Ten things Tuesday

1) Our freezer was delivered! Isn’t she beautiful? I doubt she will ever be this empty again until we move. Or get realllly hungry.

2) Workout: 4 miles in 56 min

I had a GREAT run today. Recovered from my funk. Everything felt right. I was looking forward (what?) to it ALL day and when I finally went, I used an altered version of this plan from Ashley. Nothing got in the way. Not this or this. It was epic.

I was hoping to beat my 5K PR, but was not so lucky. I did however kill my 4 mile time by almost 4 minutes!

Tomato face has made a return.

3) I got a foam roller.

Guinness was NOT a fan of the foam roller. He thought it was attacking us or something and was barking like crazy and biting it. Crazy guy.

4) This bad boy got broken out and taken for a spin. I’m officially in love. So light, so easy to use, actually surprised by how non-difficult it is…I mean its only been like one day, but so far so good. I posted this pic on FB and when I said “my little friend” I was really talking about my slinky. See it? Peeking out from behind that beautiful new laptop? Hello little friend.

Then when I looked at the pic again, an ad for a “Gout Study” came up? Gout? Really? What are they getting from my profile that makes me a candidate for this ad????? I need to go stalk my FB to crack this case.

5) I changed the theme on the blog. Not sure how I feel about it yet…time will tell. I’m changing to self-hosted/designed in a while, but in the meantime I thought I would change things up. I always get ancy with this type of stuff and the pre-made themes are cool, but they aren’t totally “me” so I just don’t feel like there is one that  totally fits me yet. I will get there. What do you think? Like the new one or prefer the old? Or should I try something else all together? Decisions, decisions….

6) Poor Kyle had a cough and fever today so it was an at home work day again. I did NOT do any laundry or dishes, instead I did lots of “work-work” and prepped for my class tomorrow.

7) Today was the fifth consecutive day of sunshine and blue sky in Seattle. It was amazingly beautiful. I am on a vitamin D high.

8) Paul brought this home from work today. What WHAT???

9) Recipe for Taco Soup:

We have officially made Tuesday Taco Soup /Taco night. One or the other. The taco soup I make is an altered version of this girls recipe.

It is two things:

• Amazingly tasty
• Amazingly easy to make

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts (depends on how many people you are feeding, you might want to add another if more than 3 people)

1 can black beans, drained

1 can Kidney, pinto or chili beans, drained (I use whichever I have on hand)

1 can Corn, drained

1 can diced tomatoes, (whichever kind you like)

1 can tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups of chicken broth or 1 light beer (I normally use the chicken broth b/c we never have beer on hand)

1 package of taco seasoning

chips, sour cream or greek yogurt and cheese for topping!

Directions:

Put everything in a slow cooker (except the stuff for topping) and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Seriously, thats it.

Usually my chicken pretty much shreds apart by the time its done, but if it doesn’t you can shred it with a couple of forks.

10) In case you don’t already know, 0% plain greek yogurt pretty much tastes EXACTLY like sour cream. If you like sour cream but hate how fattening/caloric it is…use Greek yogurt. You won’t be sorry. This is probably my favorite thing I have learned so far from reading healthy living blogs.

Friday Faves 2/3

Favorite thing I learned how to do this week:

Take a screen shot of my phone. I did it on accident, had no idea how I did it, then I googled it, and what do you know? SUPER easy. *palm to fiveforehead*

This was the accident:

and this one was on purpose once I figured out how to do it:

and yes, Justin Timberlake and I are besties. And no it didn’t take me 44 minutes to figure out how to do it. I was at work.

Fave song I’m listening to at the gym:

‘Til Death by Wynter Gordan. 

I get so excited and giddy when this song comes on. Resisting the urge to just put it on repeat and have it play the whole time. Maybe I shouldn’t resist. Is that weird to do that?

Fave blogger:

Gina from Running to the Kitchen

She has the BEST recipes and she is super funny in a subtle sort of way that I totally get. Love it. Love her food. Love her pics. Love it ALL!

Fave thing I spy in my room that is a b-day present, but I haven’t had the time to open all the way and get started playing with yet:

OH BOY!

Fave thing I did this week:

Taught my first class at BC! I am teaching Performance Management and Employee Relations. Fancy huh? I have about 20 students and we have class every Wed for four weeks. It was a great time and I think the students got a lot out of it. Can’t wait for next week!

* I just read my first session reviews and almost teared up at what the students had to say. Its so humbling to be recognized for something you love and are passionate about. I am feeling very blessed.

This one is my favorite:

I guess they just couldn’t commit?

Favorite transformation:

Favorite lesson I was reminded of exactly when I needed it:

We live on the wrong side of heaven. This world is not our home. It is a broken place filled with unspeakable pain and crushed dreams. Even so, we can live in this foreign land for a while – with joy — knowing that home is waiting, celebrating here because of what we have there. “The Message” translates the words of Paul in Philippians 4:4 this way, “Celebrate God all day, every day. Revel in him!” I love it! Paul is calling us to party!  That’s right! We are to celebrate God every minute of every day for as many days as we have. “Revel” literally means “to party, to raise the roof” or, as my Mama used to say, “paint the town red.” Every day we have a choice to make when it comes to our perspective on life. That choice then determines our attitudes which then lead to the actions that determine success or failure and the quality with which we live and serve.

Paul is serious about joy, and his instructions are clear. We are to be joyful – always.  I know that many times, life makes it impossible to be happy but happiness is not what Paul is talking about. Happiness is a cheap imitation of true joy, depending totally upon man-made circumstances, while joy is an inside job and depends totally upon God’s presence in the midst of those circumstances.  Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that “the joy you have in the LORD is your strength” (GWT).  Remember that joy is not a feeling but rather a chosen perspective that recognizes the fact that God is in control. I am not talking about the power of positive thinking. I am talking about a real, honest-to-goodness transformation of the perspective from which we live. I’m talking about the power of God, active and present in every circumstance. Don’t settle for Pharisaical religion or slot-filling, box-checking church activity. Settle for nothing less than the unexplainable but undeniable power of God’s presence at work in your life.  

Source

Favorite thing I made for dinner:

Creamy Potato Soup

Recipe modified from here.

About a bag and a half of small red potatoes (just gauged how many I thought the three of us could eat)
3 (14.5oz) cans chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 Tbsp minced onion flakes
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
3 celery stalks cut up into small pieces

1 (8oz) package cream cheese (I used light)

In a crockpot, combine everything except for the cream cheese. Cook for about 5 hours on low. About 15 minutes before serving, add cream cheese. Stir until melted and thoroughly combined. Serve with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, green onions.

what were some of your favorites from this week? 

would you rate me a 4 or 5? or in between? hehe