Interval Training

Changing up the workout plan yet again.  I have been doing really well with sticking to my sort of diet...mostly just watching what I eat, monitoring my portions, and making healthier choices.  I have decided though to start adding some interval training to my running routine.  Basically, interval training is where you change speed and incline throughout your workout so your body gets to really work hard for a couple minutes and then cool down for a couple minutes.  I am going to supplement my Couch to 5K routine with this. 

I am really trying hard to make a lifestyle change, but my love of food is really making that difficult.  This past weekend, I spent Saturday evening with one of my best and oldest friends, Katie, and her family.  As it usually works at Katie's house, she cooked and I happily ate.  I officially found one of my new favorite things.  A recipe that combines all things wonderful in this world: crescent rolls, apples, butter, and Mt Dew.  Unfortunately for me, this wonderful new dessert that I love will have to be a special occasion treat or I will have to eat them when I can run 10 miles because let's just say they are not a low-cal treat.  Katie fixed me the Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings.  These things are so delicious and I can't wait for y'all to try them and fall in love just like I did.

The recipe goes something like this:
APPLE DUMPLINGS
2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
2 sticks butter, salted
2 large-ish Granny Smith apples
ground cinnamon
1.5 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 oz Mt Dew

Peel and core apples and cut into 8 slices.  Grease a 9x13 baking pan.  Roll each apple slice into an individual crescent roll and place in baking dish.  On stove top, melt 2 stick salted butter.  Add 1.5 cups sugar and stir lightly...you want your mixture still clumpy.  Add vanilla and barely stir again.  Pour over top of crescent rolled apples and sprinkle top with cinnamon.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until gold and bubbly (as Truvy would say). 

The best way to eat these delectable goodies is fresh out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I am planning on making a couple pans for the boys down at the fire station tomorrow as I am out of school and getting off work early.  I thought maybe they could use a sweet pre-Easter treat!  I will post some pictures of the process tomorrow after they are done!

Until then, sweet eatin'!

The Recipe for Love

Tonight in my Communications class, we discussed the stages of relationships from initiation to decline.  At the end of class, our teacher proceeded to dole out our assignments.  As usual, we were given two or three assignments to be completed by next Wednesday, but this time, one in particular caught my attention.  Our professor asked us to write two recipes: one for during the intensification/stable stage of a relationship and one for the decline stage.  This got me thinking.  Now she really wants us to write a recipe for actual food, but I got to thinking about what it takes to make a relationship work and what makes a great relationship. 

I know some of you may be thinking, "Marissa, you've only been married six months," but I have a wonderful husband and I think we complement each other well.  As I was mulling this assignment over, I started thinking about how lucky I am to have the husband I have.  I mean, he is kind, caring, sweet, quirky, funny, smart, and my best friend.  What more could you ask for?  We both have our faults and neither one is perfect, but I couldn't live without him.  He is making my dreams come true by working sometimes four jobs so that I can work extremely part-time and go to school.  Never does he complain or hold it against me that he is doing all the work and he still manages to pitch in around the house and find ways to make me feel special. 

Right now, we are battling our way through working all the time, being in school, and trying to propel our debt snowball into taking out some major debts.  We don't always see as much of each other as we would like, but we make it work.  We get the most out of every minute.  We support each other and help each other with things that sometimes seem impossible.  So if you ask me what the recipe for great love is, I would say:
a dash of attraction
a heap of intimacy
a pinch of compassion and understanding
a cup of listening skills
a palm full of quirky
and another dash of sweetness

That, my friends, is the recipe for great love.  I pray that you all know this sometime in your life and if you have great love now, cherish it, maintain it, and never let it go!

A New Chicken Parmesan

On my new eating plan, I am monitoring my carbohydrate intake to a minimum.  So when I decided I wanted chicken parmesan for dinner, I needed another option for pasta.  While surfing Pinterest, a past-time I admit distracts me pretty often, I came upon a pin for how to cook spaghetti squash.  I had heard people talk about spaghetti squash as a substitute for pasta, but I had never tried it and thought, "Why not now?"

I combined two recipes to make my chicken parmesan tonight.  One was a baked option for the chicken and the other was for how to cook the spaghetti squash.  For this being my first time roasting and eating spaghetti squash, it wasn't half bad!  I had my hubby pick up a spaghetti squash from the store.  I sent Justin instructions on how to cook the squash and he did a great job!  He preheated the oven to 375 degrees, cut the squash in half length-wise, scooped out the seeds, and placed them insides down on a foil-lined baking sheet and baked for an hour.  After the squash was done roasting, we took it out of the oven and took a fork and pulled the strands apart.

We put some of our favorite spaghetti sauce on the "pasta" and then topped it with our chicken parmesan.  Sprinkle on a little grated parmesan on top and there you have a delicious, healthy meal for two!  I am definitely happy I tried this healthy alternative to chicken parmesan and I can't wait to try some more healthy recipes in my attempt to make a more healthy and physically fit me!

The good book says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body."

Firemist and Waffles

Oh what a difference a couple hours, a willing husband, and a gallon of paint can make for a kitchen!  But that's not where this weekend began.  My Mama spent the night with me on Friday night while my sweet husband was at work.  We decided to go grab some dinner after class at The Loop Pizza Grill and then we made the trek into Walmart for a movie to watch.  Not only did we come out with a new movie (Pitch Perfect...which was hilarious by the way), but we also got a waffle iron!  I was so excited to make waffles that I walked out without waffle mix...but there was no way we were going back in there!

While my mom was with me, I decided I wanted to paint my kitchen...red!  You see, our kitchen and eating area are really just one big room with only a bar to differentiate between the two.  I thought painting the eating area a different color would separate them and make them look like more individual spaces.  So on Saturday afternoon, Mama and I went to Lowes to pick up some paint swatches and start the decision making process.  I grabbed close to twenty swatches and brought them home to test them out and see which color tickled my fancy.  After much deliberation, I chose an Olympic paint color called Firemist.  I ran the idea past the ol' hubby and he agreed to help me if that's what I wanted...which is aways a good answer from him.

So this morning when my wonderful husband returned home from 48 straight hours of working, I got up and got busy making some waffles...yes, I went back to the store to get waffle mix!  Our waffles were delicious and the babies even had some too and loved them!  Then we showered up, got dressed, and headed out to get all the things we would need to complete our project.  We returned home and, paint brushes in hand, we got busy or as Justin said, "Let's get on a roll!"...hehe!

After a couple hours, we had the entire room taped off, edged out, and painted.  I must say, I am quite satisfied with the end results of our renovation. 

We let the babies in when we finished painting and they love it...especially Gracie!!

Motivation to Move

In my quest to get more fit and in shape, I have found that I am doing something wrong.  I have been working out almost every day for going on three months and still my jeans are too tight.  This can be super frustrating...especially when you have never worked out this much in your life.  Then I figured out why!  Apparently, you can't just operate on calories in = calories out.  Me being the un-workout guru that I am, I thought, "Well I ran off 300 calories  this morning, so I can have a Mt. Dew slushie if I want one."

This is true, but not everyday.  In doing my research, I have decided not to be on a diet, but to watch what I eat a little more closely and to limit my intake of crap.  I am one of those people who needs outside motivation to get my butt in gear, so I always save little quotes and pictures that give me a reason to keep moving.  I am so blessed to have a husband who genuinely loves me exactly the way I am.  It's wonderful because he always tells me I'm beautiful and generally tries to keep my spirits up when I get down on myself, which I must admit I occasionally do.  The problem is, if he is happy with my body and how I look, it doesn't push me as hard when I feel like skipping a workout.  So I have to be my own motivation.  I have to be the one to push myself to achieve the healthy, fit body that I want. 

Now don't get me wrong, I don't want to look like one of those anorexic girls who might blow away with the wind, but I would love to look fit.  Like when you are at the beach and you see those girls walking by in their bikinis and you just look at their body and know they workout.  I have found that if I look at pictures of these fit bodies, I am less likely to eat crappy food and more motivated to go home, throw on some sweats, and climb on the treadmill.  My husband loves soccer, so we watch men's and women's soccer on television together sometimes, especially when the USA is playing.  While he will tell you he loves his wife and I am the only woman in his world, he will also admit that he thinks certain soccer players have nice bodies...and who could blame him!  I mean, check out Alex Morgan...she's got a great body and works her butt off for it!

So in essence, I am continually searching for the motivation to move so that I can achieve the body that I want.  I will be so happy when my effort pays off and I can easily slip into my once-too-tight jeans!  I will leave you with my favorite motivation from today!

Until next time, happy trails!

Bring On The Rain

I walked out my front door this morning and when the rain hit my face and I felt the not-so-cold air around me, I realized that it is almost spring.  Thank God for that!  I am flip-flop wearing kind of girl and let me tell you that my feet do not like socks or being enclosed in shoes...in fact I would run barefoot if I could get away with it.  Normally I would be totally bummed about the rain because it just makes the day so dreary and just screams for me to get back in bed and curl up with my favorite feline Harry and a good movie.  Unfortunately, I usually don't get this luxury because I always have to go somewhere (work, school, etc). 

Today however, I decided to enjoy the rain on my ride to work.  I thought about how great it is that God gives us the rain when we need it, just like He gives us grace when we need that.  The rain just sort of washes away the bad.  Springtime rain is my favorite because it is so enlivening and when it's over, everything is just so fresh and clean.  When God's grace washes over us, much like a springtime rain, we are cleansed.  Refreshed.  Thank goodness I worship a forgiving God who gives me the opportunity to be refreshed and made new.  I don't thank Him enough for sending His son to afford me this luxury.  So today, if it's raining where you are, take a minute to stop and enjoy it!  Don't worry about your shoes or hair or handbag getting wet.  Relish the freshness and take it all in.  As author Vivian Greene said, "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

'Cause I'm A Princess That's Why

So I am officially one of those people who gets baited by television ads.  While I was at the beach last week, I saw a commercial for the INSANITY Workout Program.  Justin had bought Insanity awhile back and it proved to be too hard on his knees not to mention he is 6'2" and we just don't have much space for him to do it.  I had tried it before and it killed my right knee, so I stopped and that's when I decided I was going to be a runner.  I have wanted to enjoy running longer than I can explain, so I thought I would stop complaining and start doing.  Anyway, I digress...I saw this commercial for Insanity and thought to myself, "Self, since you've been running, your knee has not been hurting so bad.  You have friends that do Insanity.  Why can't you?"

I made a plan!  I found a workout schedule that incorporated running and Insanity and I convinced myself this was going to work.  WRONG!  I did the first Insanity workout which is the Fit Test and I felt pretty good about it...a little light-headed, but overall pretty good.  Then I did the next workout in the schedule which is the Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  Needless to say, this was the workout that made me realize that Insanity is not for everyone.  I don't want to do a workout that makes me throw up when I finish.  I would rather enjoy the time I spend working out and if that means it takes me longer to look like the people in those videos then so be it.  So call me insane, but I am done with Insanity.  I'll leave that to those hard-core people who love it...not me!

However, in my trying to do insanity, I decided as I mentioned in an earlier post, that I am going to add some exercises to my running routine.  These will include abs, strength, and core workouts that I believe will help me be a better runner and help me reach my ultimate goal of running a marathon.  While surfing Pinterest this morning, I found the perfect half marathon for me to work myself up to...The Disney Princess Half Marathon!!  It is next February and I must admit I am pretty pumped.  I know right now this seems like a daunting task, to run a half marathon, but I am determined to do it because, let's face it, I can't help it I am a Disney princess at heart.

I am getting myself pumped up by looking at new running shoes and I think I may have found a couple pairs that are in the running!! Stay tuned to see if I meet my goal and run with the other princesses in Disney!

No Place Better

We finally got down to my home away from home!  Despite the fact that it is a bit chilly down here, the husband and I are enjoying some time together away from the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives.  We thought it would be fun to go run this morning on the beach...during a high wind advisory.  It wasn't so bad when the wind was at our backs, but on the return trip the wind was straight beating us up!! We ended up having to cut across to the road to finish our run.

Even though it is freezing, we are getting to spend some quality time together and we still had some Calabash Creamery ice cream...it was delicious!!  We have played some Scrabble (which I won of course) and gotten some well-deserved rest. We have decided to complete tonight with a new episode of Duck Dynasty!!

We sure are missing our babies though.

Take Me To The Beach

It's finally Spring Break which I didn't realize how much I missed while I was out of school! Justin and I decided that after all the hard work we have been putting in the last few weeks and all the times of seeing so little of each other, we were going to whisk ourselves away for a few days of relaxation at the beach. We are so excited to go and I have to admit I am pretty pumped about getting to do some running on the beach! My goal is to able to complete a 2 mile run on the beach without walking...we shall see how I do running on regular ground and not my treadmill.

In preparation for our trip, I am hitting the nail salon to get a much-needed pedicure thanks to the birthday gift I got from my wonderful sister-in-law. I am so excited to get pampered!!