Where Have All the Workouts Gone?

Remember this??

So back in May I said I was going to give myself a much needed break from the gym because I started to get that burnt out feeling. Well I did and I didn't. As you know I took a little European vacation and was going to consider that my break, but wouldn't you know my Mom talked me into (ok she only had to ask once) going to the gym on the ship with her. We only went the one day we were at sea, but man did I go full out! I did a full body weight workout since they had a kettle ball at the gym followed by 30 minutes of 30 second sprints.

Then I came home and was ready to go back to the gym. Well even with that one workout in there during the two weeks I was already out of shape. But did I listen to my body when it was fatiguing earlier than normal? Nope I pushed on through and then regretted it the following days because I could barely move. So then I told myself I had to ease myself back into my routine. So it was two or three times a week the first two weeks. These last two weeks I've made it four times and hoping for four or more again this week.

You may also remember I was doing a squat challenge...Yeah...didn't finish that. I had every intention of doing squats on my trip, but once I was officially on vacation I said screw that! Ha ha. I got half way through and had minor results. Since my body was already used to doing the squats, I think my very minor results came through doing the stability ball catches with my feet. I have every intention of working those into my normal workouts. I might even give the squat challenge another try...who knows.

June 1st I started a core challenge. While I haven't followed the schedule to a T, I have done every set on the list...I may or may not have had to do 4 days in one day because I got sidetracked an entire weekend. So far I haven't seen any results from this one either. But then again most of the sets on the list I do on a regular basis and I haven't changed the way I eat...Mexican food is just too hard to give up. My friend has seen results, so I guess it does work.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
The Challenge: Do the listed crunches every day. Do any type of crunch you want, mix it up, do it throughout the day, focus where you want.						1-Jun
						30 crunches
The Twist: is located below the line. This is an optional challenge to  the challenge. It will focus on a specific area of your core.						30s plank 10 pushups (or chose 1 below)
2-Jun	3-Jun	4-Jun	5-Jun	6-Jun	7-Jun	8-Jun
35 crunches	40 crunches	45 crunches	REST	50 crunches	55 crunches	60 crunches
35 Hip Extensions 35 Quadrupeds (or chose 1 below)	1 set of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)	*Chose your own extra*		50s plank 15 pushups (or chose 1 below)	55 Hip Extensions 55 Superman (or chose 1 below)	2 sets of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)
9-Jun	10-Jun	11-Jun	12-Jun	13-Jun	14-Jun	15-Jun
65 crunches	REST	70 crunches	75 crunches	80 crunches	85 crunches	REST
*Chose your own extra*		70s plank 20 pushups (or chose 1 below)	75 Hip Extensions 75 Quadrupeds (or chose 1 below)	3 sets of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)	*Chose your own extra*
16-Jun	17-Jun	18-Jun	19-Jun	20-Jun	21-Jun	22-Jun
90 crunches	95 crunches	100 crunches	105 crunches	REST	110 crunches	115 crunches
90s plank 25 pushups (or chose 1 below)	95 Hip Extensions 95 Superman (or chose 1 below)	4 sets of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)	*Chose your own extra*		110s plank 30 pushups (or chose 1 below)	115 Hip Extensions 115 Quadrupeds (or chose 1 below)
23-Jun	24-Jun	25-Jun	26-Jun	27-Jun	28-Jun	29-Jun
120 crunches	125 crunches	REST	130 crunches	135 crunches	140 crunches	145 crunches
5 sets of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)	*Chose your own extra*		130s plank 35 pushups (or chose 1 below)	135 Hip Extensions 135 Superman (or chose 1 below)	6 sets of: 100 Seated Side Crunches (or chose 1 below)	*Chose your own extra*
30-Jun
Day 30
150 crunches
150s plank 40 pushups (or chose 1 below)

Cute as a Button - Boy Colors

For Christmas my Momma gave me a bunch of cute little buttons and labels and stuff for scrap booking and I finally had a reason to use some of it...ok well maybe just one button.

My oldest cousin is finally having a baby and this was the card I made for the shower. Pretty simple, but cute. I cut the letters using my Cricut and the button is adhered with a glue dot.

I just may have to re-create this in girl colors...now I just need to find someone having a baby girl...ha ha.

June Meal: Spaghetti Squash Frittata

Why yes this is a breakfast or brunch recipe, but hey sometimes breakfast is better at dinner time...ha ha. I had been wanting to try spaghetti squash again after this disaster last time around. I also probably discuss spaghetti squash and ways to cook it every week with one of my coworkers who has fallen in love with it.

So I went on good ol Pinterest and found this recipe from SmallChickBigDeals.

I changed it up a bit so below is my version.

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash
1 bag of spinach
2 large zucchinis grated
1 T olive oil (plus a little extra for the spaghetti squash)
5 eggs
1 T Fox Point Seasoning
1/2 cup Shredded Colby Jack cheese
Salt
Pepper

Directions

Cut your spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Rub a small amount of olive oil on the insides of the spaghetti squash and sprinkle the insides with salt and pepper. Place spaghetti squash cut side down in a 9x13 casserole dish. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 mins.

When spaghetti squash is done, set it aside to cool. While it cools, start heating up 1 T of olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add your spinach and grated zucchini. Once all your spinach is wilted take it off the heat (about 5 mins).

Back to the spaghetti squash...if it's still too hot to the touch use a hot dish pad to hold it up. Scrape out the insides with a fork back into the same 9x13 casserole dish it baked in. Once all your spaghetti squash is out, add your cooked spinach and zucchini on top.

Take your 5 eggs and scrabble them in a bowl with your 1 T of Fox Point seasoning. Pour the eggs on top of your veggies.

Sprinkle your shredded colby jack cheese on top and then place in a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes.

Cut and enjoy...maybe even with a side of bacon....mmmmmm bacon :)

**I will say the one thing I didn't really care for about this recipe was that it was a little watery on the bottom...as evidenced by the large photo at the top. I think it would have helped if I squeezed out the spinach/zucchini before I added it on top of the spaghetti squash. However, after reheating it the next morning it wasn't as watery. Either way it was good.

Weekend Recap

Friday night my mom and I went and saw Peter Pan at the ballet. It was a really good performance. Peter Pan may have looked a little like Carrot Top, but once he started jumping and flying around you kind of forgot about it.

Saturday was spent on the water. It was a beautiful day and even though it was super hot outside, the water was just the right temperature. Oh and it sure did feel good to be back on a jet ski! I love it, I love it, I love it!

Ahhh...the one and only chocolate shake that is worth the 2 to 3 dairy pills I have to take in order to drink it! This is one of my favorite things about going to the lake...a chocolate shake from the Hop on the way home Sunday evenings.

The Last of the May Movies

On the plane rides home...

Hyde Park on Hudson

I really didn't want to watch this movie and was confused on how the movies worked on this older plane. I thought there was only one movie channel and you just had to watch whatever movie came on and then wait for the next one to start. I, however, was wrong, but didn't figure that out until the movie was halfway over so I stuck with it and finished it like a pro! The movie was mainly about FDR and his mistresses, but it was also about the new King of England (King from the movie The King's Speech) coming to America for a visit about America being England's ally. The movie was a little slow, but overall not bad. My Mom said she enjoyed the movie.

Oz the Great and Powerful

Glad I didn't see this in theaters, but was pleasantly surprised it wasn't as bad as I thought. I kind of feel like the whole movie was cast wrong. First of all James Franco was supposed to have quit acting like years ago right?!?! Yet he keeps coming out with new ones. But seriously he should quit for real. I do think Mila Kunis can be evil, but her innocent part was a no go for me. Rachel Weisz gave the best performance in my opinion. However, even with my distaste for the casting the ending of the movie made it worth the while.

Mama

What a let down. I was surprised that they would be showing a scary movie on the plane and now I know why...it wasn't scary. It was an interesting story, but it just never had me on the edge of my seat. Nor did anything make me jump. When I watch a scary movie I want to be scared or freaked out or something. I was telling a friend that I thought the movie actually had a happy ending, but when I was telling her about it, it turned out it wasn't as happy as I had thought...ha ha. Granted I had probably been up for 20 hours at this point so who knows what I was thinking.

Jack Reacher

Oh Tom Cruise, you are so good at entertaining me even if the movie isn't that great (ahem. Knight and Day that I seem to watch every time it's on TV). In this movie he plays a retired Army cop that has been hiding in the shadows for the last few years, but after a suspect writes his name down he comes back to help prove guilt or innocence. Pretty interesting how everything comes together. Pretty much a guy movie, but I still liked it.


Back in the States...

The Hangover: Part III

Still funny, but much much tamer that the first two. But really I think we all know the first one was the best...ha ha...except Elizabeth who fell asleep (sorry had to share that ha ha). Anyways back to this one. I like how they brought back old characters and had snippets from the other two movies. Oh and if you watch it make sure you stay through the first set of credits...ha ha...that parts not so tame ;)

Star Trek Into Darkness

Chris Pine is really coming into the role of Capt. Kirk. I was never a Trekkie growing up so I have no idea what the original story line is, but I sure do like the new versions. The movie is very entertaining and doesn't seem as long as it really is (around 2 hours). I ended up seeing it in 2d and not 3d for two reasons. One, I don't care for 3d that much and two, I was with my aunt who has a cast on her leg so we had to sit down at the bottom and 3d probably would have made us dizzy from that angle. Overall, it was a good movie.

Candy Theif

First of all, please ignore my sad looking fridge...at least I have milk and eggs...ha ha.

This past Sunday I was hanging out in my brother's room and noticed he had the above Toblerone bar sitting on his dresser. I'm pretty sure I said "mmmm candy" and started drooling and he looked at me and was like "take it I'm going on a diet". Well you don't have to tell me twice! My new candy bar (well most of a candy bar) and I drove home and then the candy bar went into my fridge so the sugar ants (that I think have finally disappeared) wouldn't find it. Well well well...wouldn't you know someone else found it! I busted out laughing when I opened my fridge and saw this!

We shall see if I actually share this...ha ha. If the past is any indication, that won't be happening. If you aren't with me when I'm eating candy you probably won't get any. What can I say?!?! I have a huge sweet tooth!

Rig Site Visit

I've worked in the oilfield industry for almost 5 years now and have also been around it my whole life, but it wasn't until a just few weeks ago I actually got to visit a rig site!! We stayed back by the turcks and housing units the whole time, but it was still really neat to finally see everything in person.

Hard hat is a must! Once I had my hat and safety glasses on...all I wanted to do was the safety dance...ha ha...sadly I was the only one who knew what I was talking about

My first rig! ha ha

You can barely see him, but there is a rig guy up there

Pipes

Housing/ 1 office

Since they weren't actually drilling...there was the sweetest looking dog at the top of the stairs that greeted every worker we saw go up there...I'm guessing he was their mascot...ha ha.

May Movies on the Way to Italy

End of Watch

Pretty intense movie, but good. I heard they actually shawdowed some cops so that they would have a better idea of how to play the roles. If you don't like a lot of foul language, then don't watch this movie. If you could care less about the language, I would suggest watching it. I will also say, it is more of a guy movie, but I think everyone can find something interesting about it.

Broken City

Another OK movie from Marky Mark. I don't know what it is, but his movies have not been on his regular level lately...ever since Ted...ugh. I'm ready for 2 Guns to come out and for his star status to return in my eyes...ha ha. But back to the movie...not bad, but not great either. It was interesting enough that I didn't fall asleep or turn to a different movie. I say if you wanted to see it, but never got around to it then rent it. If you never had any interst, then just forget about it...ha ha.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

Definitely a different take on the classic story and I liked it!! The movie is fun and has just the right amount of cheesiness.  Also, it's always nice to see a girl kick some boo-tay.

Gangster Squad

Better than I expected. While I like Ryan Gossling and Emma Stone, I did not want to see this movie orignally because of Sean Penn. Ever since I saw walked out of I Am Sam, I just can't stand him. The movie was kind of bloody, but hey that's to be expected in a gangster movie. Overall, I think it's worth a rental.

Warm Bodies

This movie was cuter and funnier than I imagined it would be...ha ha. While I'm not really that into zombie movies or tv shows, this one worked for me.

Congrats Card

I made this card for my friends going away party. I know it says Congrats instead of Bon Voyage, but the going away party was because she got offered an amazing job in another state half way across the country. So to me that deserved a congrats! Plus she just graduated college and got engaged. Talk about a lot going on. Anyways...I got the idea for the card from this pin...

I had black washi tape that I knew I wanted to use so I switched the colors around and had a pink background. I made the "bubbles" with my cuttlebug and a paper studio embossing folder. The circle and the flower are both from punches that I have and everything else I did by hand. I'm still working on my "tying a bow" skills...ha ha...one day I'll be satisfied with a bow.

In case you are interested, this was one of the going away presents I gave her.

Sadly the only picture I took was on my desk right after it was all put together...ha ha...so please excuse the Hobby Lobby bag and highlighter. It took me a while to find a frame I liked. I knew I wanted a square frame, but couldn't find one with a big enough picture opening that wouldn't cut off the El in El Paso. Finally found this record frame and had the picture people at Hobby Lobby cut me a custom mat. To my surprise the mat was fairly cheap and they cut it right then and there...score! I love how it turned out! And I want to thank Elizabeth for helping me find a frame and Erica for helping me put the backing back on the picture...it was not easy...ha ha.

Oh I almost forget...I found the picture on etsy. Check it out here.

May Movies Before the Trip

Mud

This was a really good movie. Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon are just crazy/sane enough to really pull off their roles in this movie. The young boys in this movie also did really well. It's a little slow, but definitely worth it.

Pain and Gain

Sadly I had too high of expectations for this movie. I mean I love Marky Mark and The Rock, but it just didn't work for me. Some parts were funny, but overall I was underwhelmed. Sadly the last few movies Marky Mark has done haven't impressed me...nothing beats Shooter...ha ha. This movie was based on a true story which I wasn't aware of. Not that that has any bearing as to whether or not I would watch it...I just didn't know and found it interesting.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

I liked this movie. I thought it was going to be really campy so I never thought about seeing it while it was in theaters. It just so happened to come on HBO or Showtime one night so I recorded it and I'm happy I did. I like how they took Lincoln and made him this little awkward giant that starts killing vampires for revenge.

On another Note...I swear Anthony Mackie is in every other movie that comes out these days. In this post alone he was in Pain and Gain and AL: Vampire Hunter!! And he's in a few others that I've watched recently or seen trailers for.

Every Color Under the Sun

I might have a small obsession with Target tanks... If you just counted them, and got the number 23 you did not count wrong...ha ha. Sadly I actually thought I had more, but 23 is still a decent number don'tcha think?!?!

If you counted 21, I would understand since I do have 2 white ones and 2 black ones. But since they are the different colors now because of all the washes I like to count each one...ha ha. I need Target to come out with some new colors soon! ha ha.

Question: What are your favorite tanks? Or do you have any clothing item in every color made?

Confession: I found a plain Gap shirt that I like and I might be stocking up on that one too...so far I have black, dark grey, mint, lavender, navy and pink!

May Meal: Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Dairy Free Cheese

So I did make a new meal in May...the second to last day...but I just never posted it...thought y'all would like to see some vacay pics first :)

I told a friend that once I got back from my trip I wanted to start eating healthier/cleaner...well once I got in some Los Cucos and Freebirds...ha ha...I love me some cheeseless nachos and cheeseless burritos :)

One of my favorite fitness bloggers, Cassey Ho at Blogilates, posted a video/recipe about making a pizza crust using cauliflower. I thought it sounded interesting and decided to try it out for myself. I deviated a little from her so to watch her video and see her recipe click here.

For the crust:

1/2 of a head of cauliflower
1 egg
1/2 cup of dairy free mozzarella style cheese
4-5 generous shakes of Fox Point seasoning from Penzey's Spices (it has some garlic and basil in it along with some other things)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Chop the cauliflower up into smaller pieces then place in a food processor (or blender like me). Once there are no more chunks, dump it in a microwavable bowl and then microwave for 8 mins. After that, add your cheese, egg and seasoning and mix well. Spread on your pizza pan to make a thin crust. Bake for 15 mins.

Take it out of the oven and add your toppings. I used a little pizza sauce, spinach and another hand full of dairy free cheese. Place back in the oven for another 15 mins.

Here are my notes for this:

a. If you don't have a pizza pan, you will have to bake the crust longer. The first crust (the one shown above) I baked for 15 mins and the edges were nice and crispy but the middle wasn't. I made a second crust and baked it for 30 mins and it still had a little mushy part in the middle, but I was able to pick the whole thing up without it falling apart. I still have that one in the freezer waiting to be used...ha ha.

b. Dairy free cheese is not the same. While I couldn't tell when eating the pizza, I did try it by itself. Never ever do that...it is not good. If you are lactose intolerant, I suggest using real mozzarella cheese and just take a dairy pill.

c. The crust will not taste like bread, but that doesn't mean the pizza doesn't taste good. Maybe it was just the Fox Point seasoning, but I think it gave the pizza a really good flavor.

d. I originally used 1/3 of a head of cauliflower, but it shrunk so much in the microwave I had to chop up some more and repeat the process again. This is why I suggest using half a head instead of a third like Cassey says.

Let me know if you try it and what you think about it. I can't wait to try my other crust that isn't mushy!!

One last thing...

Ok I know I said yesterday I was done with vacation pictures, but it wouldn't be a full cruise vacation recap without showing y'all all the cute towel animals we had waiting for us every night!!

We aren't quite sure what all of them are, but this is what we came up with...(each row left to right)

1. Elephant
2. Mouse
3. Monkey
4. Frog
5. Platypus????
6. Aardvark????
7. Bunny (my parents got back to the room before we did and hid the bunny in our room and my Dad made us guess what it was before we could go look at it. Sadly it took us a while to figure it out...ha ha...but I won and guessed right!!!! Oh yeah!!!)

Rome, Italy (part 2)

Fountain of the Four Rivers (Danube, Ganges, the Nile and the Rio de la Plata) in the Piazza Navona

Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed this fountain. Legend has it that the River God on the right is cowering because he is afraid that the church of Sant'Agnese will crumble on him. The church just so happened to be designed by his rival Borromini. However, the fountain was years before the church was built...ha ha.

Church of Sant'Agnese...the legend goes on to say that the woman statue on top of the church is turning her head away from the fountain because of it's ugliness. Again this was all just a legend we were told. 

Old Roman streets now below the city

Flag of the Vatican City...it is it's own city within Rome

View of St. Peter's in the distance

Not sure if these chairs are out there every day, but we visited the Vatican on a Wednesday and the Pope had given his audience that morning. The Pope, however, does not give his audience from the balcony you see in this picture. He gives it from the balcony of the Pope's apartment.

View of the Vatican from the entrance to St. Peter's

Most of the people you see in this picture are waiting in a 2 hour line in the rain just to get tickets to go inside St. Peter's.

The Pope's apartment

Michelangelo's first sculpture resides inside St. Peter's

The letters you see on walls are actually 2 meters tall. Everything is so proportional inside that you can't tell. Truth time...I thought the tour guide said 12 ft, but I googled to make sure and everything was saying 2 m or 6.6 ft. Guess I was so intrigued by everything and was busy trying not to get lost in the sea of people I mis-heard her.

Literally a sea of people!! This is walking out of the church and into the "lobby" area.

The Basilica is called St. Peter's, however, Pavlvs (Paul) is written more than Peter.

Vatican guards...I'm assuming these cape like things they are wearing are rain coats and that they have their crazy uniforms on underneath :)

That's all folks!! I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I tried my best not to overwhelm y'all with too many...ha ha.