Workout Goals for the Week

Next week is Christmas! Can you believe it. Let me say that again, NEXT WEEK IS CHRISTMAS! It feels like it has snuck up on me this year which seems weird that Christmas would sneak up on me but it has. I have way too many things to do this week to get things done and sent out on time before it is too late.

One thing that I can no slack on this week is my exercise. I have really taken a break for the last 2 weeks from heavy cardio training due to my cold or whatever I had. I still don't have my full voice back. Everyone is asking if I am getting sick, nope getting over being sick. (The hard part about being sick while pregnant is you can't take anything to help you through it.)

I decided that today would be the day that come feeling 100% or not I was going to get my exercise done. It needs to be done. I do not want to gain excess weight with this pregnancy unless. In the last 2 weeks, when I haven't exercised, I was gaining the 1 lb a week that can happen. So at this point I am -2 from my pre-pregnancy weight for this pregnancy. Still 30 lbs over what my pre-pregnancy weight before Mason. Exercise is so important to me right now. I am using it as a tool to help me stay as healthy as possible and so that I can have a healthy as possible pregnancy for my baby. And eating right of course. But since next week is Christmas, I know that I will indulge just a little, and I did this weekend when I made my mom's yummy candy cane cookies. I might of had a couple.

Goals for this week:
Monday- 30 min elliptical, 2 miles walk-treadmill-CHECK- Totally did it today
Tuesday- 3 mile walk/run, Prenatal Pilates at home- CHECK- updated 12/17
Wednesday- 30 min elliptical, 3 mile walk-treadmill- did Pilates stretching 20 min- updated 12/18
Thursday- 2 mile walk/run, prenatal yoga
Friday- 30 min elliptical, 1 mile run
Saturday- 4.5 mile walk/run with training program

We shall see how this works. But I am determined to do better always. I am in full training mode now for my 1/2 marathon as I only have 9 weeks until race day!!!

QOTD: Do you hit it hard at the gym when you are getting back into the swing of things?

Good Eats- Holiday Treats

Tonight I was schedule to go to a cookie exchange but sadly I am still not feeling 100% and don't want to bake my germs into the cookies or scare the other ladies away with my lovely cough! Ahem. 

I thought I would share with you what I would have brought tonight just for fun. We were asked to bring an appetizer so naturally I wanted to bring pumpkin pie. (plus I would have had to make 2, one for the party and one for the hubs. IT IS HIS FAV!) It counts as an appetizer right??? And the cookies, well let's just say there is a yummy little kick with them. They are super easy to make too. Delicious too!

Both recipes are from Pilsbury, go figure. Now keep in mind these are Holiday Treats. Eat them in moderation because they are in no way healthy foods so eat with caution because the cookies, well, it is hard to have just one! 

Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Pie

A crunchy oat topping complements every bite of creamy pumpkin pie. Refrigerated pie crust makes it super easy! (but I make homemade because it is just more fun!)

8 servings

Crust

 1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

I use this recipe by Ina Garten for my perfect pie crust! 

Filling

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (no pumpkin pie mix)

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk (1 1/2 cups)

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

¼ teaspoon salt

Streusel

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup quick-cooking oats

Topping

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed (3 cups)

Steps

1) Heat oven to 425°F. Place pie crust in 9-inch glass pie pan as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie.

2) In large bowl, mix filling ingredients until well blended. Pour into crust-lined pan.

3) Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix streusel ingredients.

4) Sprinkle streusel over pumpkin filling. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

5) Gently fold orange peel into whipped topping. Serve pie with topping. Store in refrigerator.

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Nutty Chocolate Hot Bites

(For cookie exchanges I call them Adult Nookie Cookies, cause they are hot, hot, hot!)

S'more flavors with a pinch of heat fill a yummy chocolate-chip cookie cup.

24 Servings

Ingredients

1 package (16 oz) Pillsbury® Ready to Bake! Refrigerated chocolate chip cookies (24 cookies)

1 ¼ cups Mixed Nuts with Peanuts

1 ¼ cups Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate baking chips

1 ¼ cups marshmallow creme

2 tablespoons half-and-half

1/8 teaspoon Ground Red Pepper (cayenne) (I use an extra dash to get a little more heat)

Steps

1) Heat oven to 375°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Place 1 cookie dough round in each cup. Using floured fingers, press dough to flatten slightly.

2) Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, remove Brazil nuts from mixed nuts; coarsely chop Brazil nuts. In 2-quart saucepan, heat chocolate chips, marshmallow creme, half-and-half and red pepper over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in remaining mixed nuts.

4) Drop about 1 tablespoon nut mixture onto each cookie. Let stand about 15 minutes or until chocolate is set. To serve, remove bites from paper baking cups. If desired, place each bite into a new paper baking cup.

My First Feature!

I was featured on Fit Approach for being a new Sweat Pink Ambassador! I am so excited to share my story with so many women! Check out the site to read other incredible stories and meet amazing women, just click below!

Fit Approach Sweat Pink Ambassador- My Aha Moment

Our Christmas Tree- vol 1.

I thought it would be fun to start showing off some of my favorite ornaments on our Christmas tree. Our tree is FULL of memories. We have ornaments from my parents tree that they gave us to fill our tree a few years ago that I grew up with. We have some from my own tree that I had in my room growing up and then we the the ones that Matt and I have been given or collected. We get at least 1 new ornament a year generally we get 3-4 which is pretty cool!

On our tree we have mostly Disney ornaments. I also have quite a few french horns and pianos all over. I have my students look for the hidden pianos and horns and try to see if they can count all of them. I have about 50 horns and pianos all over the tree. I kind of collect them.

We have our small but growing Star Trek collection for both me and Matt. Mason loves it because we have a Borg cube and when you turn on the tree it says, "We are the Borg. Enjoy you holidays. Resistance is futile."

Then we have a small smattering of other stuff, Arizona State stuff, Santa and other fun stuff.

So here is the start of some of my favs this year! In no particular order!

~Mason salt dough ornament that my mom and I made last year with his hand print. Needless to say, his hands have grown.~

 ~Gma gave this to us for Mason's first Christmas! I LOVE IT!~

 ~One of the many french horns all over my tree.~

 ~First ornament on the tree every year. It's tradition! Our first Christmas ornament!It is near the top in the very middle~

 ~Another collection from my mom and dad. Each blue ball, and there are I think 9, has a different image of favorite original attractions at Disneyland. The castle always goes near the middle. Sad story, a few years ago during a move a few got broken and I glued them back together. So the ones with the most cracks are in the back of the tree. Thank goodness my fabs were unharmed.~

 ~One of my former students went to WDW in the beginning of the year and saved this through the year as a Christmas gift to me. The daughter picked it out and everything since Cindy is one of my favs. (she was my fave till Brave came out. Sorry Cindy.)

Gift Giving Guide for the Fledgling Runner

It's that time of year again for people to be asking you, "What do you want for Christmas?" Well, every year I have some idea, this year I really didn't. So what better way to figure out what I would like/actually need for running than to actually sit down and figure it out. Being a new runner I don't have a ton of running clothing. I have generally worked out in a gym so I could wear tank tops year round and shorts but now that I am running outside in this frigid weather, I AM SO NOT DRESSED FOR SUCESS right now! The mornings that I have run I have been freezing and even after running for a bit I am still cold or too hot and sweaty in my current jacket that I am running in because it is not for running. So here goes a list of some items with varying prices from low to VERY high! (But an investment in your new sport.)

1. When we were at the turkey trot we were FREEZING! My toes and hands were the worst.  We were talking with a lady decked out in awesome running apparel and she pointed out her gloves that were flip tips so that you could have your fingers free of material but then flip the top up to keep them nice and toasty. AND they are at TARGET! Check out these Champion flip tip gloves - $16.99

2. As I said earlier, I have the wrong jacket for running. I have an Old Navy Fleece jacket that is tight fitting but does not wick the sweat away. I get hot and stuffy very early on which makes me need to take it off and then I am FREEZING for the remainder of my run. I have been eyeing these Under Armour infrared jackets for awhile and they have the thummy holes! -$124.99

3. Recently somebody, Matt, borrowed my headphones and somebody, ahem, Matt, LOST THEM! ARGH! So now I have no running headphones. GRRR! So I am in the market for some new ones. Another blogger I follow, Healthy Heddleston, posted these on her site and I have been eyeing them for a couple of days now, debating. They look great and they won't come popping out of ears when running because they hook around the back of the ear. So here is a great idea for headphones! Koss Fitclips - $19.99

4. In staying warm I don't want to wear a beanie or a hat. But my ears need to stay warm. These looked cute and for the price, can't beat that! Turtle fur headbands - $10.50

5. When I first joined the Women's 4 Miler training program, I asked my friend Janet what will I need when running in the cold. The first thing she said is that she likes to wear arm sleeves. When she gets hot she just rolls them down and she is good. So this site has super cute fun patterns for sleeves to choose from! Running Skirts Arm Sleeves - $39.00

6. So the running tops I have are tank tops and 1 short sleeve shirt. I use the short sleeve shirt for running outside now, under my fleece jacket. NOT GOOD! but my shirt I have is a running tech shirt so that helps to wick the sweat off my skin but the jacket makes it stuffy. I need some long-sleeved tops. Target has some great priced ones but these Under Armour cozy necks long sleeved shirts look so nice and comfy! But they are pricy, maybe just 1 for the super cold mornings. - $49.99

7. Again I have shorts and 1 pair of capri pants. So I am in the market for a few more pairs of running pants. I don't think I could pull off tights or feel comfortable wearing super tight pants. Just not my thing. And I know the compression pants would be great for my legs, just not great looking, yet. But these Nike capris look pretty nice and it would be something I would try out since my current shorts and capris are all Nike I am used to their style and fit. Nike Epic Running Capris - $75

So here are some ideas. I am sure that I could come up with more but these are what I have for now! Happy hunting and if you have any other ideas on the goods for a fledgling runner leave a comment below!

QOTD: What are your must haves for cold weather running?