant in my life!

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

I didn't move to Fort Worth for myself. Yes, I love this city and the people that are important to me here, but I'm here to make a difference. I'm here because I was obedient to the gentle nudge of a loving Father who knew this is where I needed to be for the next phase of my life. I follow a girl on Instagram that has inspired me to put others first and I think that's what I'm here for! I'm here to make a difference in people's lives. That was what I loved about my former job...I got to make a difference and speak life into teenagers. Well now, I get to do the same thing with a different population, most of my patients are older, but just because they're older doesn't mean they don't need life spoken into them! I can bring light and happiness to a person that is scared, overwhelmed and nervous about an upcoming surgery just by being nice and listening to them. I also am inspired to start showing happiness to those around me. I LOVE doing little acts of kindness to show love! Whether it's sending a little note, a package or just a text to tell someone I love them, it brings me joy. It is a blessing to be able to lift someones spirits and let them know they are loved. 

It's my prayer daily that others can see and feel God's love for them through me. I want to be a beacon of love, grace and compassion. Compassion is hard for me, I don't give sympathy well and I'm learning to be compassionate. There are patients that you just want to set their equipment up and get out of there maybe because you're rushing and have a million other places or maybe because they just aren't the most pleasant person. But I'm really trying to show compassion to these patients because they deserve my all just like everyone else. 

So again, am I where I want to be? Nope...but I know I'm right where I'm supposed to be. God is teaching me daily and I'm learning to follow his will!

"But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Just have faith.""

Mark 5:36

I mean, helllllooooo, it's THAT simple! Don't be afraid, have faith. 

A patient the other day, gave me these dog treats for my pups...it's the little things that make a bad day awesome! 

Easy Shrimp Recipe

I love food...I mean, who doesn't!? {I'd like to meet a person that says, food? meh.} And like everyone if I could whatever I wanted and not gain any weight that would AH-MAZING! So instead, I'm constantly trying to eat healthy and only have my yummiest {ie: not healthiest} foods in moderation. Therefore, my food board on Pinterest is loaded...mainly with healthy yummies but also with just pain good looking food! 

Pasta is high on my list, but I get bored with regular spaghetti and I could eat Alfredo sauce on every type of pasta imaginable, but I'd also be 6000 pounds! I try to find healthier ways to make pasta dishes that are still super flavorful and not high in calories! {win|win} Pioneer Woman is a favorite of mine and while her recipes aren't always the healthiest, they are SOOOOO good! This shrimp pasta, I originally made for my parents and it was a hit! It makes a lot of pasta so make sure you have enough mouths to feed! Being a single person, I won't make this unless I have company over or am making it for a group of people! 

One of my former athletes turned friends lives in Dallas and every two weeks we get together and eat, gossip, play with each other's dogs. One time I'll go to her apartment and the next time she comes to mine! It's a nice dose of "home" and good girl time! I made this pasta the other week when she came to my place! It was yum! I took some pictures but forgot to take an end result picture! {so sorry, but let's be real,her pictures on the website are way better than mine!}

Here's the recipe: I took it straight from here

Ingredients

• ½ cups Olive Oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 3 whole 14.5 Ounce Cans Diced (or Whole) Tomatoes
• ½ cups White Wine
• 2 pounds Jumbo Or Large Shrimp, Peeled And Deveined
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Fresh Parsley, Minced
• 1 pound Linguine, Uncooked
• Red Pepper Flakes, to taste

Preparation

Cook pasta for 1/2 the recommended cooking time. Pasta should still be very firm.

In a large skillet or pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Dump in the tomatoes and wine. Stir the mixture together, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cook for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a large parcel of heavy duty aluminum foil. It should be large enough to hold the entire pasta dish.

Throw the shrimp on the top of the pasta sauce. Throw the drained pasta over the top, then pour the whole dish onto the foil. Tightly wrap the foil into a parcel.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm until serving.

Open the foil parcel right before serving. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the top. Squeeze on lemon juice, if desired.

I did substitute whole wheat angel hair pasta for the linguine to make it a little healthier! 
It's a great, easy recipe and doesn't leave you feeling like you've over-eaten! 

Do y'all have any go-to, healthy pasta recipes?

You may notice something different around here...

When I started my blog, I knew nothing about designing a blog or how to do many things on my blog. Fast forward over a year and I still don't know how to design a blog or do many things on my blog! Thankfully my sweet friend, Julie, apparently has become a pro! She re-designed Megan's blog a while ago and I really liked it! So when I decided to attempt blogging  blog regularly again, I asked Julie if she could design something for me! 

I sent her links to some blogs I frequent and told her what I liked/didn't like and she came up with this design!! I think it captures my personality PERFECTLY!!! I LOVE the colors and the whole stinkin' design! I love how clean and simple it is (Julie may disagree about the simple part, ha!)!! I've told her how amazing she is and I really think she has a knack for this and should start herself a little side-biz!! 

So enjoy the new layout...I'm loving it and I think I'll be inclined to write more because honestly I was embarrassed to send people to my blog because it looked so childish and juvenile. But now... I want everyone to see! 

So thank you, thank you Julie!! I love it and I think others will too!!

I'm gonna leave y'all with a little iPhone dump because who doesn't love some pics! If you follow me on Instagram, I'm sorry for the repeats!

We celebrated Jackie and Canton's b-days...pretty much the Three Musketeers

My sweet co-pilot for the drive home last Thursday...Jackie was already asleep in the back. 

My two loved seeing/playing with Divot! They miss him! They walked like pros!

My main reason for going home last weekend was to celebrate this stud's 26th birthday!! 

Here's to a great end of the week! 

30 day Green Smoothie Challenge!

Happy April 1st! I thankfully am not a fan of April Fool's Day and now that I'm basically working with myself and not in a school, I don't have to worry about anyone any pranks! 

Last week, I saw an ad on my Facebook for a Green Smoothie Challenge...I'm all about Green Smoothies, so I clicked on it hoping it wasn't spam. I was in luck and it's actually an awesome website. www.simplegreensmoothies.com 

They are challenging people to replace on meal a day (usually breakfast) with a green smoothie. They give you the shopping list and recipes. They also have a 21 day cleanse program and you can buy the green smoothie recipes ahead of time so you can see them in advance! 

Today is Day 1 and I made the Simple Peach Smoothie.

SIMPLE PEACH  |  Serves 2

2 cups spinach, fresh

2 cups water

2 cups peaches

1 banana

*Can substitute peaches with mango or nectarines.

It was really good and it makes enough for two servings, so I'll grab another for a snack later on today! I'm really excited about the challenge, my friend and I are doing it together! I used to drink smoothies all the time, like every day, but I've gotten lazy and need to get back into it. It's a great way to get your veggies/fruits for the day and they are seriously delish! 

Yes, they may look like sludge, swamp water...I've heard it all, but seriously don't knock it before you try it! 

So here's to a new month and a healthy, happy month! I've got a couple things working as far as the blog goes...one is a new design thanks to a friend who is way better at that kind of thing then I am! 

Have you tried green smoothies? What's your favorite recipe?

xoxo,

SamanthaDiane