Excuse me, have you seen my motivation?

This week I learned:

1. I do not like schedules!  I can't stick to one.  So much for my smart coach training plan....
2.  Even though there is a treadmill in my basement, that does not mean I will use it.
3. I am now paying "the fat tax"  (a monthly fee for a gym I barely use)
4.  I have completely lost the motivation I had two weeks ago!
5.  I'm addicted to groupons!  I  bought two this week...
6.  I'm also addicted to Beyonce's new song "Love on top"

that is all....

This weekend I'm going to Vermont for a lovely rainy fall weekend.  I promise to take lots of pictures!

The Ugliest Smoothie

This morning I woke up craving a smoothie.  Our fruit supply was limited so I had to do a little scrounging to find appropriate items to add. Here's what I came up with: OJ, cranberry pomegranate juice, ice, pomegranate nonfat yogurt, and chopped frozen spinach.

Once I blended everything it looked like this:

ewwwwwwwwwwwww..... but once I tasted it, I was in heaven!!!

 I couldn't believe my taste buds.  I had always wanted to try spinach in a smoothie and but I thought it would taste bad.  I love finding new ways to sneak veggies into foods!

I also really wanted an omlette (even though I had one for dinner last night too).  My go-to omlette is spinach and shredded mozzarella cheese. Can you tell? I <3 Spinach!

Here's the final product, a satisfying and savory breakfast!  Now I'm off to attempt a 3 mile run...
wish me luck!

Good Morning, Beautiful!

I have always wanted to be one of those girls who just rolls out of bed and looks amazing.  Unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with that ability.   A while ago I read some beauty tips for waking up prettier.  Here's some that worked for me:

1. Wash your face before bed.  Always!  I HATE doing this.  It just seems like an extra chore, but it really does make a difference.  I try to do it every night now, but if I'm feeling extra lazy, I'll just wipe my face quickly with a make-up remover towelette.  Hey, it's better than nothing!
2.  Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!  I use Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew on my face, and Aveeno body lotion for the rest of me, especially hands and elbows.
3. I still haven't figured out what to do with my hair so it looks ok in the morning.  I've read that you should braid it and take it out in the morning, or sleep with a satin pillow case to keep it smooth.   Since I haven't invested in a satin pillowcase and I'm terrible at braiding,  I usually just leave it down or put it on a bun on top of my head.   If it's oily in the morning I sprinkle in some dry shampoo that I got at Sephora.
4.  Put on Certain Dry deodorant before crawling under the sheets.  It won't help you look better in the AM, but It will help you stay fresh all day!  I don't know how it works, but I swear by this stuff. 
5.  Spritz your sheets with your favorite body spray or perfume.  You will go to sleep and wake up smelling lovely!

Sweet Dreams!

"You're such a Beer Girl"

I attended Harpoon's Octoberfest last Saturday.  As always, it was a good time.  I went with a friend from high school and a friend from college.  While sipping on some UFO,  my friend from high school turned to me and said, "You're such a beer girl."  I took offense to this.  I looked down at myself, "do I have a beer belly or something? That doesn't sound like a good thing."  She tried to explain, "No it's not a bad thing, you just enjoy beer."  I had to admit this was true.  Beer does tend to be my drink of choice.  Whether it's a hoppy IPA,  or a refreshing lager, I enjoy it all.
If I love it so much, why don't I know anything about it?   After a few hours of hanging out and drinking beer, we decided to take a tour of the brewery, mostly for the free samples, but also because we wanted to learn more.  The tour guide asked, "What are the four main ingredients in beer?"   uhhhhh can I buy a vowel?
Answer:
1.Hops
2. Water
3. Yeast
4. Malt
Duh! So simple!  She went on to explain the whole process and how they keep their yeast happy, and make their delicious beer for beer-loving girls like myself to enjoy. 
After I failed the pop quiz, we were lead into a bar above the brewery.  There they gave us samples of the tasty 100 barrel series and the scary Leviathan.  This 100 barrel series was called, Session 38: Docesna - Czech Hop Harvest Ale.  It was really good! Too bad they only make 100 barrels.  It was perfect for fall, nice and spicy.  The Leviathan Triticus was the next sample.  It weighs in at 11.5% alcohol.  That's as much as a wine, folks.  It was a little too strong for me, but I enjoyed getting to try it.
Cheers!

Just me and my treadmill

Tonight is the first time all week that I have had any time to exercise.  So much for my training plan! 
Here's my excuses for the week:
Monday: After work I had an appointment to get a facial at a spa in Melrose.  It was lovely, and afterwards I didn't want to get sweat into my freshly extracted pores! Gross!
Tuesday: I had dinner plans with my Aunt.  We have been trying to find a night that worked for both of us, and I didn't think, "Sorry I can't get dinner, I have to go to the gym" was going to fly with her. Besides: family>exercise.
Wednesday: I went to the Topsfield Fair, my favorite fall event.
Some highlights from the fair:  Sharing a smooch on the top of the Ferris wheel, seeing 3 day old piglets (sooo cute), having hot apple cider and freshly made cider donuts(yumm), and seeing the biggest pumpkin ever (1600 and something pounds)!

So tonight I was determined to have some much needed QT with the treadmill.  I had planned to do two miles and I finished under 25 minutes. It felt pretty good to get my heart rate up and listen to some Katy Perry.  I'm hoping to get 2 more short runs in this week. 

Saturday I'm going apple picking with some friends.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful so I'm really looking forward to it.
 I<3 fall.

Off to a Good Start

I just signed up for the gym on Friday, and I've already been three times.  Woohoo!  And, I've been sticking to my smart coach "Intelligent training plan."  The plan tells you what days to run, how far to run, and what pace you should keep.  I found the pace a little slow, but it's better for me to ease back into running.

Today I got to try out my Nike Plus sportsband and running sneakers.  I think it will be a great tool to help me improve my pace and endurance.  It keeps track of how far you're running and how fast you go.  After your run you can log onto the website and see the stats.  I only did a mile today just to test it out.  I think I'll really like using it when I run outdoors because I'll know the exact mileage of my run.

This week's plan is:
Monday: 2 mile Easy run @ 14.33 min/mile
Wednesday: 2 mile Easy run @ 14.33/mile
Saturday: 3 mile Easy run @ 14.33/mile.

Let's see how well I can stick to that.  I'm not sure I've ever considered a three mile run "easy" but I'll try my best.  My goal for the 5k is to finish within 30 minutes.  It sounds pretty manageable, but the race is in December so I think the cold weather might slow me down.  Good thing I went to school in Burlington, VT for 4 years, I know I can handle the cold!

My very first post!

What is Mac&Cheese&Peas?

I've been wanting to start a blog for a while.  What gave me the final push to sign up for blogspot was a comment from my brother.  Hurricane(Tropical storm?) Irene left me stuck at home on a Saturday, and while making one of my favorite meals(Mac&Cheese&Peas)  my brother said, "I don't believe that you went to school for Nutrition, I never see you eat anything healthy, when was the last time you ate something organic? You probably went to school for something dumb like magazine journalism, and have been lying to us about your major." 

 Side note: I went to UVM(University of Vermont) and graduated in 2010 with a bachelor of science in Dietetics, Nutriton and Food Science.  I still live at home and don't do the food shopping.

After this offensive outburst, I didn't really have a retort.  Sometimes I feel like I should be living a more "nutritious life style" but I just shrugged it off and thought to myself, "What's wrong with the occassional comfort food on a rainy day?"  and more importantly "Why does he consider magazine journalism a dumb major?"  I would have loved to do that. I have an obsession with magazines; Women's health, Glamour, Shape, and (a  guilty pleasure) Cosmopolitan, are my favorites.

Another reason for starting this blog was that I really need a hobby.  I spend too much time on people.com.

Topics you can expect to read in this blog will include( but not be limited to):

food (restaurants, cooking, snacks, baking, recipes)
everyday life (social life and professional life)
getting and staying organized
health and fitness
beauty
budgeting
career
traveling
books
tv
maintaining my sanity while living at home with my parents
my quest to find a hobby!

And there you have it!

About me:
    I just turned 23. I just live in a suburb of Boston(North shore).  I went to UVM and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Dietetics.  I currently work in Cambridge for a Nutritional Scoring company, called NuVal.  I also work per diem at a small community hospital as a diet technician.  
I blog with my little netbook that I got as a graduation present.   It's a Asus EEE pc.

In other news, I just signed up for my first ever 5k! I'm going to run the Marathon Sports "Somerville Jingle Bell Run."  It's not until December 18th so I have plenty of time to train.  I know a 5k is only 3.1 miles, but to me that seems like a marathon right now.  My job is very sedentery and I've really been slacking in the "working out" department.
Step one: Register online for the race:  Enter my weight class??....uh...can I skip that one....
Step two: Print out SmartCoach training plan:  Easy to do, and hopefully easy to follow.
Step three: locate Nike Plus running shoes and band I got for my birthday (and have yet to use), and get to the gym.
Step four: Go to gym and sign up for membership, and start running!

wish me luck.

Coming Soon!