BBB5 Week 5 Recap

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!  

Yet another holiday that has no significance to me personally that I don't really celebrate.  I asked some of my Mexican students a few years ago what the significance of Cinco de Mayo is, and they didn't even know.  Their independence day is in September, so it really is a holiday just for drinking!  I must say, I'm more likely to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than St. Patrick's Day due to my love of Mexican food and margaritas.

Anyway, I'm here to recap my week as it relates to Best Body Bootcamp!

Activity
I must say, I wasn't as motivated this week to get workouts in.  I had a lot of meetings after school, which met I was much more inclined to go straight home afterward.  I skipped the gym, but some of the days I got in some at-home workouts.

Monday-BBB Strength Workout A (Pull muscles).  I completed these exercises in my neighbor's backyard gym (she's got a full set of dumbbells, benches, and some machines!).
Tuesday-Rest day
Wednesday-Rest day
Thursday-BBB Core Workout + a small cardio circuit in my living room.  Wewii got in on the fun, too:

Friday-Active rest day by taking a 20 minute speed-walk with Wewii after our usual Mexican food
Saturday-Hour-long Step class in the morning!  One of the highlights of my week
Sunday-25 minute treadmill speed work + BBB Strength Workout B (Push muscles).  It was great to do some speed work as I gear up for half marathon training again!  I also felt pretty awesome in the weight room today as I increased weights for my chest and triceps.  I love seeing the improvements!

Goals
My first goal for this phase is to drink 8 oz of water each morning before my coffee.  I'm very happy to say that I met this goal EVERY SINGLE DAY this week!  It was surprisingly easy to do, and I could really tell a difference in my body during the day.  Even on days that I didn't drink as much water, I wouldn't get dehydration symptoms after starting my day with some water.

My other goal was to take a vitamin daily.  After moving the vitamins in front of my cereal, I managed to do this 5 out of 7 days.  For some reason, I was lazy on Friday and Saturday mornings.  I'm hoping for 7/7 next week!

Highlight of the Week
This week, I was really proud of myself for meeting my water goal every day this week!  I'm also happy that I stuck to my meal plan for the week (not BBB related, but still a highlight).

Goal for Next Week
I want to get back to working out right after school, whether I go straight to the gym or work out next door.  Also, training for my second half marathon will begin the week after next, so I want to run outside at least twice this week to prepare.

Question for you: How do you feel about Cinco de Mayo?  Does your pet let you do at-home workouts in peace, or do they try to get involved?

Homemade Meat Sauce

Good evening, and Happy Saturday!  I began my Saturday with my usual step class.  This week, the instructor sped up the music, and I was sweatin' hard at the end of the hour!

Before the regular post, I wanted to share some funny search results that led people to my blog.  I check these every now and then, and here are the funny/strange ones from recently:

"sleepy husband"--not sure how this led to my blog, but I found it funny

"maria menounous abs"--from my ab-spiration post.  Her abs are great!

"the race marked"--again, don't know where this comes from (maybe race reviews?)

"pilsbury orangesicle cookie mix review"--yeah, I did post about those!  Get them, they're yummy

As promised, I'm here to post my awesome homemade meat sauce recipe!  Originally, I found this recipe online when trying to make Joe his favorite home-cooked meal.  I've made it so many times that I now just season it as I see fit that day  But, here are the general instructions:

Ingredients

• 3 strips of bacon, diced
• 1 lb. ground beef (or any ground meat you'd like to cook with)
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 3/4 cup red wine
• 1 can (16 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 can (16 ounces) diced tomato
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1 tsp to 1tbsp tabasco sauce (to taste)

Directions

1. Cut up bacon strips into small pieces.  Cook in large pot on medium-high heat until grease renders out.
2. Mix in ground beef and onion.  Cook until beef is browned.  Drain any grease.
3. Add basil, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic, and wine.  Mix and cook until most of the wine cooks off (about 5-10 minutes).
4. Add in tomato sauce, diced tomato, tomato paste, and tabasco.  Reduce head to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve over pasta of your choice, and top with parmesan cheese if desired.

Joe LOVES this recipe and even told me it's better than his sister's meat sauce that he grew up eating.  I'm usually a plain pasta fan (or use a light olive oil dressing), but even I think this meat sauce is delicious!  If you love spaghetti, I highly recommend this recipe!

Question for you: What's your favorite homemade recipe?  Feel free to share a link!

My Fears Relieved

So, I'm back after a brief break!  Yesterday was a non-stop day for me, so I had to skip out on the blog.  After a full day of teaching, I had a review session to lead AND a professional development workshop to attend!  I didn't skip out on the fitness, though!  While doing the core workout from this phase of Best Body Bootcamp, Wewii decided I needed a little help...

Can you see his head resting on my lower back?  So nice of him to try and help!

"T'was grace that taught my heart to fear,

and grace my fears relieved..."

-Amazing Grace

I'm going to share something personal with y'all today, but I'm doing so because I think it may help someone.  I have a pretty intense fear: a fear of death.  As a Christain, I know I shouldn't fear death.  I believe that Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and because He died for my sins, I will have eternal life. 

But then I wonder: what will dying feel like?  How long is "forever"?  Will I really be dead for however long forever is?  Just typing those questions (and others) gives me intense anxiety.

This happened on Monday while I was driving home after work.  I was listening to the song "10,000 Reasons" by Matt Redman on the Christian radio station, and the last verse talks about singing praise to God even on our dying day.  That intense anxiety and fear gripped me.  I knew I needed to calm down so that I could focus on driving, but I kept repeating those scary questions over and over again in my mind.

So I just prayed.  I prayed that God would cast way the fear and doubt and make my head think with my heart.  Thankfully, after I prayed, the anxiety went away.  It was such a soothing feeling and it really made me feel like God was there with me!

Later that day, I found this quote on Pinterest:

I repinned it and thought that was just wanted I needed to hear!  I really should just trust God when looking forward instead of being fearful of what's to come.  He's got it under control!  There's also a lot I need to be doing now while I am on this Earth, and I think the rest of this quote is a testament of that.

The next day, I read my devotional and received the same message!  The prayer for the day was" Lord, help me to appreciate the delights of today rather than anticipate the griefs of tomorrow."  The verse for the day that really stuck out to me was Psalms 23:4:

"Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.  Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me."

It's amazing how God has been speaking to me as a result of a quick little prayer in the car!  I feel so much more comforted when it comes to these fears, and I will be forever thankful for these words from God!

Question for you: Do you have an intense fear?  What do you do to ease it?
Might I suggest a quick prayer for peace.  You may be amazed at the answers you'll receive!

What I Ate Wednesday #2

I had so much fun with What I Ate Wednesday last week (despite the strange looks from my husband when I was photographing food), that I decided I'd do it again!  This time, I have pictures of my food starting with dinner on Monday going through my afternoon snack on Tuesday.  I was going to do my meals from Monday, but I forgot to take pictures until dinner time :)

Thanks to Jenn for hosting the link-up!  Also, if you don't know what What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) is all about, check out this explanation from Jenn.

Dinner
In following my meal plan, I made homemade meat sauce for spaghetti served with (unpictured) garlic bread!

Funny story about this recipe: I found it online a few years ago within six months of Joe and my relationship.  I wanted to cook him his favorite meal when he came to visit (we were long distance the first year and half of our relationship), and he told me that was spaghetti.  I did a trial run with my roommates and their significant others about a week before he came to visit, and they gave me constructive feedback for when I actually made it for Joe.  They gave it rave reviews, so I didn't have to do much!

Now, I make this meal as a treat every now and then.  I didn't tell Joe I was making it last night until I started cooking, and he got really excited to have his favorite dinner!

Late Night Snack
I had a bag of Fritos before going to bed.  I know I shouldn't be snacking so late, but I saw them and they just called to me.  They were incredibly satisfying!

Breakfast
I had a bowl of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest.  This is another new-to-me cereal, and I really like it! 

Mid-morning Snack
I sliced an apple before heading to school and ate the slices between classes.  I guess teachers really do like apples :)

Lunch
Typical lunch for me: salad with tomato, onion, cucumbers, and cheese; a Greek yogurt (Pomegranate Chobani...new to me flavor, which was ok); baby carrots dipped in almond butter; and Veggie Straws for a little crunch!

I've noticed lately that I've been getting really hungry only about an hour or two after I eat lunch.  I tried to combat this on Tuesday with the addition of the almond butter and Veggie Straws, and it worked!  I'll start packing another something for my lunch to make sure I'm fulfilled. 

Mid-afternoon Snack
Between the end of the school day and the faculty meeting, I snacked on a Nature Valley Protein bar.  These are my go-to afternoon snack because they keep me full until dinner and they have the chocolate that I usually crave after a day of teaching.

And there you have it!  What I ate from Monday evening until Tuesday afternoon.  In case you're wondering, I did follow my meal plan and made crock pot chicken and dumplin's for dinner on Tuesday.  So good!

Question for you: What do you usually eat to keep your hunger at bay between lunch and dinner?