Cooking with SP

Now my dears, I never claim to be a Martha. Or Ina. Or Giada. Or anyone who cooks fabulously. But, I do cook. And I like to think of myself as at least semi-talented in the kitchen (y'all know I can bake. And I make a mean rum french toast, thanks to my island loving mother), but, with my lovely dietary restrictions and my constant drive to lose weight, there aren't a lot of generic options out there--after all, it has to please both myself, and the hubs.

Enter the genius women behind the show and cookbook, Cook Yourself Thin. Now, I realize this isn't exactly rocket science, and I already do follow many of their "swaps" and whathaveyous, but, as I'm mulling over the cookbook this morning, planning a fabulous dinner date with a darling friend tomorrow night I'm positively thrilled at all the yummy and healthy options that this lovely book has provided me with! Of course, I have to make some tweaks to be gluten free, but, it's a very lovely little cookbook.

And y'all know I love the dessert section. I mean, hello, I would have never thought to swap zucchini for oil/butter. OK, maybe you would have, but, I wouldn't have.

So, there you have it. I've found a new cookbook to obsess over.

And my friend may not be getting her copy back (cue evil laugh).

Or, I'll be making copies all day in the mailroom.

Happy cooking!

Um, seriously

My hair is naturally curly.

I haven't worn it curly in probably years. Years I tell you. (yes, I am that person who straightens their hair at the beach)

Until today. Thought I'd give the flat iron a break--since it is humid and all.

I forgot how curly my hair is.

And I've never been curly as a redhead.

I freaking look like Carrot Top.

It's going to be an awesome day.

Don't judge the 'fro.

ETA:
Here's the hair. This is post work out, so, it's not as poufy and curly as it was this AM.

Musings & Monday

Good (hot & humid) Monday morning to ya! Did you all survive the weekend? (Let's hope so!)

Let's dive right in, shall we (doesn't a cool swimming pool sound divine...ahhh...).

1. Somehow got "convinced"/talked myself into actually running the 14 miles that was on my training plan. After last weeks 12 miler, I figured I'd do 12 milers and then work up to 14. Ha. Funny. Twas a great plan until at 4:55 Friday afternoon one of my colleagues convinced me that I could meet him at the lake (ahem, run from my house)--loop the lake, and then run home. Yikes.

2. But, I did it. And, if you live in my town, you know that running the lake is kind of a rite of passage. And I did it--for the first time in 5 years. Yahoo!

3. Because of my ambitious running behavior, I forced myself to take an ice bath when I got home.

4. Verdict: I would not have survived the Titanic. But my legs didn't really hurt on Sunday. Bonus!

5. Go see The Proposal. Now. Go. Take an afternoon off. Do it. Do it now. It's hilarious. Warning: do not see The Proposal if you've just done any amount of ab work (i.e., sit ups, etc) as you will not be able to laugh by the end of the movie. I believe that sitting through the movie itself makes a fantastic ab workout. True story.

6. I'm determined to convince my colleague to run the lake with me again this weekend. Does this make me crazy?

7. Looking forward to a short work week next week--I'm actually considering taking a few days off for a mini vacation. Thoughts?

8. Had a lovely Friday night dinner with a dear friend--who has the most darling baby ever! Had so much fun!

9. Had a slight breakdown yesterday when a shirt didn't fit me. I swear, running has made me gain weight, and it's really freaking emotional! Damnit! I have such issues....

10. Am in desperate need of a Diet Coke, but, have no $$ for the vending machine. Cruel, cruel world.

11. Took the doggies on a car ride yesterday since it was too hot for their Sunday afternoon walks. Twas very cute until this AM when I noticed a button had been chewed off my J. Crew jacket that was in the backseat. Awesome....

12. Getting a haircut this week. Trim, or chop it? Thoughts? (mind you, I've been growing my hair out for 2.5 years--but, it's just so hot)

Happy Monday y'all! I've got to get movin'--it's a busy day around here.

xoxox,
SP

Winner, Winner!

I want to thank each of you who entered the Warriors in Pink giveaway. You all had such great reasons for being included and I love that. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.

I could not chose, so I turned to random.org to find me a winner.

Min: Max: Result: 5

Which means, Ashley, you're the winner! Send me an e-mail with your address and I'll get this package off to you.

Thank you again to everyone for entering. You are all truly beautiful and strong individuals who clearly have a gift to care for others.

Thank you for reading my lil ol' blog.

Happy Friday, ya'll!

Went to the Chapel...

Four years ago today, I went from single gal to married woman. Neither the husband nor I would tell anyone that these past four years have been easy or perfection, but, they've been fantastic nonetheless.

We've been through a lot together, and really, as cheesy as it is, there's no one I'd rather have gone through it with. :)


Tonight we're dining at Roy's, which is a tradition for us since we went to the one in Kauai on our honeymoon. I was gifted a card and fabulous DVD (Bride Wars! How perfect!) this AM and can't wait to get off work and celebrate with my honey. And really good food!


Now, please indulge me in a little walk down wedding memory lane......

My dad walking me down the aisle. Let me tell you, he tried to trip me several times.

Saying our vows. My bestie, L was my matron of honor and my father is law was the best man. It was a stunningly beautiful day. Considering my part of California, in June, can easily get into the high 100s, it was a cool 85 degrees.

Now we're married!

Cutting our cake--which to this day I am obsessed with. It was an outdoor country wedding, and our cake had frosting in a basketweave pattern. It was French Vanilla with olallieberry preserves (my favorite!) and Belgium Chocolate with buttercream. And wouldn't you know, we didn't get any of it? And my parents and sister ate the top piece while we were on our honeymoon?.... I might have to order a replica this weekend...

Me and my forever and ever and ever bestie, aka my twin, my other half, Lara.


My cousins and I cuttin' a rug. That rose that I'm holding was to symbolize my mom. I walked down the aisle with it, and then handed it to my dad who placed it on an empty chair. It was really sweet.

One of my favorite pictures from the day. Notice my pink shoes?

It was a fantastic party! I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Why I hate "lunching"

Only, I don't. One of my greatest loves in life is going out to lunch during my workday with friends, family, or co-workers. It's a great way to break up the day and get away from the office.

But, there are two problems:

1. I always eat too much/don't plan ahead and eat the wrong things. i.e., chips in my salad yesterday were not corn tortilla. Awesome.

2. I am a klutz. I have a gift for spilling things and or running into things. Wearing white is just not smart for me. You'd think that I'd talk about how I spill food on my clean white shirts (which I do. And often), but, that's not the problem. Problem is, I've had waiters spill salad dressing on my clean white shirts two times in the past 3 weeks.

And my Shout Pen thingy is just not cutting it.

White shirt fail. Boo!
Damn it.

Musings & Monday

Well hello lovelies! Do you all know about my giveaway? Well, you should! Please click here and leave a comment to enter. You could win a darling basket of Warriors in Pink gear to show your support to those living with or those touched by breast cancer. You should totally enter. I know you want to.

What am I musing about on this hot Monday morning? Read on and ye shall see.

1. It's flippin' hot. Like so hot that the walk from the car to the gym at 6 AM had me sweating. Gross.

2. I tried to lay out on Saturday but called it a day after 20 minutes. It's just not fun when you're literally dripping--and the fact that you think your dogs might die of heatstroke too.

3. I ran 12 miles on Saturday! Woot, woot! And it was pretty awesome. I felt way better than I did on either of my 10 milers. Maybe taking Friday off actually is a good idea...?

4. Problem is, I burn a ton of calories on those runs--and as you know, I'm still trying to lose weight. And after those long runs, especially in the heat, I'm not really hungry. I eat breakfast/post run protein shake and lunch normally, and usually just snack a bit more throughout the day--which is fine. The hunger hits the next day where I could literally eat my arm. And then I eat too much and feel sick. I've got to find a happy medium to force myself to eat enough on Saturday after my run.

5. And I'm sporting the flip flops and wearing knee braces today. Totally classy, I know. Judge away. But, I burned 700 calories before breakfast--I think I'm allowed a lapse in fashion (don't worry, I'm wearing pants--you can't see the braces!).

6. I freaking want a bagel/English muffin/pancake like you would not believe. Something with wheat--please!!

7. I did make gluten free cookies on Saturday (because I'd been craving a cookie for like 2 weeks). They were good. Kind of salty, which was weird. And the dough had a weird texture, but, they were good. Bonus: the husband wants nothing to do with them. Ha!

8. I spent Saturday recovering from my run watching Friends with the puppies. Can you ask for a better weekend? I think not.

9. Husband and I have our anniversary coming up this week. Do we have plans? Nope. Did I buy him a gift? Yep. Because I'm awesome like that. I am really bummed that we haven't made plans--I was going to order us a replica of our wedding cake topper (since my family ate ours whilst we were honeymooning)--but, time ran out, and the thought of making myself sick by eating cake on our anniversary just doesn't sound appealing. Boo!

10. I'm debating yoga today or ditching and going to lunch with the husband and father in law. I think yoga will win since I've managed to gain weight since Friday. Awesome.

11. I have to teach a jewelry making class to my young women on Wednesday night. I'm only slightly freaking out.

12. It's only Monday....

Well my dears, I better get goin'--there's a lot to get done today! (isn't that everyday?)

Please enter the giveaway!

And have a fabulous day.
xoxo,
SP

Warriors in Pink

A while back I was contacted about hosting a giveaway. Never one to turn down goodies and or sharing the love with my readers, I happily obliged.

And with good reason. All the goodies in the basket that I am giving away are Warriors in Pink products.

I have been very fortunate that breast cancer has not personally touched my life, but, I know that may not always be the case, and I know there are countless daughters, mothers, sisters and wives that will battle it--as well as their families and friends. Cancer in other forms has touched my family and friends and you know what I have to say about that? Cancer sucks!

With that in mind, please consider participating in any of the following to help find a cure for breast cancer:

• Attend your local Race for the Cure:

With 121 Races nationwide, it seems that no matter where you are, there’s a Race for the Cure nearby. Don’t miss the all-new “Warrior TV,” where racers record a 15-second video message for the Warrior in their life who they are racing for, then download the clip to share after the race. There’s no better time than now to not only stand up for the cause – but run for it!

• No time to be out and about?:

No problem – you can still get involved: Log on to FordCares.com to learn more about Warriors in Pink.

• Wear your pink proudly:

There are plenty of goodies in this basket for you to wear proudly and show off that you are a Warrior. We all are.

Please leave a comment telling me what being a Warrior in Pink means to you.

The giveaway will close at 12noon Central Time on Wednesday, June 17th. I'll announce the winner on Friday, June 19th.

Thanks!

I really need to watch the news

Because then I would have known there was a big a$* storm headed my direction last night and I could have been prepared for the massively long and scary power outage.

(I was instead watching Friends on DVD and cooking dinner--you know what dinner became thanks to the power outage? Chocolate, peanut butter, corn chips and cereal. Awesome.)

I promised you a giveaway, but, alas, we'll have to wait as I could not photograph the items with no power, thus, no computer.

And, my backyard, pool and garage are flooded.

As is my upstairs balcony (how?!)--and I barely made it to work because my neighborhood is under 500 million feet of water.

Why am I here and not at home cleaning up the mess?

I'm on deadline.

I'm going to give the husband an earful when he gets home.

Mid Year Recap

Remember how I had all these lofty goals for 2009? Well, I figured it's time to revisit them and keep myself honest. Although, I won't lie, it's clearly sad to see how far I've missed the mark thus far.

On December 31, I decided that in 2009 I would....

Lose 10-ish pounds.
Mid Year Recap: We're teetering at 8-9 at best. I blame running. I was down 12 lbs in April, but, since I've been racking up the miles, the lbs aren't coming off. Sure.

Feel better about me.
Mid Year Recap: It's a process. I feel awesome that I can run, and that I'm doing something I didn't think I could do, but, it's a process.


Finally re-do the upstairs bathroom.
Mid Year Recap: Has.Not.Happened. We did, however, re-do the downstairs bathroom, so, in my mind, that counts. We've redecorated the upstairs bathroom, which has helped it a lot, but, we still need to paint the walls and stain the cabinets. No idea when we'll have time for that.

Write more.
Mid Year Recap: Hasn't happened. Haven't made the time. But, after a lovely dinner with MM, I have some new strategies for tackling my book and taking the time to write. This will be the summer of SP I tell you!

Grow professionally.
Mid Year Recap: Had a good performance review, am trying to take on more responsibilities, learning from my new supervisor (who currently has strep!) and am currently working my booty off without an intern. Hopefully, I will continue on this path.


Actually speak in Italian on a semi-regular basis.
Mid Year Recap: That's funny. I had to drop out of class only the third week into it because work was all-consuming at the time and when things calmed down I was too behind. I'm sad that they don't offer classes over the summer and in the fall I'll be in a graduate course and won't have the time to take Italian. Double dog boo! But, hopefully next winter I can resume my studies. Totally sucky.


Hopefully add to le royal family.
Mid Year Recap: On hold. With the husband without a job, it's just not feasible. And with my new found love of running, I have other things to look forward to. Marathon in November, people! It saddens me, but, at the same time, is a big weight off my shoulders and I feel like I can just sit back and enjoy life as it comes. Does it count if we added Beagle Ella Mae?


Become more crafty.
Mid Year Recap: Funny. I bake a lot now. I'm an awesome baker. Crafty? Notsomuch. Baking is a craft, right?

Be happy.
Mid Year Recap: It's a process. However, I do find myself much happier than I did just 6 or 7 months ago. Of course, there are plenty of things I'm un-happy about, but, overall, I am blessed.

So, it's not where I wanted to be 6 months in, but, I still have 6 more months of 2009. Let's see what I can crank out by then!

P.S. Be sure to check back tomorrow for an awesome giveaway!

Only the lonely

The husband is in California (officially, he called to let me know he'd crossed the stateline--jackass).

I am not.

What do you do when you're an unemployed top of your class with honors and excessive work experience recent graduate?

You drive to California to visit family and eat yummy food, of course.

And leave your road trip loving wife at home. With the dogs. And the cat.

We'll be lucky if we still have pets when he gets back. They're full on driving me insane. They hate me. They only behave for him.

Example? The beagle hid from me under (literally) laundry for a good 15 minutes this morning. Making me late to work. Oh, and treats and toy bribery are lost on this one. She's a handful.

It's going to be a long week.

Wish me luck.

Musings & Monday

Good morning, and happy Monday! Let's jump right to it, shall we?

1. I ran 10 miles on Saturday--again. My knees did not hurt really at all after, and I ran it 2 minutes faster than I did the previous Saturday. I was hoping to shave off a bit more time, but, I stupidly ran 6 miles on Friday, so, seriously, by mile 2, my legs were toast. New plan? Short run, or no run on Friday--maybe just some elliptical action. We'll see. I still want to burn calories, but not kill my legs.

2. I also acquired a blister the size of New Hampshire on one of my toes, which has left me a hobbling little mess the last few days (yes, the flippies flops are under my desk), but, it's worth it right? And my sweet husband's comment of "I am going to be so proud of you when you finish your marathon because you're putting yourself through a lot to get there". It was sweet. Doesn't make up for my mangled feet, but, whatever.

3. 7 miles this AM before work. Whoot, whoot--that's more than I've ever done on a Monday morning.

4. Of course, I forgot a bra--so I had to speed home and get dressed there, almost making me late to work. Third time in as many weeks as I have done that. Seriously.

5. Explain to me how my entire paycheck went to bills and groceries? Because seriously, ZERO disposable income this month. Lovely. Have I mentioned that my husband still doesn't have a job? He's not thrilled. (I'm not either, but am being a supportive spouse)

6. I spent way too much $$ a few weeks ago on a new running tank and am utterly obsessed with it--biggest problem I realized yesterday? My marathon is in November. In Oklahoma. What the crap am I going to run in then? That's cold. (you'd think I'd have bigger issues on my mind, but, that's the current winner)

7. Umm, my dad called me last night. From the freaking Lakers/Magic game. Oh, yeah, he has seats (didn't know that) and took my 9 year old sister. SURE. SURE. SURE. SURE.

8. Speaking of bras (see #4)--I ordered the new VS BioFit bra a while back and it just came the other day--holy moly, I love it. It's probably the best (and supportive!) bra I've ever owned. Buy one now.

9. How is it that I got a smidge sunburned on Saturday, but today you cannot tell at all? Hmph! Not that I wanted the sunburn, just a little color. Boo. My sunless tanner is just not cutting it.

Alright my lovelies, I better get going--I have a full day ahead of me--including dragging my boss to yoga at lunchtime (she's in a "biggest loser"-esq competition with her SIL and step mom. I'm going to make sure she wins).

xoxo,
SP