Hi Friends! 

Hope you had a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend in which you welcomed Fall! Garrett and I had a very lazy weekend and it was just what we needed before a busy week. My meal plan and training plan are below: 

Monday – Cross Training / Dinner out at work function

Tuesday – 3 miles / Baked Ziti

Wednesday – 3 miles / Every man for himself

Thursday – 3 miles / Turkey Sloppy Joes

Friday  – Hot Yoga / Dinner out at charity event

Saturday – 7 miles *WW weigh in / Chicken Pot Pie

Sunday – Hot Yoga / Shopping!

 

Love the picture below of Garrett. Blown away by that that New Mexico sky. Soon the skyline will be filled with hot air balloons…two weeks and counting!

Monday

Good morning. 

As Garrett got ready for work I went to the gym and used the elliptical for 30 minutes and burned about 300 calories. I then did rotation on the different weight machines. Our apartment’s gym is really simple but, is never crowded. I hope as the weather gets colder I use it more and more. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the apartment I enjoyed some overnight oats. Oats, choco peanut butter, flax, chia, skim milk, strawberries  pumpkin donut and cranberries. It was delicious. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Monday y’all! 

Feeling a little….Butternutty

Hi Friends! 

Garrett and I are finally settled in our new apartment in Albuquerque and we’ve been enjoying the cooler weather. This weekend we made a ton of fall dishes – pumpkin beer, pumpkin donuts and butternut squash soup. The beer won’t be ready for a few more weeks, the donuts weren’t good at all and the soup is my favorite fall dish. The recipe is below: 

 

 

  The Ginger Apple Butternut Squash recipe comes from my favorite cookbook that my mom gave me. 

 

 

 

So, first open a bottle of hard cider while you cook. First things first! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then roast one butternut squash in the oven for one hour at 400 degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next chop two onions, two apples and two tablespoons of fresh ginger. In a giant pot add the onion, ginger and 2 tablespoons of oil. Cook the onion and ginger until the onions are translucent. Add the cooked butternut squash into the pot along with four cups of veggie or chicken broth. 

 

 

Bring everything to a boil and then blend once everything is cooked. Then you will have yourself a beautiful soup. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other news I signed up for two races next year – The Phoenix Rock N’ Roll marathon in January and the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February. I start my training for the full marathon this week. I’m really itching to get out there and pound the pavement. This week’s workout schedule is as follows:

Monday – Cross Training

Tuesday – 3 miles

Wednesday – 3 miles

Thursday – 3 miles

Friday  – Hot Yoga

Saturday – 6 miles *WW weigh in

Sunday – Cross Training

The weather is too nice to not be outside exercising. I find that fall is when I’m the most active and get the most exercise. The weather is just perfect for going out doors. Exercising outdoors is particularly sweet in the fall because of hot air balloons. Albuquerque hosts a hot air balloon festival every fall and from where we live we can see them flying high in the mornings preparing for the festival. My grandparents are coming to town for the festival and I cannot wait to post about our adventures. We will also be visiting Santa Fe and Taos while they are here. Yippee for relatives coming to visit and trips.

Happy Sunday everyone!

 

July Scorch!

July 4th was a nice and relaxing patriotic day! We started off our day by heading to breakfast at the Santa Fe  Baking Company. G got the grande burrito and I chowed down on the green chile bagel with tomato and lox – they both were delicious.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast we headed to WalMart so I could make a return and pick up so random groceries. We decided to pick up some veggies and steak for a July 4th all – American meal.

We also bought some fun baking supplies……can you guess what fun dessert we ended up making? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any ideas? If you guessed patriotic cupcakes …you were RIGHT! We enjoyed spending the afternoon decorating cupcakes and eating the supplies🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a short post-lunch nap Garrett and I decided to play a round of disc golf near our house. I’ve only played disc golf a few times but, Garrett is a pro. He was a great teacher as we tackled the 18 holes that were situated in an arroyo near our house. We didn’t keep score but, I’m sure Garrett beat me. It was a nice afternoon sport to play together on our day off. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we got home from disc golf we started preparing dinner. As I prepared the main meal of steak, potatoes, corn and salad Garrett made fruit smoothies. 

 

 

 

What a strange way to blend! Not sure why he is posing like this! Despite the funky pose the smoothies were delicious. 

 

 

 

 

 

Mmm…what a tasty Holiday meal. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we ate dinner we enjoyed the Concert and Fireworks Display in D.C. It was a nice reminder of home and the Fireworks Display was awesome. 

 

 

 

As the show wrapped up it got darker in Santa Fe and we headed outside to watch our own fireworks. The display lasted about 20 minutes and we could see them from our apartment complex. We saw some great fireworks!!! It was a great end to a GREAT holiDAY! 

 

 

 

Happy Belated July Fourth! 

The sky’s the limit this month…

A new beginning starts today. A new chapter in my life of focusing on goals and looking to the  future. For the next 5 weeks I will be embarking on a new journey which I’m nervous about but, also thrilled to be pursuing. This will be so good for me. (Sorry for the vagueness)

After a three mile run this morning I had a breakfast of champions which consisted of strawberries, blueberries and granola. I also had some neuro bliss to calm my nerves. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This next month is going to be difficult but, I know I’m up for the challenge. I think the fortune I received a few nights ago is a great mantra to keep in mind ….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Saturday!

Happy 4th!

Hello all!

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope your day is full of relaxing and celebrating! 

I’m long overdue for an update on here and will try to post this afternoon.

Have a great and patriotic day. 

P.S. Make sure you watch A Capitol Fourth tonight. 

Taos

Hi all! Happy weekend!

G and I are about to leave for a night away in Taos! We most definitely need some time without phones, computers, distractions and just some time to enjoy this beautiful weather. We are planning to hike, play disc golf and drink whiskey! Some of our favorite things…

Weekly Dinner Meal Plan

Here it is! We have some tastiness ahead of us! 

Date	Dinner
Monday, June 4	Every man for him self – I have a class and G has the day off. I’ll bring healthy snacks to munch on throughout the evening.
Tuesday, June 5	Green Chile Chicken Crockpot Stew
Wednesday, June 6	Homemade Pizza with Sliced Cucumbers
Thursday, June 7	Spicy Turkey Tacos
Friday, June 8	Chicken Quesadillas with Salad
Saturday, June 9	Sipapu Dinner (out of town)
Sunday, June 10	Leftovers

Have a great week :-) 

 

Jubilee

Garrett and I watched the worst move ever on Netflix – The Edge. It involves Alec Baldwin, Anthony Hopkins, a bear and a woodsy adventure. If you are looking for a chuckle and to pass the time it definitely will get the job done – otherwise, don’t waste your time watching it.

After the movie, G and I decided to make Southwest Shepherd’s Pie for dinner with salad. Post dinner G read and I watched a few documentaries about the Queen’s Jubilee on BBC America.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the recipe for the Southwest Shepherd’s Pie.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a skillet over medium heat saute carrots, onions, garlic and olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove everything from the pan and set aside. Then add ground turkey and green chile. Cook until turkey is brown. Then add the vegetable mix back to the turkey mixture and let simmer. While everything is doing its thing – cook potatoes and then whip them. Then set aside. Add black beans and oregano to the mixture simmering on the stove. Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Then put the mixture into a circular dish and cover with mashed potatoes. Bake for 25 minutes! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  All done! 

 

 

 

  Great paired with a salad. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Also, a great pairing. The best wine ever! Tasty wine treat with dinner – Chimayo Red Chile Wine from New Mexico. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a great evening! 

Lazy Weekend

Things at work have finally calmed down (for now) and I realized that I had some major blogging to do. Garrett and I have been busy traveling, working, and celebrating. Last weekend we celebrated- two graduations and one wedding – all back east. It was nice to go home and visit but, it was nice to come back to “not-so-humid” New Mexico.

Garrett and I have been resting this weekend and Garrett has been fighting a nasty bug. Despite feeling under the weather, we’ve enjoyed our time together – dog walking, shopping, and EATING! 

 

 

 

 

 

Sick Garrett showing of the Kashi 7 grain waffles I bought. They were really yummy toasted with apple butter, apples and chia seeds. Highly recommend buying them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   I think the illness has gone to his head! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast. Kashi Waffle, Apple Butter and Apples

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent the rest of Saturday watching movies and snacking. Garrett really needed some down time and it was so nice to have him home with me on a Saturday despite not feeling so well. 

This morning we woke up and had a nice breakfast together and then headed to my co-worker/friend’s house to walk her dog, Emmy. Emmy was a great sport and Garrett enjoyed walking her at the dog park and playing with toys! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Emmy’s walk we went to our favorite coffee shop, The Lucky Bean, and then to World Market and REI so Garrett could get new hiking boots and I could get a new camelback tube. We then got lunch to go from Flying Star and enjoyed it at home.

 

 

 

 

 

 The Lucky Bean!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Lucky Bean Fruit Smoothie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Queen’s Jubilee Display at World Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After brushing off the Jubilee Display and commenting about “how silly” the Queen is Sir  Garrett America found the super American and Patriotic Freedom Chips. We didn’t buy them. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Cobb Salad from Flying Starr with my favorite dressing of all time – Tomatillo Vinaigrette!

 

 

 

 

 

Now, we are back on the couch enjoying Netflix and resting! 

It’s good to be back.