motivational upkeep= new races + kittylove.

Our little kittyfaces have been extra cute lately...

I think they've realized I needed some extra help around the house

since Grant's still recovering from his surgery.

Here's little 6 toes Stella helping me fold the laundry...

Here she is telling me it was all done... caught her mid-meow.

What a sweetheart right??

She worked SO hard that she completely passed out on the couch after...

She was soo out of it too.

Grant started rubbing her little paw and she didn't even move a muscle.

I just love her.

Her newest fascination is water... mainly the sink:

Then miss Rexy decided she'd help with the dishes too ...

But I'm a little sad to say that our baby Rexy is at the vet today

getting spade.

I'm pretty sure she went into "heat"

because she's been making this weird purring sound and

rubbing up on everything...

Take a looksie:

Is it weird that I'm a little nervous for her?

Anyways... keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well.

So the training for the Iron Girl is.... still going.

I neeeed to find ways to keep up my motivation for the next eternity 3 months! This past weekend I did an Xtreme Indoor Cycling Class. We brought in our own bikes, set them into a trainer, cycled for 20 minutes and then ran 2 miles. We did this 3 times and then ended with 20 minutes of core work. Everything was timed so people got their competitive edge going and stepped it up a bit! It was soo much fun! And a great way to work on the transitions... I loved it. It got me really excited for the Iron Girl.

Also this weekend I got together with a few lovies that I normally run with

and we signed up for the Ragnar Relay Race in April.

It starts out in Huntington Beach and then ends on Coronado Island.

Doesn't that look fun?? It's 200 miles of puuuure running adventure and

we're pretty excited because we've got some

sweeeeet team costumes in the making...  

(be on the lookout for some upcoming TOP SECRET pictures)

Then my lovely lady Jessica came across this off the friggin chart race

called the Warrior Dash. I really can't contain my excitement about this one...

It's a crazy obstacle course where you barrel through tunnels,

 jump over fire and then crawl through a mud pit at the end!

Here's a little video of what I'm talking about...

Doesn't that look sweeeeeet?? 

I'm personally inviting anyone that wants to join!  

things of note.

Week 2 of training for Iron Girl: DONE. well... sort of.

Grant's surgery experience has completely thrown
a wrench in my training schedule...

I didn't realize how much I would be affected by it

 & it took a lot out of me... more so than I planned.

having to take care of everything after working a full day = exhaustion

Anyways... the only sort of training I was able to accomplish

this week were my swimming sessions in the wee hours of the morning.

I'm starting to feel like I might reallllllly be able to do this whole Iron Girl thing...

as reality is starting to set in, here's a few things of note:

1. A.M.Workout Sessions are Best

I read an article a while back and it said that people who workout in the morning have a 90% chance of staying committed to their workout regimen. Then I got to thinking... this would ring *true* for me because after I work a full day I just never know what might come up or how I'll be feeling and its suuuure easier to compromise my workout when I've had a loooong tiring workday.

On the drive home from one of my a.m. swim sessions the sunrise was

{unbelievable}

And to be honest, pictures don't even do justice.

It's definitely a refreshing way to start out the day on many levels.

2. You are what you eat

Ever heard that saying? This week I have had ZERO energy for cooking dinner when I get home from work. I even lost my will power for eating healthy all together... it was all thrown out the window when I suggested to Grant one night, "hey, do you want to order in some Pizza Hut?" It's definitely out of the ordinary and I enjoyed every.last.bite. . . . until the next morning when I woke up feeling all sorts of yucky. Then to top it off this was my snack the next day:

I didn't feel guilty about these overindulgences

until I remembered another article that I read that said

"70% of your success is NUTRITION"

So now it's back on the bandwagon for me.

3. I have the cutest kitties

This may have nothing to do with my training for the week...

but I just couldn't help the fact that they are off the chart bff status.

Take a look at the cuteness:

Seriously precious right??

Ohhhh I could die.... and squeeze them... either or.

I love these widdle babyheads.

Hope you're having better

luck with your goals!

Duplicate Myself

So I have this dilemma.

Remember how I want to become this little master chef person??
(if not, refer back to this betty crocker wannabe post)

I don't know what to do because I have THE BEST intentions to make these seriously delicious meals... I'll plan out the meals for the week... go grocery shopping... buy all this scrumptiously healthy produce and then somewhere in the mist of my week, dinner plans get skewed, random things pop up and two weeks later I find myself throwing moldy grossness away in the garbage...
a.k.a. throwing away $$$
Sounds delish right? I'm suuuuure you're thinking you're never coming over for dinner NOW. 

I'm having a hard time balancing work, gym, cooking, cleaning, life etc etc...
(and lets be real, who isn't?)

But how does one keep up with everything??

I feel like I just need to duplicate myself  just to keep up with life.

How do I get into this cooking thing when I find myself
wasting food more than using it?

And the more this happens, the more unmotivated I am to TRY to cook.

I need help.... advice... anything!
(ughh$!##?)

It's not all hopeless though...

I did manage to make my VERY FIRST breakfast casserole!

I've never made any sort of casserole in my entire life,
Heck, I didn't even know if I liked casserole...

but I was recently inspired by my mom because on Christmas morning

she made the most deliciously amazing breakfast yumminess!

This was MY end result:





  Doesn't it look disgusting?? Here, lets try a different angle...
  

Nope, still horrific looking!
(the lighting from above the oven totally helps, I know)

But I can reassure you that it tasted oh-so-yum!
Grant said to me with a mouthful, "Oh my gosh! This is sooo good!"

And then after he finished eating he said "You are so master chef..."

... pause ...

(crickets)

"... well at least with this recipe"

Oh how I love his honesty. Supportive, but honest.
I've clearly got some work to do.

However, I do feel like it was an accomplishment at least

in my hubby's book.

Anyways.... here's my next breakfast adventure from my #1 favorite Skinnytaste.com

Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Shake

(Sometimes I wish I could take cool pictures of food like this...
I might have to upgrade from the trusty iPhone to a big kid camera eventually)

I didn't give it this name either.... Mrs. {superstar} Gina from SkinnyTaste did.
But the fact that the word *Healthy* is in the title gets me going.
I love eating healthy stuff and NOT just because eating nutritious food
is... (are you ready for the textbook answer??) "what you should do" per say,
but literally I feeeeeel so much better when I do. Don't you?
It's not easy though... nothing good in life is everrr easy.

This could be an easy on-the-go meal & since I {heart} my zZzzz's in the a.m.
I figured I'd give this recipe a whirl.
I'm always trying to eat a "healthy breakfast"
and this seems as though it could  be satisfying as well.

Here's the "how-to" if you're interested.

I'll keep an update on how it turns out... but on the flip side,
if anyone has advice on how to not be a complete failure be a better cook
go ahead and throw them my way.

Gracias!

i'm a bad wife.

Yep, bad wife status. I'd like to claim that I'm new to this whole "wife" thing, but mannnn have I got a few things to learn.....

My sweet little hubbyface Grant had to have hernia surgery last week (which he's had for the past 2 years, so its about dang time) and I didn't even think about it until the day before when my mother-in-law asked me...

"So Amy, who's going to take Grant to his surgery & pick him up?"

Me: "uhhh...."

Being the amazing status that she is, she volunteered to take him.

So I'm at work the Friday he's having his surgery and I swear people left & right are coming out of the wood works to give me the guilttripofmylife when they ask "why I'm not there with my husband during surgery??"

My answer?

"uhhh, I didn't know I was supposed  to be there."

Yeah, so that alone should definitely win me lovely #1 wife points.

I mean, lets be real here... I'm new to this whole "wife business".

We've only been married a little over a year now!

Anyways..............I did  go pick him up from the hospital but to add

another dagger wound to my bruised ego,

the first words he said to me as I walked in the room 

(still waking up from anesthetics, mindyou)

"ohh... you do love me"

SERIOUSLY!?

I got it allllllllllllll day... even from the hubster who wasn't even coherent!!


Here's the little pitiful pants himself after surgery....

(can we talk about how BIG his feet look?? gotta love iphone pictures)


ANYWAYS, I made up for the forgetful mishap when I played

"cater to my handicap hubby" all weekend.

And he's definitely got it rough since he's on some heavy duty pain meds & playing with his current love affair "modern warfare: black ops" on his PlayStation. I swear to you, he practically makes sweet love to the friggin game every time he plays it.

I mean the first words out of his mouth to the nurse when he was waking up from anesthesia was...

"i love my PS3"

WTF? Where's the love for the wifey, dude??!

... there is sooo a love affair going on. 

What's your man's current "love affair"?

{owwiee} status.

I figured I would document some of my progress on my New Years "goals"

Ya know, give myself some accountability to actually finishing them.

Week 1 of training for the Iron Girl is complete.

And I have already learned a few things........
Let's take a looksie, shall we?
{i just love lists}

1. Bike Maintenance 

REI has free bike maintenance classes every month...

and since I'll be riding a lot more I decided it was probably time

to learn the general "how-to" in regards to a bike.
I signed Grant & I up for the class to learn a thing or two.

Here's the metal machine I'll be putting those
trusty skills to the test on...
(lets just hope it'll be in one piece when I get done with it!)

2. Sports Specific Strength Training

I bought Grant this book for his birthday
because he's planning on doing a 1/2 Iron Man in Hawaii this summer
(I've never been to Hawaii so I'm pretty stoked!)

... and since I'm doing an Iron Girl I decided to educate myself as well.

Goooood stuff. Definitely recommended for anyone

interested in triathlons.

3. Training Schedule

I'm a super big fan of Hal Higdon's running schedules.

I've used them while training for my half marathons....

Thanks to my pro runner status sister-in-law
Lindsay for referring them to me!

Now as I look for a sort of guideline to train for this Iron Girl,

I found a Sprint Triathlon training schedule by Hal Higdon (cha ching!)

He offers 2 different schedules & here is the link

I always sort of tweak the schedule to fit my taste,

but it's nice to initially have a guideline to go off of!

4. Epsom Salt

Of allllllll the dancing running working out I've ever done in my whole life,

I have never used Epsom Salt?

I heard that it helps with soreness?? 

I'm beginning to believe that I should try it though...

This last week has taken a toll on my body... like reallllllly sore {owwiee}

And I can only imagine the soreness is going to continue...
So any advice with this stuff??

A new year already??!

well... Happppppy New Year friends!

We went down to San Diego {love it there} for New Years and got to party it up on a yacht... it's not everyday you get to cruise the Coronado Bay on a 5 story yacht, well... at least not for us, that is!

Here's a few pictures of the yacht:



{This is a view from the deck of the 3rd story. Those doors automatically open}



{This is a view from the inside of the 3rd story out to the deck}

{These stairs lead up to the 4th level where they have a BBQ, jacuzzi & helicopter pad}

 

{And here it is all lit up at night}



The last picture we took in 2010!



It was definitely a memorable way to bring in the New Year!

We also got to celebrate my husbands birthday down there. We opened lots of presents, went to breakfast & got to cruise around in a gorgeous red BMW Z8.



How cute is he?? I just love him.

 Here's a video Grant took as he was riding in the BMW...

My favorite part of the whole thing is how hard

he's laughing. So fun.

Now any good new years wouldn't be complete without a few resolutions, right??

And honestly, I really hate  the term "resolutions". I feel like it's so played out... so I'd like to call them goals. It just seems more realistic if it's a "goal".

So here's a few of my goals... and yes, I really do only have a few...

1. Keep it cookin'

Yep, I want to keep expanding on my cookin' skills.

 Thought I'd share what I've recently been making on the regular...

Edamame, Craisin & Wild Rice Salad

Isn't it colorful?? (This is right before I mixed it all together)

Anyways... it goes GREAT as a side with grilled chicken.

Here's the recipe.

2. More Date Nights with the hubster.

I could definitely use more consistent date nights with my man. I feel like marriage is an ongoing process that you have to work at continually... some fun date nights should definitely help with that! I also want to start a little date night scrapbook (gives me an excuse to get my craft on) & plus I think it'll be fun for our {future} kids to look back on.

3. Iron Girl Triathlon

Hey, everyone needs some motivation to workout and what better than signing up for a race?? I totally signed up for my very first Iron Girl Triathlon! Since I've already ran 3 half marathons I decided it would be time to switch it up a bit... I even signed up for a swim class for beginner triathletes. I don't know about you but I've never really had a "real" swim lesson- I can definitely fend for myself but hey, I don't sign up for races to just squeak by... I mean, c'mon! I want to kick some booty!!

This week I had my first session... not thinking anything of it I pulled my hair into a ponytail and grabbed my good'ol Victoria Secret swimsuit... although I might have looked cute at first, I don't think it was so cute when I pushed off the side of the pool to start my laps and completely mooned the lifeguard on stand when

my pants came down!

So yes, a big thank you goes to Victoria for showing off my secrets.............

Annnnnd with that, I decided it was time to get serious.

I went out and purchased my first Speedo ever & of course I had to get a matching zebra swim cap to go along!

 So now I'm pretty pumped!

Our kitties seem to have a newly found interest in water too...

They've recently discovered:

the bath tub.



Rexy looooves playing with the shower curtain & Stella loves drinking the water.

And our latest news is that Grant goes in for surgery this Friday...

So keep him in your prayers!