Friday, December 30, 2011

Holiday break = time to update blog!

Winter decorations at my grandparents community home: so beautiful
 I got home the Thursday before Christmas (thanks to a cancelled flight on Wednesday night) and will be here in Ohio until January 3rd! It's such a treat to come home for a long period of time where I can get some work I need to finish completed as well as spend quality time with my sibs. 
Happy holidays!
We had a wonderful Christmas, and Santa was very generous with his stocking stuffing:
Merry Christmas!

My stocking!
I got a bluetooth headset (for driving), J. Crew slippers, workout clothes, a Pandora snowman charm, and some essential winter clothes. Everyone else loved their gifts too, and we had a great Christmas meal: roast tenderloin drizzled with Bernaise sauce, red potatoes, lots of green beans, and my brother made a cream cheese spice cake for dessert.

Speaking of dessert, Lucy and I made delicious Ghiradelli chocolate espresso cookies and homemade peanut butter banana fudge:
Nom.
We gave a couple to my Dad for Christmas and he loved them! Baking is fun, clean-up? Not so much... We also got our nails done on Friday and mine are red with a candy cane design on the ring finger:
Festive nails!
I've been running SO much since being home. Its nice having so much free time and the unusually warm weather for winter has made outdoor treks much more bearable. Theres a nice 5 mile loop that my mom and i did together 3 times this week. I also signed up for a New Year's Day 5k run with Lucy and Mom (hoping people will be too hungover to run and weíll win the prizes!). Lastly, in terms of fitness, I got a free 7 day trial at the Snap Fitness gym a walk-s away from my house so Iíve been going there every day this week while Lucy's at swim practice. One benefit I'm looking forward to is making use of the free 30 minute personal training session, and I'm meeting with Craig, who used to be an executive chef in New York, to get a handle on some good recipes and food to eat when endurance training.

And since I needed a new fitness goal to start training for in the spring semester, I signed up for the Hyannis half marathon at the end of February. I found out that both my aunt and uncle will be running the half too! 

Food-wise, I went to the doctor to make sure my weight is within a healthy range and just for an annual check up. My BMI is 18.3 so I'm healthy but need to continue eating enough so I don't get a fracture while running. What I've been doing is just eating when I'm hungry, granted I eat mainly lean meats, veggies, lots of fruits, and whole grains, but once I'm back in Boston I'm going to meet with a nutritionist to devise an eating list and make sure that I'm getting the calories I need for the amount I'm working out.

As a final conclusion to this long blog post, I've got some pictures of the meals I've been making since being home, which have all been delicious, healthy and easy to make!
Baked salmon with steamed broccoli and green beans
Standard lunch: Dietz & Watson Cajun turkey with spinach and mustard on a 100% whole wheat Arnold's Sandwich Thin with a pickle, sliced McIntosh apple and Cinnmon Apple Spice tea
Breaded tilapia with steamed green beans
Leftover tilapia with a side salad drizzled with black beans and Mom's black bean soup
Made Lucy an egg & American cheese sandwich on a whole wheat english muffin - made a perfect brunch :)
Blended French Silk frappuchino with chocolate chips
Hope everyone is having a healthy and happy holiday break and I'm looking forward to posting more frequently now!