I tried it

Move that body: 2.5-mile walk with my boys

I was tired. I was hungry. And I still had to make it through a “quick” trip to Walmart.

A pregnant woman’s nightmare, I tell you.

I tried hinting to Mark that we should get a hot pretzel at the Subway inside the store but Mark is sort of oblivious to those sorts of things. Unless you say, “Mark, buy me a hot pretzel,” he’ll go along his merry way, eying Swiffers and four-packs of Guinness.

I might have been up a cranky creek without a paddle but I lucked out: It was sample day at  Walmart. You should have seen me attack exuberantly approach the nice older gentleman manning the Starkist station. He probably thought I hadn’t eaten in days the way I took the souffle cup of the Starkist Sensations Sesame Ginger Shrimp off the table.

Too bad (for me) – it tasted like doody, and I threw it away immediately.

Good (for me) – around the corner was another older person. A woman, this time, and she was serving up Johnsonville Brat Patties on a sandwich thin. Now that’s what I’m talking about! I shared the bite with Mark and felt much better. Not only had I found an interesting new product but I no longer felt like making Mark walk home for not getting me a pretzel.The only thing that would have made it better was some mustard … and a beer.

In honor of my Walmart buffet new product tasting, I thought I’d share with you some new (to me, at least) things I’ve eaten recently.

 

We have Skinny Cow Heavenly Crisp (PB flavor), Breakstones Cottage Cheese Doubles (pineapple), Thomas Bagel Thins (cinnamon raisin) and Ronzoni Garden Delight rotini.

All of them get a BIG thumbs up for me but I’m particularly in love with the Skinny Cow crisp – it really is heavenly – and the cottage cheese double. Both would be great snacks to pack in a lunch for work.

Have you tried a new food lately?

iFail

Move that body: Umm, does putting away laundry count?

I.

Dropped.

My.

iPod.

In.

The.

Bathtub.

And, yes. There was water in it.

I am so sad.

And it's all my fault.

Except not.

Because I can't help but be enamored with "The Help."

I couldn't stop listening even to take a bath.

And my iPod fell in the tub.

I pulled it out quickly and it kept playing.

Except it now pauses randomly.

According to message boards, I should have turned it off immediately and let it dry for a few days.

I couldn't.

I wanted to listen to more of my book.

And so now my iPod nano (5th generation) may be ruined.

Or suffer a fate of pausing randomly.

I have no idea what I'm going to do for the next 9 weeks when I turn to long walks more and more.

Heck, I need it when I run because my pace bores me.

I am sad.

Three Things Thursday

Move that body: 3.31-mile run (three walk breaks totaling 0.25 mile)

1. I got real sassy today. I ran my new route backwards. Yep. Sure did. I think running a route backward might be one of my favorite ways to shake up a run. It's simple but you really do see things from a different perspective, the landmarks are different and the hills are different. I added a bit to the route, too, which was nice. Well, except for the hill I added but whatev.

2. I wore the same outfit from Tuesday on my run mostly because it sort of fits and the shorts are supposed to hug my legs as opposed to the Tempos, which do but shouldn't. I'm hitting up ladies night at the running store this weekend and I'm hoping to score a good discount on a slightly bigger pair of running shorts. I figure they can get me through the next 8.5 weeks and post-partum. Plus, a bigger pair of shorts never hurt anyone. Except my XL basketball lookin' shorts that I'm pretty sure Mark threw out in the move.

3. Mark came home last night and to make sure he never leaves me again to welcome him home, I thought I'd make a nice summer meal - pizza. Yes, pizza is totally summer. It is - if you put veggies on it.

The goods: Boboli whole-wheat crust, Philly Cooking Creme savory garlic flavor (instead of sauce), sliced tomatoes, sliced zucchini, red onion and a smidge of cheese.

This pizza was easy, quick and tasty. Really tasty. Now some of you might snub your nose at the processed cooking creme but it was a nice sub for sauce and uber flavorful. Plus, I had a coupon.

Do you ever try a new product just because you have a coupon? I am such a sucker for a good deal.

All the single ladies

Move that body: 2.3-mile walk

Last night, Mark left me.

For Indianapolis.

He had to go to some “I’m awesome at my job” teacher powwow/leadership conference and I got to stay here. In the Summit City. Hello, taste of my single days.

Literally.

Usually, when Mark is gone for whatever reason, I use it as a time to eat the things that I love but Mark won’t touch – summer squash, asparagus, white beans, black beans, kidney beans, Brussels sprouts, barley. I had originally planned to do breakfast for dinner – a favorite for me, not so much for him – but as I made the drive home, I wasn’t interested. I didn’t want to make myself pancakes. In fact, I didn’t want to make myself anything. So I did what any girl would do. I went to KFC.

Way to lead by example, Kim. Way to go.

I picked up a two-piece dark meat mail with mashed potatoes and cole slaw. Oh, and there’s always a biscuit. I pulled one of my old “let’s pretend it’s healthy” moves, pulling the skin off the chicken and not eating the top of the biscuit. I also applauded myself for not picking mac-and-cheese, my preggo fave, as it’s more calories than the potatoes.

Yeah, way to go, Kim. 

***

After dinner, I decided to pass the time by pulling more mutant dandelions and watering my vegetable garden.

In there we have five tomato plants (three varieties), kale , basil, thyme and rosemary. I still want to add some cilantro, bell pepper and maybe jalapeño. My goal this summer is to have the option of doing a good pasta or a good salsa – two things you can’t go wrong with.

Now that they are planted, the real work will be keeping Denali from peeing on them as he’s done to the flowers in the yard. At least he was nice enough to keep me company while I was working last night.

Do you have a veggie garden? What fruits/veggies are you looking forward to this summer?

House call

Move that body: 3.05-mile run with Denali (two walk breaks totaling 0.2 mile)

I moved boxes and dug. Moved boxes and dug. Went down the stairs and up the steps and down again. And, after some real detective skills, I was ready to run.

1 day shy of 31 weeks … I’m a bit terrified that I’m going to get even bigger!
I already look (and feel) a house!

Before I get all whiny, let me tell you something: It was 60 degrees outside at 7:30 a.m. SIXTY DEGREES! And overcast! I couldn’t have asked for better weather – it’s been something I’ve been waiting for for, oh, five months. Combine those conditions with my newly decided fave route in the new ’hood and I was as happy as a clam.

Except not.

My hamstrings were still sore from Sunday’s marathon gardening session. I felt slow. Heavy. Labored. I really thought the first half-mile might kill me but I kept truckin’, focusing on my breathing and the audiobook du jour - “The Help.”

Sidenote: “The Help” is awesome so far, and I really love it as audiobook. I think the story is meant to be heard and not read, and I’m not saying that because I don’t actually read anymore.

I got to the 0.6 mark, turning onto a street that would take me into one of the most beautiful parks in the city if I could run more than 3 miles, and I began making bets with myself to make it to the next street, to the next house and then, finally, to the turnoff where I took a 0.1-mile walk. Denali was kind enough to take a bathroom break during this walk, giving me a few extra seconds of deep breathing.

I felt notably better after the break and relaxed. Relaxed into the scenery and the book and the feeling of running. I took one more break after another mile and took it home.

And despite a good finish, I felt a bit overwhelmed that this might have been a good indicator that things are a changing. My pace is definitely slowing – 11:15 today (I cringe just writing it) – and I think more walk breaks will be required to keep on keepin’ on. Sucks. Really does.

Sidenote: No worries to fret, my friends. I am being mindful of baby boy. According to What to Expect, things are good as long as you can feel the baby move within 30 minutes after you’ve finished exercising. He normally makes his presence known within 15. In fact, after one run last week,he nearly knocked the Runners World out of my hands.

And since I’ve whined, anyone want to add something? A bad run, bad day at work, dog pooped on your bed? Tell me so we can commiserate together!

Soup’s on

Move that body: Nearly 3-mile walk with Denali

This morning, I did something I haven’t done in weeks – OK, months. I packed a lunch that was planned for and and made by moi! No frozen meal or scavenging at the hospital cafeteria for me :)

Isn’t it lovely? The lunch, I mean – not the mess of bananas and monkey cookie jar in the background. The little paper sack with the contents brimming reminds me of packing when I was in school. Except I never had to take that much food to get me through and there was always a Little Debbie. Mmm … Little Debbies.

Anyway … you wanna know what’s inside?

From left, we have a diet root beer, taco soup, cheese for said soup, tropical fruit salad, carrot sticks, an apple with a 90-calorie almond butter packet and banana-chocolate pudding. I also have a package of freebie whole-grain tortilla chips in my desk at work that I’ll have along with the soup.

There may be a lot there (and yes, I will eat all of it) the star of the show the taco soup. It’s an old Weight Watchers recipe that is super tasty and super easy. I threw a bunch of stuff in the slow cooker last night before bed and then, like magic, I woke up this morning with lunches for the week. Let me tell you, there’s nothing like waking up to a big crock of soup when it’s supposed to be 70 degrees. Maybe I should have made it last week as planned …

Anyway, I’m sure you want to know what I threw in the slow cooker.

Weight Watchers Taco Soup

1 can kidney beans*, drained and rinsed

1 can pinto beans*, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, undrained

1 can diced tomatoes in juice

1 can Rotel tomatoes with mild chiles

1/2 packet low-sodium taco seasoning (or 2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning)

1/2 packet ranch dressing mix (optional)

1/2 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey, cooked and drained (optional)

2 cups water or vegetable/chicken broth**

Put every thing in the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours. Serve with cheese, whole-grain tortilla chips and, if you’re feeling sassy, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream.

This recipe makes 4 good portions. Most of the recipes you’ll find call for double the ingredients but Mark doesn’t eat this so I either have to freeze it, give some to my mother-in-law or eat it for every meal for, like, ever.

*You can use any combo of beans you like – black, pinto, kidney, white – just use two cans and rinse them.

**Other recipes don’t call for the water/broth but it’s super chunky without it. More like a nacho topping. Wait a minute … that doesn’t sound so bad.

Weekend warrior

Move that body: 2.4-mile walk with Denali and Mark

I am not going to lie: I was starting to feel like a bit of a slacker this weekend. Exercise-wise, that is. I did a big fat nothing yesterday and this morning’s planned run was swapped for a post-brunch walk.

Then I realized something. I may not have worked out but I worked. With a capital manual labor.

This …

was transformed into this …

The future site of my vegetable garden. And while there might have been a slight exaggeration in the first photo, I swear that there were mutant dandelions that hand 12-inch roots.

And, of course, there was this …

which was turned into this …

The baby’s room is painted!

Of course, I did have some help with that task.

       

Mark was a definite trooper! It would have been an arduous task without him. As far as Denali? That sure is paint on his ear. I guess he felt the need to inspect our work.

I did some conservative estimates – 2 hours each painting and gardening – using my pre-pregnancy weight, and I burned more than 1,100 calories! I guess I have no reason to feel like a slacker, and it definitely leaves no room to feel guilty about those Carrot Cake Waffles I made for brunch.

I assure you, though, friends that I made sure to take breaks, stay hydrated and lie in the grass with Denali. Twas glorious!

What did you do this weekend?