Home Tour

Who wants a home tour?  This is one we looked at a few days ago.  It is only 3 houses down from one we were hoping to get earlier and down the street from my cousins, who found this for us.  

It isn't listed.  The owners just decided to move and heard that we were looking so they told my cousin.  We saw it the next day.  

The current owner is -- I kid you not -- the cleanest person I have seen.  The house smelled good and there wasn't a thing out of place.  If you are selling, take that for what it's worth.  I am good at removing myself from how a house currently is and this almost sold me!  Actually, I really like the house.  The kitchen is a little small and would need to be painted white, but the wall colors can stay!  They are light grey.  

The back yard was perfectly manicured.  There is no way I could keep up without hiring someone.  

We are in the process of working the numbers to make it a good deal for them and us.  Fingers crossed!  I would love my own house.  Plus there is no HOA fee, no pool, and not on a golf course (all benefits for me)!

Front

The back yard.

The view.

Kitchen:  The only problem area of the house, which happens to be a major issue to Tom.

Master

Living area.

Living area.

Super wide stairs.

The Salt Lake Color Run

If there's anything I want you to take away from this blog it's to 1) exercise, and 2) never pay full price for anything.

That's why this post is so great.

You get exercise and a discount.

I'm excited to promote Salt Lake City's "The Color Run" on August 24th!

That's right!  You get $5 off by using my special code, colormeturq at TheColorRun.com!  (I got my own special code!!!!!)

I have never done a color run before so I can't wait to do this!

Sign up and run it with me!  It's not timed.  It's not a race.  It's a run.  A fun one.  A 5k.  Where you get colored.  Oh, and you don't have to run.  You can walk.  

I already got my mom to sign up.  It's your turn!  Let me know if you do and we can meet up. 

If you aren't going to be in Salt Lake that day, you can find one near you on The Color Run's Facebook page.

Vegan Greek Pizza

Wow.  My thoughts and prayers go out to the people in Boston who were hurt and the families of those who were killed.  I was pretty emotional yesterday.  I think because I imagined myself running the marathon and what if that happened to me?  What if my child got killed waiting for me to finish my race?  It's heartbreaking.

My personal record for a marathon is 3:39.  To qualify for Boston in my age group you have to finish by 3:40.  I have heard that the Boston course is pretty trying so I can imagine that I may have been crossing the finish line just over 4 hours... maybe right when the explosions were happening.  It just makes me sad.  Not only did some deranged maniac injure and kill people, he ruined something that people have spent so much time and effort to do.

I don't have a lot more to say, but here is a yummy vegan recipe.  Seriously, we loved it -- even Morgan!

Greek Pizza
makes 2 pizzas around 1000 cal each

2 whole wheat crusts -- I used Mama Mary's brand and found it at Walmart.

Layer the following...

walnut pesto*
1 can olives (chopped)
1 onion sliced and sauteed (no extra oil)
4 roma tomatoes (sliced)
1 can artichoke hearts
salt to taste

Bake on 420 for 8-10 minutes.

*walnut pesto
1 cup toasted walnuts (you can toast them in your oven on broil for a few minutes)
2 garlic cloves
1 c fresh basil (more or less to taste)
1/4-1/2 c soy milk, almond milk or cow milk (not vegan)
Puree in food processor.  

Pass Me The Birkenstocks, I'm [kinda] Vegan... and week 10 workout plan.

Today is the 28th day of my trial vegan lifestyle and I'm 'on talk about that today.

I'll start off with letting you know blatantly that I like big houses, nice cars, my 2nd amendment rights, makeup, deodorant, razors, plastic bags, electricity, bla bla-dee bla bla bla.

And I like eating like a vegan.

Shocking, I know!  I never would have expected it in a million years.

The truth is that I don't really love meat.  It's not because I have a problem with animal "cruelty."  I grew up in a farming town.  We had chickens, horses, cows, pigs, dogs, etc.  I even had a pet lamb named Tiny.  Guess what happened to Tiny...

I like hamburgers (if they're not grilled).  I have seen how "our" cows were raised and it doesn't really bother me that they were butchered and cut up for meals.  Not a problem.

Hey kids!  Vegan propaganda!  

We try not to fall victim to propaganda.

I do, however, love finding meals that don't include meat.  I've always been taught to "eat meat sparingly."  Who even knows what that means?  Sparingly like twice a day?  Twice a week?  Month?  I don't know.

So, what am I going to do?  Never eat meat again.  No.  Absolutely not.  Again, it's not about me loving animals (although I think they're great), but there are incredible health benefits to not eating meat or animal byproducts often.  Like lowering your cholesterol over 100 points in just one month.  I'm not sure if this happened to me because I didn't have blood work done.  But it did happen to Bob Harper (from Biggest Loser).  I've been reading The China Study about a plant-based diet and the risk for heart disease (the #1 killer of Americans) pretty much goes away for people who eat that way.  I mean, there is something to that.

We have decided to eat meat a few times a month if we really want it.  Like I said, I don't love meat but Tom does.  I love eggs.  I haven't decided what I'm going to do about that.  Am I going to be 90%-of-the-time-vegan?  Vegetarian (can eat eggs and milk)?

I can tell you that this month of eating only a plant-based diet (and around 1900 calories per day of it) has helped me to get over my weight-loss plateau.  I dropped 3.5 pounds.  I get that that's not a lot, but I was stuck for three months.  And I can now fit into my old jeans.  I even bought a new pair of size 28 Gap jeans at the thrift store for $8.  That's exciting to me!

Shirt refashion tutorial coming soon!

My birthday is at the end of April and I get my buy-one-get-one meal coupon for Tucano's and you better believe I'm using that sucker.  Have you tried their little cheese bread balls?!  Mmmmm.

So for now I'm staying vegan until I'm not.  Besides the poo stories (and the ones I haven't blogged about), I feel really good.  But I always feel good when I eat healthy... carnivore, omnivore, or herbivore.

If you are on a plateau with your weight loss or if you have high cholesterol (or even if you want to challenge yourself), I suggest trying it out for 28 days.  That's 4 weeks.  We did the Engine 2 Diet challenge, which also cuts out refined sugar and a few other things that vegans can normally eat.  And please don't get me wrong.  This isn't a fad diet that restricts your caloric intake or only allows you to eat protein.  It is very well rounded.  You just only eat clean foods.  It really opened me up to a new way of eating.  Like, I think I'll make this raw vegan carrot cake for my birthday.

The Rawsome Vegan

Oh-my-gosh I feel so weird.

Here's this week's workout schedule.  Enjoy!

Cardio (week 10):  It's getting easier.  Week 9 is the hardest.

Week	Sunday (Rest)	Monday (Easy)	Tuesday (Cross Train)	Wednesday (Easy)	Thursday (Cross Train)	Friday (Rest)	Saturday (Long)
1	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	4 Miles
2	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	5 Miles
3	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
4	Rest	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	7 Miles
5	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	4 Miles
6	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	45 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	8 Miles
7	Rest	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	9 Miles
8	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	50 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
9	Rest	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	10 Miles
10	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	7 Miles
11	Rest	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
12	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	Rest	Rest	13.1 Miles Race Day!

Resistance:

Day	Body Part	Exercise	Sets	Reps	Weight	Rest	Speed	Notes	Exercise Info
1	Shoulders	Dumbbell Shoulder Press Standing	3	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details
1	Triceps	Arm Extension Machine	10	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details
1	Shoulders	Dumbbell Shoulder Lateral Raise	10	10		60 s	2/4/2		Details
1	Chest	Dumbbell Chest Flyes On Ball	10	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details
1	Chest	Dumbbell Chest Press	3	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details
2	Legs	Outer Thigh Machine	3	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details
2	Legs	Ball Squats	10	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details
2	Legs	Walking Lunges	3	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details
2	Legs	Inner Thigh Machine	3	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details
3	Back	Ball Cobra	3	10		60 sec	2/4/2
3	Biceps	Standing Dumbbell Curl	10	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details
3	Biceps	Standing Hammer Dumbbell Curl	3	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details
3	Back	Lower Back Extension	3	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details
3	Back	1 Arm Dumbbell Row	10	10		60 sec	2/4/2		Details

New Running Shoes

I had a nightmare last night.  Hannibal Lector was stalking me and I was asleep with Tom and Morgan in a big bed in our high rise condo.  I woke up and went to the door that was supposed to be locked and all of my shoes were in the hall.  In their place were a whole bunch of the same basketball shoes.  Then Hannibal Lector was there all ready to eat me.  I had Tom take Morgan out of the room so she didn't see me open a can of Turbo Kick on his neck, which was just what I did.  Suddenly he turned into a mini Hannibal and I was crushing his windpipe.  Then I woke up.  I'm assuming that I won and he didn't eat me.

Speaking of shoes, my world has been shaken.  Remember how I love the Asics 2000 series and I have been wearing them for 14 years?  Well, I wanted to see if there were other shoes that I like better so I packed up my kids and took them to Wasatch Running yesterday where I tried on a pair of Sauconys and a pair of Brooks.  The Brooks beat the Sauconys easily.  Then I put on my normal Asics with the Brooks.  The Brooks felt better!  I am so brand loyal and used to my Asics that my life is a little different today.  I'll be buying the Brooks.  Maybe even 2 pairs.  In fact, I have a pair in my cart at Kelly's Running Warehouse.

Source: Kelly's Running Warehouse

If you are a beginner or a runner who hasn't invested in good shoes, my advice is to go to a local running store and try on a whole bunch of shoes.  This means that most likely you won't be going to Foot Locker or Famous Footwear because the sales people there don't know their running shoes like the people at a legit running store.

Week 9 and What I Feed My Kid

I want to talk a little about what I feed my kids -- at least the one that can eat more than rice cereal.

It's a touchy subject for a lot of people and too many moms judge other moms for taking their kids to McDonald's.  Well guess what.  I take my kids to McDonald's sometimes.  Sometimes Chick-Fil-A or even Five Guys.  We usually go about twice a month and it's a time where I can give my daughter a treat and teach her about money.  Yes, money.  Because it's her choice to go there, she gets to spend some of her chore money to buy french fries.  Then she gets to play in the play place.  I see no problem with it.

At home I try to feed her a balanced breakfast with an egg and either toast, cereal, etc.  She often doesn't want an egg so I just try to deal.  I always have her eat breakfast.

Lunch is the meal that is "kid friendly."  She always asks for mac and cheese so I do something like that or a hot dog or both.  I buy Hebrew National low fat hot dogs.  They're okay.  Luckily she likes veggies so she'll eat broccoli or cauliflower with it.  When I can I like to make whole grain mac and grated parm cheese.  But sometimes she just wants Kraft.

For dinner she gets what we're having and it is almost always something super healthy.  She'll complain but she will eat it.  She tells me she doesn't like quinoa and complains as soon as she knows that's what I'm making.  But she eats a few bites of it.

I don't make her clear her plate.  I don't want her growing up thinking she has to eat everything.  She doesn't.  She should eat until she is full.  If she only eats a couple of bites and says she's too full, I don't let her have a treat because she is "too full."  This rarely happens though.  We like to make it a game where she and I race to eat five bites.  She's super competitive and always has to win.

I had this good friend and roommate who's mom never let her and her sibs have treats.  Like ever.  When they went to college that was all they ate for a while because they were so deprived.  That's where the "freshman 15" comes in.  So I let Morgan have treats once in a while.  We don't keep very much in the house, but I have no problem giving her some candy corn (her fave) or a small ice cream cone.

I like to give her fruit and veggie options for snacks, along with crackers and cheese and stuff like that.

We don't have juice very often.  It is mostly just empty calories.  She does really like orange juice though so sometimes we will buy the fresh squeezed stuff.

I guess my point of this post is to say not to worry about feeding your kids healthy 100% of the time.  Don't feel guilty if you grab some fast food once in a while.  Your kids need to learn moderation.  A treat trip to McDonald's is NOT a problem!  Stop judging!  However, teach them the difference between healthy food and treats.  Morgan knows that chips are a treat.  Encourage them to like healthy things.  Make them for them and when you have a healthy dinner, don't let them eat "kid food."  Let them experience health too.

And, here is the 9th week of my exercise plan.  There are only 3 left after this!


Cardio: I'm on week 9.

Week	Sunday (Rest)	Monday (Easy)	Tuesday (Cross Train)	Wednesday (Easy)	Thursday (Cross Train)	Friday (Rest)	Saturday (Long)
1	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	4 Miles
2	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	5 Miles
3	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
4	Rest	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	7 Miles
5	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	4 Miles
6	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	45 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	8 Miles
7	Rest	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	9 Miles
8	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	50 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
9	Rest	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	50 Minutes (5 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	10 Miles
10	Rest	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	45 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	7 Miles
11	Rest	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	35-45 Minutes	35 Minutes (3 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
12	Rest	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	30 Minutes	30 Minutes (3 Miles)	Rest	Rest	13.1 Miles Race Day!

Resistance:

WORKOUT DAY 1 Date:
Dumbbell Chest Flyes On Ball - Chest Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3
Dumbbell Chest Press - Chest Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3
Dumbbell Shoulder Lateral Raise - Shoulders Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 s
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3
Dumbbell Shoulder Press Standing - Shoulders Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3
Arm Extension Machine - Triceps Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3

WORKOUT DAY 2 Date:
Walking Lunges - Legs Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3
Inner Thigh Machine - Legs Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3
Ball Squats - Legs Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3
Outer Thigh Machine - Legs Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3

WORKOUT DAY 3 Date:
1 Arm Dumbbell Row - Back Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3
Ball Cobra - Back Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3
Standing Dumbbell Curl - Biceps Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3
Standing Hammer Dumbbell Curl - Biceps Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3
Lower Back Extension - Back Sets: 3 Reps: 10 Weight: Speed: 2/4/2 Rest: 60 sec
	Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps		Weight	Reps
Set 1			Set 2			Set 3

Boise and Recipe

I decided to take a last minute trip with my girls to Boise on Wednesday. We made it in six hours with only two feeding stops.

We crashed at my friend's house and went running on Thursday morning with my old running group. My friend's daughter stayed home from school to watch my girls. I gave her $10. Win-win.

We were going to go 10 miles but I totally wasn't feeling it so around 8.5 I called another friend to pick me up. Complete wuss. The wind was blowing and I was thirsty. No other excuses. No poo stories.

I want to share a recipe today. It's pretty much all veggies but tastes like spaghetti.

I used spaghetti squash for the noodles. First time ever. It's pretty good with the sauce. I'm not a huge fan of it alone. I cooked it in the microwave for 6 minutes and then scraped it with a spoon.

For the sauce you need:
5 roma tomatoes
1/2 thing of sliced mushrooms
1/4 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 vegan sausages
some broccoli (sliced)


I sautéed everything but the tomatoes. When everything was semi soft I blended the tomatoes and added the puree to the other veggies. I added salt and Italian seasoning. Then I put the sauce on the spaghetti squash.

I'm writing this on my iPad and have no idea how to move the pictures, so here you go. Food. Recent pic. Before pic.

Rock it this weekend!!!