This Must Be Harvet Time For Blog Giveaways!

Chocolate Covered Katie is giving away a covetable spiralizer or magic bullet... AND participating in a fundraiser called Operation Chocolate Covered Kindness.

Click around her (awesome) website to help her raise some funds! :D

She also is making me want to make little cashew fudge babies.

In exercise-related news, I did Arms and Shoulder instead of what was actually scheduled... but it's still the third week of my last phase. I'm so excited!

Day Four, Phase Three

Move over, El Mejor Pistolero, because the new love of my life is this:Ok, so that's a damn dirty lie- how could smokey miso tofu replace a man who is refining the process of making steel-cut oats overnight in a crock-pot? It can't, of course, but as with every good lie there is an element of truth, and that is that smokey miso tofu is my favorite thing to have for lunch. I've had it pretty much every school day for two weeks. The wonderful incredible recipe is here at the wonderful VeganYumYum blog. I'm looking forward to getting the VeganYumYum cookbook in my next round of cookbook purchases.

In case anyone was wondering, I enjoy my miso tofu on a thin whole0wheat bun with Trader Joe's ailoli mustard, a slice of soy-pepper jack cheese, spinach, and some avocado if I have it kicking around.

In case anyone else was wondering, other items on my cook-book list are:
Raw Food Real World, Living Raw Food, Vegan Comfort Food, The Thirty Minute Vegan, The Voluptuous Vegan, and How to Eat, which has nothing to do with vegan/raw food whatsoever!

Otherwise, I'm pretty pooped today because of the usual rumblings and tumblings from my upstairs neighbors keeping me up all night. The most maddening thing about it is that they aren't even DOING anything. They are just living a normal life up there. I know because I can hear every footfall. I need to get a white-noise maker or something. I'd like to get a little more high tech a solution than just sleeping with a pillow over my head. Which I do.



Oh. I almost forgot.

The OTHER reason I'm tired is that I actually got up at 7am today (hooray!) and did Shoulders and Arms (hooray)! Other good news is that I'm definitely ready for heavier weights, for that video anyhow. I've been using 8lb weights for most of it, and though it used to be a struggle, it really isn't anymore. The Notorious EMP has a pair of ten lbs hanging around his house for me... I'm looking forward to giving those a try.

As if P90X wasn't enough, I also had a pilates class at ten. As if P90X and pilates weren't enough, I also have a (light) yoga class after work that I'm really actually looking forward to.

I miss yoga when I don't make it to the studio. Sure, theoretically I can do it with a video, but that's still untested since I've never actually done it. Though I do have access to yoga DVDs.

I'm just set in my ways, ok?

Another thing I want to do is to find time (somehow, probably not that often though to be frank) to start jogging, and to find a way to jog that dose not result in horrible shin splints. One of my roommates is a runner, and her immediate suggestion was to not run in hiking boots. Well. Maybe I'll give that a try if it is at all nice this weekend.

I know I used to squeeze the elliptical into my day, but for the life of me I can't imagine how. It's going to work out that phase three is going to end right around the end of my semester, so I'm thinking there will be a lot of yoga, elliptical, and (finally!) rock climbing this winter before I get back into the P90X saddle with Tony and The Kids.

The Triumphant Return

This is just a quick post to note that I've been keeping up with the P90X as scheduled (well, mostly... I haven't had the heart to do that nightmarish Chest/Shoulders/Tri, especially today since I have ANOTHER calculus midterm- yikes) and my yoga (three days so far since Monday, and I'm going tonight, so it looks like in min good shape for FIVE yoga classes this week... maybe even six if I can haul myself out of bed Saturday morning!).

The sad news is that between feeling under the weather and tutoring for this test I'm missing both my pilates classes, and have generally been too crazy busy to run on the elliptical. I haven't been carrying my water bottle around though, so I've been drinking less fluids. Boo.

My eating is still great though... and I've introduced KALE into my diet. Yum! I'm also remembering to eat my vitamins (got to put in a VitaCost order soon) with breakfast, and am aggressively pursuing a VitaMix on ebay.

Also: I don't remember if I mentioned this or not, and it happened last week, but... I went to trapeze with one of my best friends, La Abogada, and it was great! (Well, she liked doing something new, anyway, and she did great!)

Phase Two, Week Two (Redo), Day Five

Today started off bad.

I couldn't get to sleep because Things Kept Going Bump in the Night, and in my rush to make the bus I forgot my wallet, so I wound up missing that and the yoga class I'd intended to go to.

Boo.

The good news is that I knocked out Shoulder and Arms. Really, I was supposed to do Chest and Shoulders, but I was NOT in the mood for that kind of torture. Frankly, I'm pretty psyched with the benefits I'm seeing with Shoulders and Arms. I'm not in a big hurry to build up my chest!

Ok: time for a protein shake and to get going!

'Aint a Thing In It, Either

Or day thirty one. That went fast!

I've been skipping blogging, not working out. Yesterday I did KenPo in the morning, and its really becoming my third favorite way to start the day, which is really saying something because coffee is coming in below it. Today I did Shoulders/Arms, and even did the bonus round for the first time (well, minus the impossible tri-raises. I did curls instead.). I'm going to have to move up to ten pounds soon, since I'm doing nearly everything on the 8lb weights.

Right afterwards I whipped up a chocolate shake. The sensual, seductive, sensitive*, sensible* El Mejor Pistolero bought me lactose free Muscle Milk Lite which I mixed with my Amazing Grass Chocolate and soy milk to create a lovely something that should help my body to repair faster. It also brings together the two amusingly disparate parts of my life... recovering hippie and newbie muscle head.

A chicken and a fish can indeed fall in love, and co-exist happily in my smoothie.

Today was notable in that I spent a LOT of money. I bought the stuff I need for SCUBA (the Notorious EMP saved me some $ by letting me use his mask, which is a lot nicer then the one I would've bought), as well as a financial calculator which thankfully wasn't as expensive as I thought. I'm also toying with the idea of taking a trapeze class early some Friday morning.

Yes, I AM a lunatic, thank you I know. It will be a one time thing**.

This is more or less what I ate today. The BoyF took me to Ray's Hell Burger which warmed the cockles of my burger-loving heart. I got a nice, perfect, juicy burger with GRILLED BONE MARROW ON IT. Can you believe it? It was truly glorious. If you are of the meat eating persuasion and in the Arlington VA area I highly recommend you check it out.

Bubbas Hamburger Patties	1.00	340	26g	90mg	80mg	2g	1g	0g	23g	x
	^ Servings consumed: Serving size: 5.3 oz Optional: When did you eat this? - select mealtime - breakfast morning snack lunch afternoon snack dinner evening snack midnight snack pre-workout post-workout Unclassified or more specifically -- 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm
Costco Italian Ciabatta Buns	1.00	100	1g	0mg	230mg	21g	0g	1g	4g	x
	^ Servings consumed: Serving size: 1 bun (39 g) Optional: When did you eat this? - select mealtime - breakfast morning snack lunch afternoon snack dinner evening snack midnight snack pre-workout post-workout Unclassified or more specifically -- 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm
Generic Marrow	1.00	7	0g	0mg	0mg	4g	0g	0g	0g	x
	^ Servings consumed: Serving size: per 100g Optional: When did you eat this? - select mealtime - breakfast morning snack lunch afternoon snack dinner evening snack midnight snack pre-workout post-workout Unclassified or more specifically -- 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm
Bananna Bananna	1.00	110	0g	0mg	0mg	29g	21g	4g	1g	x
	^ Servings consumed: Serving size: 1 bananna, 126 g Optional: When did you eat this? - select mealtime - breakfast morning snack lunch afternoon snack dinner evening snack midnight snack pre-workout post-workout Unclassified or more specifically -- 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm
Wegmans Sopressata	1.00	80	6g	25mg	450mg	0g	0g	0g	7g	x
	^ Servings consumed: Serving size: 1 oz (28.0 g) Optional: When did you eat this? - select mealtime - breakfast morning snack lunch afternoon snack dinner evening snack midnight snack pre-workout post-workout Unclassified or more specifically -- 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm
Watermelon, Raw	3.00	138	0g	0mg	6mg	33g	27g	3g	3g	x
	^ Total consumed: servings cups tablespoons teaspoons Serving size: 1 cup, diced (152g) Optional: When did you eat this? - select mealtime - breakfast morning snack lunch afternoon snack dinner evening snack midnight snack pre-workout post-workout Unclassified or more specifically -- 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm
Field's Pecan Pie	0.30	114	2g	14mg	27mg	22g	9g	1g	2g	x
	^ Servings consumed: Serving size: 4 oz Optional: When did you eat this? - select mealtime - breakfast morning snack lunch afternoon snack dinner evening snack midnight snack pre-workout post-workout Unclassified or more specifically -- 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm
Boylan Bottleworks Diet Black Cherry Soda	1.00	0	0g	0mg	35mg	0g	0g	0g	0g	x
	^ Servings consumed: Serving size: 12 oz Optional: When did you eat this? - select mealtime - breakfast morning snack lunch afternoon snack dinner evening snack midnight snack pre-workout post-workout Unclassified or more specifically -- 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm
CytoSport Muscle Milk Light	0.50	98	3g	3mg	63mg	6g	1g	1g	13g	x
	^ Servings consumed: Serving size: 2 scoops (50g) Optional: When did you eat this? - select mealtime - breakfast morning snack lunch afternoon snack dinner evening snack midnight snack pre-workout post-workout Unclassified or more specifically -- 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm
Trader Joe's Original Soymilk	1.50	120	5g	0mg	255mg	20g	9g	2g	11g	x
	^ Servings consumed: Serving size: 8 fl oz Optional: When did you eat this? - select mealtime - breakfast morning snack lunch afternoon snack dinner evening snack midnight snack pre-workout post-workout Unclassified or more specifically -- 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm
Amazing Grass Green Superfood Chocolate Drink	1.00	30	1g	0mg	38mg	4g	0g	2g	2g	x
	^ Servings consumed: Serving size: 1 packet (8 grams) Optional: When did you eat this? - select mealtime - breakfast morning snack lunch afternoon snack dinner evening snack midnight snack pre-workout post-workout Unclassified or more specifically -- 12am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm 11pm
Uncle Bill's Ukranian Borscht (vegan)

*What more could one want in a man? Also, he has a fabulous ass that looks like this:

(I am none of the people in this picture)

**Obvious lies.

Day Seventeen

All I can say is umgh.

Shoulders and Arms went really well actually, so well that I'm going to get a 10lb weight for some of the things that went *too* well. Ab Ripper, on the other hand... I got about three minutes in and my leg started acting up. I'm really not willing to aggravate it any more... ignoring it only makes it worse plus there is mucho ab work in Yoga X anyway.

Damn leg.

I did put in a solid three minutes though!!!

I'm not to worried about the ab stuff, honestly, since I'll be starting pilates at school on Monday.

But I still haven't heard anything back from Sallie Mae yet.

In other news, I'm keeping my fingers and monkey toes crossed for the Notorious EMP and his interviews today!

Day Whatever.

Had to take a day off due to my busy touring schedule with my angelic angel of a cousin. Today I did the shoulders and arms and half of abs... legs permitting.

Pooped from day.

Goodnight.

Day Three

I woke up a hurtin' puppy this morning, and kind of psyched myself out over Shoulders and Arms/Ab Ripper X. It turned out to not be that bad. Hard, but not terrible.

Part of that might be that instead of 'light' weights I used two cans of cannelini beans. I'll get 3, 5, and 10 lb weights eventually.

And, no, I'm not worried about getting big like a man. :) For one thing, that would be great, because then I wouldn't have to rely on mind games to intimidate people who secretly make me feel insecure (I'm mostly kidding, but I'm not telling about what). For another, unless I got injected with some Amazon I'm not going to get bigger then the man in my life.



Anyway, if/when I do get all X-ed, he'd be nothing but thrilled.

Of course, I wind up doing ab ripper the same day I go to belly dance. I have feeling that aspirin is going to be my best friend today.

I'm looking forward to becoming Wonder Woman!

Food:
Breakfast- Masala Veggie burger with chutney, mini bagle with butter, pills
Lunches- Borscht, last Masala Veggie burger, 1/2 can vegitarian spicy chili, a tortilla, salad with pepper, cabbage, goddess dressing, 1 pc. dark chocolate.
Dinner- veggie tempura box
...and a whole lot of water.