Heavy Heart

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Aimee

By now everyone has heard of the horror and tragedy that took place in Newtown, CT. I saw a headline yesterday morning announcing a shooting in Sandy Hook. I vividly remembered entering that name into my map app over the summer. Carlos and I were visiting my friend from nursing school. I hadn’t seen her in ages and she had recently moved to Sandy Hook, the small village inside Newtown.

As I read the article further my stomach lurched. My friend also has a son in Kindergarten. I texted her immediately. Fortunately she responded and informed me that her son goes to a different school. I was relieved to hear that, but my friend was still very frightened because all the schools were on lockdown. Apparently the school he was at did a terrific job of shielding the students from the knowledge of what was happening elsewhere in the town. Her son came home happy and full of excitement over the activities carried out in the school to distract the students from the reality going on just miles away. Thankfully his innocence is protected for now.

I’ve cried. I’ve thought. I’ve prayed. I’ve hugged my son and my husband. I’ve thanked God for my life.

I am so saddened and heartbroken to think about what this community is going through. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who were affected by this tragedy.

Motivations

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Aimee

I mentioned in this post I am determined to ring in the New Year without any extra weight. What is it about this time of year that allows us to put our health and weight loss goals on hold? Year after year I permit myself to overeat, eat things I don’t normally eat, skip workouts all the while convincing myself that come January 1st something magical will happen to make the sins of the previous month go away. Only the magic never happens, instead I’m left feeling flabby and guilty. Well something has clicked in me over the past couple of years. As I get closer to my weight loss goal I find it more difficult to justify making excuses as to why I should put my goals on hold. Writing this brings to mind all of the excuses I have made in the past. I wish so badly I could return to my teens, my 20s and even my early 30s with the knowledge I have now. I know that this is my journey and this is just how things needed to happen, but oh how I wish I could tell my younger self how wonderful it is to finally be free of the weight. I refuse to let this month or any other time of the year be cause for me to go backwards.

Here are few things that are inspiring me and motivating me this holiday season.

Marion, my friend over at Affection for Fitness has announced the January Jeans Club. I recently mentioned that I bought my first pair of size 8 jeans and darn it if I am going to let anything stop me from wearing them come January. I will proudly join Marion and Satu, another favorite blogger, from Body Capable in taking part in the January Jeans Club by eating healthy, committing to exercise and staying focused on my goals despite the abundance of treats this month. Satu designed the badge below for those interested in joining.

january jeans club

I set a goal to run a 10K in under 1 hour during 2012. I didn’t meet that goal during a 10K race this year, but I have been running the 10K distance, 6.2 miles, in under an hour consistently for the last two weeks. I even did 6.43 miles in exactly one hour. So to keep my motivation going strong I am now officially registered for the Sawmill River 10K on January 1, 2013!! From the elevation map I have some hills to contend with in the latter half of the race, but I will not let that stop me.
This story of Breanna Bond, a 9 year old girl who lost 66 pounds brought tears to my eyes. I wish it didn’t take the child being bullied for something to be done for this little girl, but I’m glad something prompted the change. What really caught my attention was the way her family rallied behind her once the decision was made to get serious about weight loss. In talking about a 4 mile walk the family did daily Breanna’s mom said,“We went at night, in the rain, in the hail, in the fog, nothing. We had a zero-tolerance policy. We’re doing the walk, no matter what.” YES!!! I get this now for myself. If I want to lose the weight and keep it off I have to do the work. There are days I really don’t want to work out, but I do it anyway and I have yet to regret one of those workouts.
Helen at Doing A 180 has written a series of posts chronicling the 6 hours of black belt testing she endured. There is still one post left, but whether Helen passes or not doesn’t matter because she is already an inspiration in my book. I am simply in awe of what Helen has accomplished thus far in her journey considering the painful injury she has been dealing with this year. If you haven’t already read Helen’s posts please do especially if you are struggling with motivation this time of year. Way to go Helen!!
I have mentioned before that having my son was the impetus to finally get healthy. Well he will be 6 next week (sniffle, sniffle) and he still continues to inspire me to try new things. On Saturday we both tried something new.

Carlos rocks!

Look at my little guy rocking that rock climbing wall. He is honestly one of the coolest people I know and I’m so proud to call him my son. He is almost always game for a new activity. His willingness to try new things spurs on my willingness. Together we make a fun team. I don’t have any photos of myself, but I do have a month’s pass to the rock climbing gym starting January 2nd! I loved it. It is challenging, scary and unbelievably addicting all at the same time. The pass will allow me to take the belaying class for free so I can learn to hold the ropes while others climb. I will also have unlimited use of the gym as well as unlimited yoga and Pilates classes for the month. I am so excited!!

What’s motivating you?

Friend Makin’ Monday: Christmas Questions

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Aimee

The holidays are really upon us. I’m feeling just a twinge of stress already. This week’s Friend Makin’ Monday questions couldn’t be more timely. I want to preface my responses by saying that I love the holidays. I love the scents, the lights, the decorations and the overall sentiment of giving and kindness. However, I absolutely hate the gift giving and sense of commercialism this time of year is associated with. I am doing my best to instill a different perspective in my son. His father grew up in a third world country where Christmas is a religious celebration to mark the birthday of Jesus. The day is also known as Dia da familia (Family Day) and is marked by cooking and eating as a family. I would like my son to know that kind of Christmas, but the resistance from my family is very very strong.

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so everyone can see your FMM questions. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Christmas Questions

1. How will you celebrate the holidays this year? Normally I have a Christmas brunch at my house so Carlos can be home for Christmas. For the first time we will be celebrating Christmas at my sister’s home in the Boston area with my sister, her boyfriend, my mother and her husband. I won’t get into the reason why we are having it at her house. My son is not very happy about it. Frankly I could care less at this point as I hope to spend the holidays with my husband and son only next year somewhere outside of Massachusetts.

2. What’s the weather currently like where you live? It is rainy and damp today which is making it feel much colder than 44 degrees. The rest of the week looks sunny with temperatures in the low 40s. I’m still running outdoors and that makes me happy this time of year.

3. Do you decorate your home for the holidays? If so, share a picture please! Yes I do. Carlos and I finished yesterday. I’m almost embarrassed to show you my decorations so I’ll just show our stockings. For some reason my iPhone photos came out like crap for this post. I’m sorry.

Stockings hung from the chimney

4. What is your favorite Christmas movie? Miracle on 34th Street

5. What is your favorite Christmas songs? Silent Night

6. Do you have an advent calendar? We do. My son goes to Catholic school and he got this little Advent calendar in his religion class.

Advent Calendar

I had to capture my son’s first preschool photo in there. Awwww! Also the Santa statue is one that I painted as a child years ago at a place called the Plaster Fun House. I have no idea how it has lasted this long, but I put it out every year.

7. Do you prefer color lights or white lights? I love the simplicity and elegance of white lights. However, Carlos really wants colored lights so maybe next year.

8. What is your favorite food to eat over the holidays? I’m a sucker for Christmas cookies, peppermint bark and my neighbor’s homemade fudge.

9. Do you display a live tree, or do you prefer fake trees? We have a fake tree. I wouldn’t say I necessarily prefer it, but it’s easier. I have never had a live tree. I love having the tree up, but I don’t exactly love the process of setting it up and decorating it. The lights are a pain in the neck every single year. I just bought new ones last year and half of them were burnt out this year. My husband very nicely informed me the first Christmas we spent in the U.S. that decorating for Christmas is not his thing. It goes without saying that there are no Christmas trees in Mozambique. He has a very difficult time with all the hoopla surrounding the holidays here. I can’t say I blame him. Holidays in Mozambique were the best. I miss them a lot.

Anyway I got off track a bit so here is a picture of my little fake tree.

O Christmas Tree

10. What would you need to make your holiday perfect this year? Well I guess after my commentary above spending the holiday in Mozambique again would make my holiday perfect.

I know I sound like a grinch. I’m not seriously! Carlos enjoys a perfectly normal Christmas by our standards here in the U.S. He has been to see Santa. He writes a list of things he wants. We bake Christmas cookies and shop for gifts. We also donate to Toys for Tots and give a bag of mittens, hats and scarves to his school. This year we will shop for the food pantry down the street and find out how we can get more involved.

Carlos is thinking about what more he can add to his list.

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions. While you’re at it maybe you could try to answer a couple for me.

For those of you with children how do you balance the commercialism of Christmas with the true meaning of Christmas? And how would you respond to the question, “why doesn’t Santa go to Mozambique?”

Don’t forget to visit Kenlie’s blog and link up in the comments!

No Thanks

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Aimee

If you follow me on Twitter then you know that on Saturday I bought my very first pair of size 8 jeans. They are a size 8 boot cut jean from Banana Republic. They fit like a glove yet they are not snug or tight. I had quite a moment on my own in the dressing room. I have worn a size 14 for as long as I can remember. Then I was in a 12 for about a year or so. At some point this year I bought my first size 10 and that felt amazing, but nothing compares to how I’ve been feeling lately. With that said I’m more determined than ever to ring in the New Year feeling fabulous and fit.

This week I’ve experienced my first taste of holiday temptation. My friend and I run the Secret Santa Holiday Shop at our children’s school. On Monday night we had set up and she brought pizza. It smelled heavenly, but I ignored it because it would have put me over my Weight Watcher points for the day. I had a kale salad waiting at home and I knew that I would be much happier after eating that than if I ate the pizza so I said no thanks.

Yesterday and today we operated the shop from 8am until noon. Yesterday my friend brought hot out of the oven cinnamon rolls. Oh my goodness they smelled so good which is code for I don’t know what they tasted like because I didn’t eat them. Thanks but no thanks. I had eaten a bowl of cereal at work earlier in the morning. I sipped coffee and water in between each class. I brought Trader Joe’s lemon wafers and had a few of those because they killed my sweet tooth and I knew the points value. After the shop yesterday I had a hearty vegetable wrap with hummus. It was worth the wait.

Today it was my job to stop and get a box of Joe from Dunkin’ Donuts along with a box of assorted munchkins which included the special holiday flavor red velvet munchkins. My friend brought in brownies a la Dunkin Hines, but still they smelled great. Mmmmm no thank you. Again I sipped water and coffee. I had a couple of lemon wafers, but I passed on the other treats. I just didn’t deem them worthy of my points.

Tonight I went Christmas shopping alone. I ate a healthy dinner compliments of the hot bar at Whole Foods. Instead of sweets after dinner, I had a tall skinny peppermint mocha hold the whipped cream at Barnes & Noble and a dark chocolate Adora disk which doubles as a calcium supplement. After my shopping excursion I hit the gym. I did some speed work on the treadmill and some strength training. I could have easily skipped the gym. I wanted to. Normally I get my workouts done in the morning, but my schedule is really off this week because of the holiday shop. I’m really glad I didn’t skip my workout today.

It’s really hard to pass up treats that are right in front of my face. There’s that little voice that says things like, “oh come on just have one; don’t you want to try the red velvet munchkin; you can’t deprive yourself all the time; live a little.” Only I know better now. One leads to two which leads to too many. I’ve been down this road too many times. I absolutely refuse to go backwards. So unless it is something really great I’m going to have to say no thanks.

On the Ranch

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Aimee

I have always wanted to go to the Biggest Loser Ranch for a couple of weeks. That’s it, just 2 weeks of Bob, Dolvett and Jillian (she’ll be back next season). Seriously I would actually enjoy Jillian yelling at me. I would love the opportunity to do nothing but exercise and focus on myself for that time. They actually have Biggest Loser Resorts in Utah, California and New York. However, one week is $2695!! Um probably won’t be booking a vacation there anytime soon.

So I decided to hire a personal trainer. Her name is Tanya and she is awesome. I discovered her a couple of years ago through a co-worker. She was working as a personal trainer at my gym and then left to begin her own business. She has her own studio and offers classes at the town hall about a mile from my house. I bought a punch card and started going to Zumba classes. I also tried a Total Body Blast class. I love her energy and enthusiasm. However, my schedule didn’t work with the class schedule and I was unable to take advantage of all of the great group classes she offers.

I emailed Tanya about setting up a personal training session months ago. Something or other always seemed to come up and it never happened. I am so glad I persisted and finally made the appointment. This is exactly what I need right now.

I attended one session as an introduction to see if it would be something I was interested in continuing. I loved it and decided to sign on for 12 sessions. So on Thursday I returned for my second session. It started with a warm up and then Tanya took me through a Tabata workout. Tabata is a form of high intensity interval training which is designed to incorporate short bursts of intense training followed by a short rest. There were lunges, triceps dips, push ups, abdominal exercises and more. Tanya is motivating and encouraging. She pushes me to do more than I think I’m capable of doing, but I tend to surprise myself.

Some of my goals are to develop a few strength training routines I can do at the gym on my own, improve my strength overall particularly in my core and improve joint stability in my lower body to help prevent injury. Tanya is on board with my goals and at my next session we will begin with a workout I can take to the gym. Two days later and I’m still sore in areas I obviously don’t usually address. It’s that good sore if you know what I mean.

I am still running. I love it and can’t stop. One of my running goals for this year was to run a 10K in under and hour. I came close in the two 10Ks I ran, both just under 1:02. Oh well I figured I would just try again next year. I decided last week not to wait for a race to run a sub 1 hour 10K. I went to the gym on Monday and ran 6.2 miles in 59:40! Then I went to the reservoir on Wednesday and ran 6.2 miles in exactly 1 hour. On Friday I ran again at the reservoir but took a detour and ended up going up this huge hill for about a half of a mile. I finished 6.2 miles in 1:00:18; not bad considering the hill. I’m so pumped to accomplish this goal. I have a feeling I’ll be running a lot of 10Ks on my own in the next couple of weeks to be consistently under one hour.

In other news, I saw that one of my favorite bloggers Bella, from Bella on the Beach, is going to be participating in the Idea Room’s December Photo-a-Day Challenge.

Photo-a-day-challenge-december

This seems like a fun way to stay in the moment during this very busy month so I have decided to join in. I will be sharing my photos on Twitter and Instagram via #idearoom. This was today’s photo for the theme “mail.”

2012 Christmas Card

We had a tiny bit of snow here this morning and my precocious child was outside at 7:45 in his PJs enjoying the blustery flakes as he called them!

Photo: Carlos playing in the snow in his pajamas.

Happy December! Have a wonderful weekend.

Forward Motion

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Aimee

The curse of December is upon us. Well it always used to be a curse for me. For years I basically washed my hands of any attempt at weight loss during the holidays. You know the old “I might as well just start fresh on January 1st.” Last year was a turning point for me. It was the first year that I did not gain weight over the holidays. If I remember correctly I may have even entered the new year a pound or two less.

Last year I went into the holidays with a slightly different mentality. I enjoyed holiday treats here and there, but I didn’t go totally crazy. I was also marathon training which doesn’t typically mean weight loss, but I was very active throughout the month of December and into January.

This year I’m taking an even more proactive approach. Christmas came early for me. My husband and I never exchange gifts for birthdays or holidays. Instead we feel free to gift ourselves certain agreed upon luxuries at any given time of the year finances permitting. Today I signed on with a personal trainer for 12 sessions. Along with our sessions she is helping me to design a fitness plan for the rest of the week including strength training activities I can do on my own at the gym.

I love running, but it’s time for a bit of a change. I will continue to run for fun, relaxation (yes I run to relax!!) and stress relief, however, I’m not currently training for anything specific. I also recently bought a Groupon for a local yoga studio so I will throw that into my fitness regimen for the next 10 weeks or so. My fitness goals are to improve my flexibility, increase my strength and continue to improve my speed.

I have also decided to meet the holiday food frenzy head on. Seriously this time of year really stresses me out. God help me I love treats and working in a hospital can be a nightmare. The doctors buy gourmet gift baskets, patients’ families bring in food for the nursing staff, the nursing staff brings in sinfully delicious treats for each other. I’ve got my boxing gloves on this year and I’m going to punch most of it away. I control what goes into my mouth not the other way around. I will allow myself to enjoy only the treats that really really interest me. No wasting my time on those Russell Stover chocolates when there are Lindts Dark Chocolate truffles awaiting.

Having a plan doesn’t mean I won’t indulge here and there, but my goal is to keep chipping away at the last 13 pounds I have to lose before finally reaching my Weight Watchers goal weight. I’m not going backwards this holiday season. It’s forward motion from here into the new year.

Redefine Possible

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Aimee

If you read my last post then you might be wondering what I decided to do the morning of the marathon. Having never visited Philadelphia and staying about 15 minutes outside of the city I was concerned about finding somewhere to park. The marathon website had some information about road closings and parking options. I found out that the train stop closest to the hotel didn’t begin operating until 8 a.m. – no good. The woman at the hotel desk suggested maybe calling a taxi which would have cost a small fortune. With about 30,000 runners set to descend on the city I didn’t know what to expect the morning of the race so I decided to err on the side of caution. I set my alarm for 3 a.m. and drifted off to sleep.

All too soon I was up, showered (yes I shower before races) and ready to go. I checked out of the hotel and hit the road Philly bound. I was armed with 3 sets of directions to various parking lots just in case. There were few cars on the road so I made it into the city in no time. After a couple of missed turns I finally found one of the parking lots. The woman at the gate welcomed me with her raspy good morning as she blew cigarette smoke in the cold air. She said I could park all day as long as I had exactly $8 because she had no change. For someone who never carries cash I had thought ahead and lo and behold I had $9 in cash in my wallet. I paid up and pulled into a parking spot.

Soon other cars began to follow suit. We all stayed in our cars to keep warm. I ate my pre-race bagel, banana and peanut butter while listening to comedy on Sirius radio. Around 5:20 I decided to walk over to the starting area to find a port-a-potty. A perk of getting to the race early is still unused port-a-potties. Thanks to the flashlight app on my iPhone I did not have to pee in the dark.

I walked to the Philadelphia Museum of Art where many runners were stretching and warming up. I climbed the famed “Rocky Steps” and took in the early morning view from the top. Sadly I have no photos as it was still too dusky to capture the scenery. I found a secluded spot to do some stretching and tried to channel my own inner Rocky. I told myself to just enjoy the day, do my best and smile along the way.

Around 6:30 I called home to say good morning to Orlando and Carlos. Wow I missed them so much. Carlos is a bit (understatement of the year) of a mama’s boy. He was happy and sad to talk to me. He told me to hurry up and get home because he missed me too much. Orlando wished me good luck. I hung up and walked around the starting area in search of my corral. I was in the orange corral, second to last corral to start. I found a spot and waited. I listened to lots of stories around me. There were a few first time marathoners and two women who were supposed to run the NYC marathon a couple of weeks ago before the destruction of Hurricane Sandy forced the cancellation of the marathon. Philadelphia opened up a lottery to welcome 3000 runners registered to run the NYC marathon. All throughout the race it was great to see the outpouring of support for those runners most of whom were wearing their orange ING race shirts making them easy to spot.

At 7 a.m. the race began…for some. It took nearly 30 minutes before I crossed the starting line. We moved in slow motion it seemed. The sheer volume of runners was massive. As we left the starting chute the road swelled from side to side with people trying to run. It was difficult to get any sort of momentum because of the crowd. Eventually I was able to get into my groove. As always the supporters along the course especially in the beginning and at the end make me smile from ear to ear. I get such a kick out of the signs along the way. Here are a few that I remember and enjoyed:

“WTF, Worst Parade Ever”

“You’re a better running mate than Sarah Palin.”

“If you were Paul Ryan you’d be done by now.” (somewhere not too far from the beginning)

The miles began ticking by and I was feeling great. The weather was perfect. I was comfortable in my pace. I knew I was holding around a 10 minute mile. Suddenly I saw the 4:30 pacer not too far in front of me. I know the pacers are out there, but I’d never actually seen them. I managed to catch up to the runner holding the balloons with the 4:30 sign which meant he would finish the marathon in exactly that time, 4 hours and 30 minutes. Hmmm I thought if I stay ahead of him I might actually beat Oprah’s time of 4:29:15 from her one and only marathon the Marine Corps Marathon in 1994. It’s all in good fun to try to beat celebrity times. I’ve already surpassed Katie Holmes, Al Gore and Kate Gosselin (of John & Kate Plus 8).

At mile 13 we bid the half marathoners adieu as they turned to the right to finish their race. The marathoners veered to the left and enjoyed a bit more open space on the road. Let’s do it all over again I thought as we headed into mile 14. I couldn’t believe how great I felt though. I think one of the best parts about doing a new race in a new place is that the course is a total surprise. I never get bored because I’m not sure what’s coming up. We passed Penn and Drexel universities. We ran past the Philadelphia Zoo and down Landsdowne Drive, through the Manayunk District and alongside the Schuylkill River. There were historical landmarks, a park, a bridge, shops, cafes and skyscrapers.

Somewhere around mile 17 my legs began to ache. I stopped for a Clif Shot and water. I walked through the hydration station and as I started up again I saw the 4:30 pacer ahead. Damn it! I stayed at a steady pace waiting for my legs to ease up in hopes that I could manage a fast spurt to catch up to the pacer once again. It never happened. He was gone, lost in the crowd and out of my view. OK I thought move on and keep moving.

From mile 18-26 the name of my game was just keep running no matter how fast or how slow. And just like that my marathon went from the best race of my life to a mental challenge. Oh how those last miles dragged on by, each one seemed longer than the last. Finally I was at mile 24. I kept telling myself to run and if a hill came I could walk it. I’m not sure why I thought there would be a hill ahead, but there wasn’t. No hill appeared so I kept running…slowly. My legs were sore and my feet hurt. Despite the pain never once did I contemplate quitting. Then in the distance waved the Mile 25 flag. I smiled knowing it would be over soon. As I passed the mile marker my pace kicked up a notch.

For the previous 6 miles or so fan support was thin but I could hear the crowds cheering as I got closer to mile 26. As I rounded the bend and the Museum of Art came into my view along with the last mile marker I felt a force surge through my body. My legs started to move like I was running my very first mile. The emotions welled up and I fought back the tears as I sprinted the last half of a mile to the finish line. I was by myself. People cheered for me by name reading it off my race bib as I passed by. I crossed the finish line and blinked back the tears as I wrapped the foil blanket around my shoulders. When the medal was placed over my head I could no longer hold back and I cried tears of joy, disbelief and awe.

As I walked through the crowd I was overwhelmed by the way I felt. I didn’t even know my time yet. It didn’t really matter because I knew I did exactly what I had set out to do…run MY best race.

In 2012 I have:

Run 2 full marathons
Run 2 half marathons
Run 2 – 10Ks
Successfully lost 12 pounds and counting (more on this soon I promise)
Spent 3 days roaming around Atlantis in the Bahamas in nothing but my bathing suit (a skirt tankini mind you but can I get a holla for improved body image!)
Applied and was accepted into Graduate School
Attended a Zumbathon
Took ice skating lessons
Hiked
Traveled to new places

The Philadelphia Marathon’s slogan Redefine Possible couldn’t be more fitting to describe my year and what this race meant to me. However, I almost think redefine impossible would be more applicable. In this year alone I have truly redefined what I always believed was impossible for me.

Philadelphia Marathon Finish

My official time for the Philadelphia Marathon was 4:38:52. This is almost 10 minutes better than my Disney Marathon time of 4:48:19.

I set running goals this year such as running a 10K in under and hour and for fun to beat Oprah’s marathon time. I haven’t accomplished either goal yet, but you better believe I will.

Thanks for reading this crazy long post. Now go redefine your possible!

Philadelphia Marathon Plans

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Aimee

I registered for the Philadelphia Marathon on April 1st. That seems so far away now. I can’t believe the weekend is finally here. I’m as ready as I can possibly be to run this race. However, the long family weekend I had planned has turned into a solo trip. A lot can happen in 7 months to change even the most well thought out plan, but our plans were actually derailed in the course of the last two weeks. It’s for the best that I go alone, but that decision was not made lightly.

I’m disappointed that my husband and son will not be with me, but it is because of their unending support and love that I am able to go to Philadelphia this weekend to run my second marathon. Over the past 5 days I booked a flight, rented a car and reserved a hotel room. I have set up directions to and from places in my phone. I have inquired about race day transportation from the hotel to the starting line. I have given myself countless pep talks to counteract the negative thoughts of guilt swirling in my mind.

As I sit here in my tiny hotel room trying to figure out the best plan for the morning I’m still not sure I made the right decision. However, I’m here and I’m going to give it my all tomorrow.

Friend Makin’ Mondays: What’s In Your Fridge?

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Aimee

It’s kind of a strange Monday. I was off last night. Carlos slept until almost 7am which is unheard of, but a very nice unexpected surprise for me. Everyone is home today because of the holiday. However, Carlos spent the day with my Dad and Orlando did yard work and errands. I went on my last longish run before the Philadelphia Marathon next weekend. The weather was balmy and overcast; perfect for a run. Then I spent a good hour chatting on the phone with one of my best friends. I was not interrupted or distracted by anyone or anything. What a treat!

I’m excited about this week’s FMM because I recently tried something new to help save time with grocery shopping and I was planning to share it here anyway. If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so everyone can see your FMM questions. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

What’s in Your Fridge?

1. List a few common items that can always be found in your fridge. Greek yogurt, kale, peppers, milk, grapes

2. What kind of milk do you drink? Unsweetened almond milk

3. Do you prefer fresh or frozen vegetables? Definitely fresh, but in a pinch frozen will do.

4. What do you currently have to drink in the fridge? Recycled bottles of water, a Brita pitcher of water, almond milk, lime seltzer, orange juice and organic milk for Carlos and Orlando, an unopened bottle of white wine for a special occasion

5. How often do you clean out your refrigerator? Every couple of weeks

6. What’s the healthiest thing in it right now? Kale, spinach, peppers

7. What’s the most unhealthy thing in it right now? Left over pizza from last night, but it will be eaten by Carlos and Orlando, oh and Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies bought for a babysitter over the summer. I should throw them out.

8. What do you wish you had in it that you don’t have now? It’s well stocked at the moment, but I wish I had precooked meals already prepared in the refrigerator.

9. How often do you shop for groceries? Oh lord I practically live at the grocery store. However, I actually just tried our local supermarket, Stop & Shop’s grocery delivery service Peapod. My first delivery was on Saturday morning. I am hooked. I can see that there is a huge potential to save money. It will make recipe planning much easier. Not to mention the time I will save if I don’t have to go to the grocery store, load and unload the groceries and then put them away. I will still shop for some produce, but my grocery trips will be much much less time consuming. Peapod is offering 60 days free shipping on orders over $100.

10. What’s the weirdest thing in your fridge right now? Probably the container of nutritional yeast.

Bonus: If you could choose one thing to put in the fridge and make it calorie-free what would it be? Any kind of nut butter or sunflower seed butter

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions. Don’t forget to visit Kenlie’s blog and link up in the comments!

Insta Hike

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Aimee

Today looked like fall yet felt like summer. As the temperature rose to the low 70s by afternoon I felt the itch to get outside. Orlando was watching the Patriots game so Carlos and I went for an impromptu hike up a section of nearby Mt. Tom. I decided to play with the Instagram app along the way. Carlos had fun with the different settings. Here are our favorites.