Word. Wednesday

I'm really trying to get a plan for my blog and I've decided to devote certain days for certain subjects/ideas. So, Hello Word.Wednesday!! 

Wednesdays are the half-way point of the week..ya know, "Hump Day", So close yet so far from Friday, so I figured let's do something on Wednesdays to encourage others and help with the mid-week blues! I'll be posting anything inspirational I've found through the week that's helped encourage me! I'll mix it up with scripture, quotes, funnies...pretty much anything!

Without further adieu...our first Word.Wednesday!

Isaiah 54:10 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this...and needed it this morning! His love doesn't fail and it's because He LOVES us! No matter what, no matter what we think, do, feel...unconditionally!



I mean...YES! I really need to begin focusing on this!





This is so true! Like seriously true! I miss my horse-back riding days terribly! But anytime I see a horse in a pasture (and I see a lot) I smile, because they represent happy for me!




And finally...if you read yesterday's post, you'd understand my love of this one!

Oh, ONE more! It's not a word, but I LOVE this picture...I LOVE these people. Old High School friends that never seem to get old, and we can always pick up right where we left off...and look at ALLLLL those boys!! 9 boys among my friends! LOVE IT!

Take Wednesday by the horns y'all! Word.

C25k...here I go again.

Oh hey! Once again, I've been horrible at this blogging thing...sorry! No excuses, just haven't had any ideas to blog about! Until now!

So a month ago I decided to start C25k, again. I've started it prob two or three times in the past and either my knee started hurting (I had ACL and Medial Meniscus repair in 2009) or I just quit. It's kinda what I do...I'm a quitter. Um, wow, I just put myself on blast. But it's true and I'm nothing short of honest! Now, on important things I don't quit, just things I start and get bored with, ya know, hobbies, diets, bettering myself. See...total honesty! 

I'll start with the fact that I HATE RUNNING! Yes, sorry it's in all caps because that's how I truly feel! But! The past month I've decided that even if I loathe it, I need to do it because it's good for me! Kinda the way I eat oatmeal in the winter...it's warm and I know it'll fill me up and it's good for me! It doesn't taste bad, but it's the texture that I can't handle! So I suck it up and put the good for me meal down the hatch...but I digress! 

In case you don't know what C25k is, it's Couch 2 5k, it'a an app (there's an app for that!)... hence, if you're a couch potato (which I'm not completely) you can do this program and by the end of eight weeks you'll be able to run a full 5k. I just want to semi-enjoy running. I don't know if I'll do a 5k...my knee doesn't hold up well when running on concrete, so most days I stick to the treadmill (boring, I know). I have tried to get outside at least once per week to do my run and I enjoy it...it definitely goes faster. It's just been well over 100 degrees the past few weeks and that means that even super early in the morning it's unbearable! So I'll continue my running on the treadmill and struggle through the runs. 

Week Four, was this past week...well past two weeks because last week I had sinus issues and a headache every day so the gym didn't happen. Which when having one day left of the week to run makes the day you do that run no fun. That day was yesterday, I did my Week 4 Day 3 run after not running for a week...I didn't die, but I thought I was gonna! By week four, you are doing a five minute warm up, three minute jog, one and a half minute brisk walk, five minute jog, two and a half minute brisk walk, repeat the jog/walk and then a five minute cool down. Can I just say that those five minutes are literally the LONGEST five minutes ever!! I've even been turning my phone around so that I can't see how long I have and it still feels like forever! I guess that's what I get running on a treadmill! My music usually gets me through the 30 minutes...I have a workout playlist, but I need to re-vamp it some, so I've been listening to my praise and worship playlist and basically Jesus gets me through my run! Corny sounding, I know, but it's true! SO true! Listening to the inspirational, upbeat music, hearing TRUTH helps me complete those runs. I also use the time to pray about things...not just "Lord, PLEASE get me through this run", although it does pop up before that last five minute jog! 

Week Five starts tomorrow and I plan to go early and do it, it's supposed to be 68 and nice in the morning, so maybe I'll do it outside. If not, I'm going to the gym early early because I really don't like how crowded my gym gets! Full of meat-head types and I just want to run and lift and not feel like I'm being judged because I want to use the weight machines instead of free weights one day! But that's a whole 'nother post! 

I know a lot of my friends are runners, and I envy their love for running. I'm probably never going to enjoy it, but I will keep up my three days of running even after my C25k is over, because I've seen a difference in how I feel, how my body looks/feels and mainly because I know it's good for me! 

If anyone has any good playlist ideas or ways to pass the time whilst on a treadmill please hook a girl up! 

Long Time No Post...

I don't really have any excuses...I just haven't been able to blog. Creatively and I've been busy and barely opening my computer at night. (I haven't been busy going on dates or anything, but busy with work...sucks huh?)

Well life slowed down recently and especially this week. My parents and their friends were on vacay last week and at the end of the week my Daddy got sick...flu like symptoms, mixed with his already present COPD, not fun. They came home and Monday morning he went to the doctor, who promptly send him to the ER. He ended up having pneumonia in both lungs... No bueno.

I was ready to drive down to Houston that day, but both Mom and Dad said NO...wait and see what happens. Well they admitted him at like 9:30 Monday night so I packed my back and left Tuesday morning. My poor Daddy sat in the ER for 27 hours!! (Yep, you read that right...27 hours!) Granted he had a room and a tv but still... I got to Houston about 2pm and Mom and I went up and sat in the ER with him until they got him a room. He had loads of friends calling/texting/emailing us and had two friends show up once he got settled. Mom and I left around 8pm and went home to get some sleep ourselves.

I got up this morning and went to the gym (go me!) and then have been here at the hospital since then. My Daddy is going to be fine, thankfully. But this has taught me how grateful I am that I have a job that is flexible and I can work from basically anywhere. It's also taught me that I'm still a Daddy's girl...and man there are a lot of people that love my Daddy!

He's had the nurses in stitches and keeps them laughing, basically like everyone he meets.

Count your blessing people.

Hi there!

Whoa! Time has once again gotten away from me! How in the world is it already mid-May the end of May? May JUST got here...and it's usually one of my favorite months, it's not too hot yet and the nights and mornings are still a little cool...it's perfect! But this month, everything is going so fast and June is upon us in just a couple short weeks days! CRAZY!

It's kind of a weird time in my life right now, I'm used to being excited about summer because I have almost a whole month and a half off work and get to do whatever I want every day. My seniors are graduating graduated and there are crawfish boils, grad parties and just plain weekend grilling parties to attend. This year, I'm still excited about summer, but it's for different reasons now. Fort Worth has a lot to offer in the summer, they have Concerts in the Botanical Gardens, Cats games are fun to go to and the evenings are just wonderful! So while I don't get the "summer off", I still plan on enjoying every second of it!

Summer nights are the best...okay well maybe not in Houston because they are still super muggy, but here in Fort Worth, nights in MY opinion are wonderful! There is usually a beautiful warm breeze that just begs for porch sitting with wine in hand! I've already had some beautiful mornings out on my porch. I take my fruit out there and enjoy the morning. It's quite lovely. Speaking of fruit...{warning, I'm going on a tangent} Honeydew. People either love it or hate it. I used to be with the haters, I am now among the lovers and boy oh boy do I love it! Like I can't get enough of it, love it!! I may or may not have bought all four containers of it at Kroger on Sunday. And before you judge, yes, I am THAT person who buys it already chopped up. One, it's easier and two, I have no clue how to pick a good Honeydew! {Any tips would be appreciated}

Okay, back to summer... If you follow me on Pinterest, you'll notice that I've been pinning a crazy amount of yummy recipes and frozen treats. Summer is a great time to try new recipes and enjoy lighter fare, because who wants to eat a meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn {I mean this might be one of my favs} when it's still 95 degrees at 8:30pm?? I'm hoping to post at least one new recipe here per week and I'll be fair and let you know if they're good or not!

What are things you like to cook in the summer, and do y'all have any fun plans for the summer? I'm gonna live vicariously through y'all!

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!