Archive for December, 2012

December 31st, 2012

Wrapping Up 2012

by Tiff

Oh, 2012 – how I will miss thee!  Between the promotions, vacations, and all-around fun times, I have to admit, this has been a fabulous year.  Rather than recap the last 12 months, I think I’ll just review this past weekend.

After a workout and some errands, Kev and I hit the road to visit his parents on Friday.  We had fun opening belated Christmas presents and taking a little trip to the Biltmore House.

biltmore     biltmore

Of course, we also had fun with a few indulgences, including but not limited to Anchor Christmas Ale and Pad Thai.

anchor     thai

The food and the visit were both lovely, but I am so ready to get back on track.  I think  I’m not alone in saying, Bring it on 2013!  Upon our return, Kevin and I hit the grocery store, and I loaded up on produce, like the collard greens below.

greens     greens

That’s a lotta’ greens!  I made an altered version of my cabbage, kale, quinoa casserole last night with the collards, but don’t worry – I saved the remaining greens for New Years day.

  • Anyone else eat collard greens and black eyed peas for luck on New Years Day?
  • Who has plans tonight? 
December 28th, 2012

Fitness Friday: Speedy Sweaty

by Tiff

Happy Friday!  This post is a little later than normal since I took today off from work.  It feels good to be relaxing in my pajamas.  It felt good to relax in my pajamas last night too.  I enjoyed a some kitty time and a some wine (I tried the Veranda 2008 cab and absolutely loved it).

kitty     wine

I plan to attend spin class later, and I’m excited to bring my new Polar HR monitor.  Seeing my HR while exercising has been really interesting.  I generally don’t track calories burned, but it’s still a nice reality check to see it after a really hard (or a much too easy) workout.

workout     workout

I brought it to the gym yesterday for a 3-mile treadmill run and a quick, full-body workout.

speedy sweaty

This workout was quick but not easy.  Do 10 power cleans, 8-10 bosu burpees, and 12-15 kb swings.  Complete each move back to back, then rest a minute, and then do it again.  Perform 3 sets of the circuit.

Happy Friday – be sure to get out and do something fun!

December 27th, 2012

WIAT: Starting to get my act together…

by Tiff

I shared yesterday’s holiday eats for my weekly “What I Ate Wednesday” post, but here’s a little of what I ate later that day.  WIAT?

It’s fairly healthy but perfect.  Sure, I squeezed in my fruits and veggies, but there are were still some leftover treats that neeeeeded eating.  I think if I cut out sugar completely I’d start going through withdrawals or something.  Better not chance it…

Breakfast: pre-gym whole wheat bread and post-gym grapefruit and microwaved egg

bread    breakfast

Lunch: I’ll dig into salad later this week, but yesterday’s cold rain had me craving soup. (minestrone)

soup    minestrone

Snack + Dinner: Quest Nutrition Protein Bar (love these) and spicy bean masala (again, great for the gloomy day)

quest    masala

Dessert: the last Nutella cheesecake square.  It would have been a shame to let it go to waste.  (no photo; trust it was tasty)

It felt good getting some veggies in my belly and hitting the gym again yesterday.  I still ran and did a little boot camp while my family was in town, but I think the weights missed me.  I’ve got another run scheduled for this morning, so let’s hope it’s a good one!

  • How long do you leave up Christmas decor? *I took mine down Christmas day, so no more festive place mats.
  • Do you still have lingering holiday treats?
December 26th, 2012

WIAW: Holiday Treats

by Tiff

A ‘What I Ate Wednesday’ post seems like a great way to recap some of my holiday fun.  I wasn’t good about taking pictures of the family this year, but at least I got a few of the food, right?  #foodbloggerproblems

I didn’t get a photo of each meal (especially lunch), but here are some of the highlights…

As you can see, my looooong weekend included lots of sweets, a bit of wine, and even some exercise sprinkled into the mix.  I had a great time with the folks, but as usual, I’m happy to get back to my normal routine.  Except the work part….

  • Did you have a big holiday meal?  If so, what was it?

 

December 24th, 2012

Weekend Review

by Tiff

This Monday’s pretty marvelous, which is why I’m linking up with Healthy Diva Eats for her weekly Marvelous In My Monday post.  Here’s some of why I’m in a good mood…

#MIMM

Due to all the snow in the Midwest, my parents’ flight was cancelled.  No fear, they decided to drive to NC instead.  By the time they arrived we all needed a couple of these.**Side Note: I had two beers Friday, and both were great.  I tried Highland’s Thunderstruck Porter (pictured) and Bell’s Porter.

porter

Saturday morning consisted of a nice (but cold) 5-mile run and pumpkin protein pancakes.

polar     pumpkin

as well as plenty of fun for both silly kitties and silly dadies.  (I took the fam to Triple City Brewing.)

leia     dad

I made the Nutella cheesecake with Oreo crust again, but we also had some of Kristin’s (Stuft Mama’s) cookies.  Yum!

nutella     cookies

We wrapped up Sunday with The Hobbit in 3D (hints Kevin’s hipster-but-not glasses) and dinner at Flemming’s Steakhouse.

hd     steak

Today will be church, ham, and more dessert.  Merry Christmas, Y’all!