Run.Chew.Sparkle

Trader Joe's is probably one of my new favorite stores. I had never heard of them until I started finding their products popping up all over my Instagram about a year ago. I kept seeing a lot of Weight Watcher followers posting awesome findings and I searched where there was one in my area. It turned out there was not one in my immediate area here in Florida, it was in Sarasota, about an hour and half away. But I did find one in NY which was right by the airport. So last year when I traveled home, I asked my mom to take me to there, so I could finally check it out and pick up some goodies I had heard about. Well I feel in love. And each time I go home now, I stop by there to pick up some more goodies. The only problem is, there is so much I want to get but because I am traveling and only home for a week, I can't get a lot. So here is some things I got from my last trip home... Inner Peas : Crunchy, pea snacks that are baked and not fried. Cookie and Cocoa Swirl Butt...

Ever have one of those days where everything just seemed to just fall into place??!! You were able to get everything you wanted to get done, nothing stood in your way, just had a great day all the way around?!! Today was one of those days for me...and I needed one like this for sure. While the morning was a bit sad, I had to bring James to the airport. Considering we both have family in two different states, we tend to take vacations separate. We actually have never really "vacationed" together. Sure we have gone on stay cations and such, but gone away, away together, nope has never happened. It is hard for us to schedule those kind of vacations because we only really get to see our families once or twice a year, when we get to, its nice to go alone, so we can spend nothing but quality time with them. So anyway, I had to drop him off and I hate to see him go for a week. I get lonely here in the apartment without him, especially at night. And well, despite if we fight ...

First off this book was fantastic! Before downloading it to my Nook, I heard so many awesome things about the book and tons of reviews. Then I saw that they were making it into a movie, starring Ben Affleck and I knew it was finally time to read it. I bought it while I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago and I read it in about 3 days. I couldn't put it down. From the first page to the last page it was a non stop intense, suspenseful thriller. I usually don't go for books that have suspense or a book by someone I am unfamiliar with but I rolled the dice and so glad I did. I really loved the cat and mouse idea of the book. The way the chapters and dialogue that was used was each chapter was the two main characters talking to you, the reader. I found myself becoming one and finding a love for the characters and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. I am excited for the movie, which I just found out it is going to be released in October and see if they c...

Whew is all I can say. These last two days have been crazy, long, exhausting, hurting and did I say exhausting. At work we had to do a relocation of one of our stores and it was two days of non-stop work. Wednesday was the day of non stop moving of boxes and pulling carts, picking up and putting down heavy, product filled boxes. My legs were so tired since the 10 miles from Sunday and on Tuesday I did a nice 30 minute toning ball and strength work out. Not the best of ideas and on Wednesday I also ran 3 miles in the morning. So needless to say Wednesday I was tired and hurting and we didn't get done until 2:00 am. But I fueled myself for the long day with protein shakes, a Subway turkey and veggie sandwich and a QuestBar, almonds and cheese sticks. Plus I earned a nice amount of activity points from all the movement. Yesterday was another very long day of setting up the whole store. We moved and grooved from 8:30-7, and sat for a lunch which I made the choice of a salad and...

Okay so my weigh in this week was a gain. I knew it was going to happen, I was on PMS overload last week. I mean seriously I don't know what was going on with me, I was craving anything and everything. I almost ate a box of reduced fat Cheez It's in one sitting. Every time I picked up something crunchy and salty, it was over! Don't even mention the chocolate covered peanuts we had in the house. They didn't stand a chance. But despite the fact that I went a wee bit crazy on the salty and sweet, I did make some good decisions. I drank a ton more water than I normally do, which is a big deal for me. I took a vitamin every single day and I made sure I ate 2-3 servings of some sort of veggie every single day. But the carbs won me over last week and despite the fact I got a 10 mile run in on Sunday, the damage was done. I am okay with the slight gain this week, not happy but okay because I know it is not the end of the world. I am not giving up or backing done, I a...

This recipe is quick, easy and can be eaten all week, which I love when it comes to cooking, especially for the morning. I found this recipe in my Weight Watchers Weekly that I got when I weighed in and had to modify the ingredients a bit to fit what I had in the house and glad I did because it came to 1 point less when I did. Ingredients 2 cups (16 ounces)  Liquid Egg Whites 1/2 cup of fat free milk 1 Package of Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns- I used mine frozen, seemed fine 15 ounces ( 1 Can) black beans, drained and rinsed 11 ounces (1 can) corn niblets, drained 1/2 cup of canned diced tomatoes, drained 2 cups of Reduced Fat Shredded Cheese- Mexican Blend would be great 3 Tablespoons of fresh cilantro Directions 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl combine liquid egg whites and milk, mix well. Add hash browns, black beans, corn, tomatoes and 1 cup of cheese. Stir ...

Wow this week has kind of been a crappy one. I have had such a hard week getting my groove back. Not sure how Stella did it so quickly but damn this week has been anything but easy. I, of course got my lovely monthly friend and it rocked my world. Which makes sense to why I was having such a bad week running, my body was just completely off. I mean completely off. I have been trying to work through it this week but it really has been tough. And besides my body feeling extremely tired, sore, fatigued, headaches and muscle aches, my eating has been cooko bananas too. It is crazy how much you crave when you have your monthly friend. I mean I had gone from crunchy and sweet. So that is where I have been this week, just in a funk. Glad the week is over and tomorrow I am off from work and the first thing I am going to do is get a nice long run in. Shooting for 10 miles and really hoping for a gorgeous morning. Just a little update, here's to a new week looking bright.

I am a very big Chelsea Handler fan. I DVR her show, Chelsea Lately every night and I have read every single one of her books. I think she is smart, funny, sassy and a great model that women can truly do anything and don't have to kiss ass to do it. She is definitely someone I would want to be best friends with. Her third book Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang is my favorite Her newest book is... Which is now my second favorite. Plus I seriously love her dog Chunk, I want one just like him. This book was great. I started it on Monday before my flight, I finished it the same day. I could not put it down and laughed my way through all 183 pages. I seriously probably freaking out my flight neighbor from random bursts of laughter. This book was about all her travels and it was hysterical the things and events she gets herself into. This book had some really rare moments in the book too, that showed the true side of Chelsea, which I really appreciated. I downloaded the book to my ...

First and foremost this post is pretty embarrassing and very much TMI! If you don't want to read, no problem, but despite this being not one of my most proudest moments, I have to laugh about it. If you know me, you know I would tell you this story in person also, so I figure why the heck not, I mean that's the whole idea of a blog, correct? Okay, so after work today I was all about getting a couple of miles in. The weather was gorgeous and it was set up for a great run. Today was my first day back from vacation and worked until about 5:30, a typical day. My stomach was growling, like seriously growling before I wanted to head out, so I grabbed a protein bar to settle the hunger and to take my two vitamins also. You can probably foresee what is going to happen... I started out on my run and something just was not right. My pants kept falling down, I couldn't get my feet to really move, my calves were VERY tight and I was really trying to push myself. I kept repeating ...

Well my vacation is officially over. It was fantastic, very, very cold but fantastic. I thought I did really well eating wise while away. I did notice I snacked a whole bunch, but with dinners, lunches and breakfast, when we ate out or when it was prepared, I made choices and saved most of my points for those meals. I also drank a lot of water, lots and lots of water the whole week. I took my green tea pill, vitamin and B-12 pill also every day all week. Even though I wasn't able to run each day like I wanted too, I did run one day, did a core strength video and then a HIT work out also online. I made sure I got enough sleep each day. And ate when I was hungry, not just bored, but I did do that also. I have to say the things I did wrong were, I didn't eat a lot of fruits and veggies like I normally do. I drank more coffee and I didn't measure out my portions. I snacked on items a lot during the day. I also should have worked out a little bit more. The videos on YouTube ...

Today is my last "full" day home in NY. Tomorrow I fly back to Florida, the good thing is my flight isn't until 7:30 pm. I will get to spend the whole afternoon here in NY with my Poppy and family but then I won't get back to FL until 10:10 at night, which is kind of crappy. But I did take off the day from work on Tuesday, so I can get back to normal, unpack, I have a eye Doctors Appointment, get a long run in ( I seriously can not wait to run again) and warm up again. I have to say the vacation home has been truly fantastic. I have loved everything I have been able to do and people I got to hang out with. I have got to relax and not worry about anything, no errands, nothing I do from my regular routine. I have been spoiled with meals taken care of, being carted around, etc. The one thing that has bothered me is the weather. I have been coming home for the last 2 years in March and each time the weather has been really nice. Sure, it has been cold, but not this cold...

It is a Friday night and I have spent it curled up in my "home" living room with some of my favorite people in the whole world, my Poppy, his girlfriend, and my Uncle Kevin. We spent the evening watching the movie, About Time. We were warm, munched on jellybeans and had a really, really nice evening. We ate baked macaroni and cheese, not made how I would do it in the healthy aspect, but oh my goodness was it a treat. Considering the weather has been so stinking cold I didn't run today and probably ate my weight in carbs, I really do not care, I am enjoying my whole time here with my family. This trip truly has been fantastic. I am not a huge fan of the cold at all, but not to sound too corny, the love I have this week, has truly kept me warm. As much as I hate taking a time from running, I mean it has only been 3 days, might do me some good, get me back and well rested. If it is too cold tomorrow morning, I am going to do some cardio from YouTube. There are some reall...

I love Target.   Seriously I could go there for anything and nothing. I mean I am on vacation and wanted to go and check out Target. Yesterday was a day I really wanted to just get out of the house anyway. It was freezing cold, seriously 10 degrees! I don't even know how to handle that kind of cold. I went outside and my hat was frozen on my head and it being the anniversary of my Dad, I just wanted to be doing something. So to get out of the house and just do something besides sitting and watching TV, we went to the mall, which also happens to have a Target with it. Score! I would probably be broke if I had a Target in my mall. I had seen on Instagram, someone posted a picture of a new Fiber One product. See this is why I love Instagram, I can find new products before I even shop, which also gives me an excuse to go out and find them. Anyway, I was on a mission to find these bars because OF COURSE, I could not wait until I got back to Florida. And low and behold I was ...

Today is one of those days for me I will never forget. And as I am sitting here typing this, the moment my life changed happen exactly right now at 8:45 am, two years ago, March 13, 2012. I had woken up late for work and was really regretting now using the day as a PTO day. See the day before I had met my cousins and Uncle in Orlando to spend the day at Universal Studios with them. I hadn't seen them in over a year and since I only live a hour away from Orlando, I thought it would be a perfect day. And it was. But I got home late and was exhausted and was feeling it the next morning. James and I had gotten into a fight and we weren't really talking much this morning. I started making my coffee and was just about to head out the door and then the house phone rang... I remember looking at the house phone in panic because NO ONE calls our house phone, not even sure why we had it to begin with... The caller ID showed that it was coming from my HOME back in NY, which home as...

I am having issues logging into my account so I have to type this from my phone, so please excuse the grammar I will have going on! Mainly this post is a recap of my amazingly awesome day that I had yesterday with my Mom. When I am home I try to spend at least one full day with her because the rest I spend with my Poppy and my dad's side of the family because it is so special to me to be with them this time of year. But yesterday was my mama/daughter day. We started our day at Trader Joe's! We don't have one in Florida yet, we are getting on very soon, so since I was home I figured it would be something run to do! I picked up some awesome items but I will post those pictures later on. That's my Mama! Of course we took two picture, gotta find the perfect one. My mom just started a new job 8 months ago and she loves it, she works at AAA and I'm so happy for her because she finally has something she likes to do after being out of work for a whole year. She took me to h...

I am back home!!!! I made it safely and quite great actually. The flight was terrific, on time and no issues whats so ever. I read the whole time. I have never flown out of this airport or airline before so I was excited to try it. I mean for half off the cost of what I normally fly, I really couldn't beat it. After my Weigh In this morning and getting all my ducks in a row at work, I came home and showered and James and I went out for lunch. I of course wanted Chipotle. I know I wont have that here back home, so I needed my quick fix. James dropped me off at the airport and hung out with me for a bit, until I had to go through security. I picked up some almonds to snack on and a Diet Dr. Pepper for before hand. My luggage was over the limit and I had to unload some stuff because for 8 pounds over I was not paying 50.00 extra bucks. I am the worst packer by the way. I ALWAYS pack too much. So letting some things go was probably a good idea and if worse come to worse, I can al...

Vacation has officially started! I leave for the airport in a couple of hours and then I arrive in New York around 6:30. I love flying and I especially love airports. I love to people watch and I feel so important when I get on a plane. I am all packed, except for my make-up and hair stuff, but other than that I am ready to go. I got up earlier this morning so I could get one more run in before I head home. I know it is going to be so cold up North, so I wanted one more warm, sunny and flat land running. There are tons of hills where I am from. I got a 5k in this morning and it felt great. There is no greater feeling then working up a good sweat doing something you love. I had to take some conference calls this morning and then I decided to hold myself accountable to go and weigh in at Weight Watchers, since I wont be there tomorrow. Weighing in after a run is probably not the best idea. I showed I gained 1.4, which I know was all water weight from the run this morning. I retain a ...