Injury Probz.

Probably not the best title, but the best fitting title. Even with the 'z' included.

I haven't felt the need to blog lately, even though I have product reviews to do. I started blogging because I wanted to inspire and motivate people. I started to LOVE running. Not just love but LOVE running. I was getting to all the obstacle course races and waiting for the day I could do a pull-up. And then, then I was bummed out back to eating cheeseburgers and ice cream, watching television.

I need to quit feeling sorry for myself.

But first, let us back up. About 2 weeks ago, I did the Cybex Arc Trainer at the gym. For those of you who don't know what it is, it is pretty low impact elliptical type machine. Later on that day my knee started bothering me. Oddly enough, I put Icy Hot on it, like I usually do. I was getting a lecture from my husband and my boss about how Icy Hot isn't going to help anything. Well, after cardio days I would always use Icy Hot on my knee because to me, it helped. That day, it did not. It just kept getting worse. When I got off work I iced my knee from 6pm to 9pm straight. I was miserable. The next morning, I couldn't even walk to the bathroom. Every time I took a step and bent my knee it was so utterly painful. I made a doctors appointment for 3pm that afternoon. He determined that it could be a lateral meniscus tear. Awesome. Because my husband just had surgery for this back in August on the same knee. We did an x-ray because apparently they won't do an MRI without it. Everything came back clear. I was told to ice it, take anti-inflammatories and not walk.

DON'T WALK???? How does a person just NOT walk? That makes so sense.

I have been good at keeping off it except the days I feel like I am invincible. I have learned on class days that stairs are absolutely miserable. I cannot go down them without determining rolling down them would be less painful. I have my MRI this past Thursday and my knee hasn't hurt as bad today. Except now. I have been studying for a couple of hours and so my knee has been dangling. It is miserable. I also missed out on my prescription because the doctor was out on Friday. Lucky me!

I know I am not supposed to run or walk, but I am missing running and the gym HARD. CJ said we can go back on Monday since I haven't been in as much pain. But I will probably just work out upper body. I am afraid I have gained 3 weeks of hard work back. I have been in my self pity, not wanting to cook, clean or even care for myself. Fried chicken strips, cheeseburgers, chocolate and ice cream have been my best friends. I feel as if since I can't work out, what is the point?

But I am learning that I cannot have that mentality. I need to stay strong and keep up my healthy lifestyle. Why? Because I have found that sleeping in makes me weak and tired, I don't get ready for work, I am extremely lazy and I feel very unhealthy/bloated. This self pity needs to stop. I need to step it up.

So with that, here I go.

XO, Sandra

P.S. I am waiting on the MRI results. Please cross your fingers that there is no surgery in my future, maybe just some physical therapy. I have never broken a bone or sprained anything in my life. So this is killing me inside.

Influenster: Ralph Lauren.

WOW! Y'all. I have no way to describe how amazing this perfume smells! It is absolutely amazing. It is very chic, light and airy. I have been on a huge perfume kick late and LOVE that I was one of many to try this amazing scent! 

It came neatly packaged and packaged perfectly. The outside matched the product inside.

My husband even loved the smell of this perfume and he usually thinks I am crazy when I try or buy a new one. It is definitely a must try, and I would recommend it a million times over.

As I did receive this product to test it, my overwhelming review is not a depiction of what I received it for. This is my pure, honest, review of the product. I truly believe in it and RL did a great job here.

XO, Sandra

Beauty Box

I was happily, able to score Target's spring beauty box! I was so excited to be able to snag one after missing out on the Fall/Winter box with so many rave reviews. This box did not disappoint.

My favorite part of the box so far is the color of the lipstick. I NEVER get a good lipstick in any sample boxes. It is always a hot pink that someone would never, ever wear on a normal day. This box fills every need and is something I will completely use! I am excited to try the lotions, take the sunscreen on my honeymoon and write a follow up review on the cleansing wipes. I have 3 styles of cleansing wipes right now of the Simple, Up & Up brand and Sephora. I also have an upcoming review of a few BB cream/Foundation. 

I absolutely love trying new things. Especially when they are products I will actually use! Have you scored the Target spring beauty box? What has been your favorite product so far?

XO, Sandra

Easy PB Cookies.

I haven't blogged much lately. Lots of working out, complaining about food, grocery shopping and enjoying movies & snuggling with the hubs and pups. So lets get to it!

I have been very diligent about making sure I record EVERYTHING into my Fitbit. I swear, it has made me crazy! Yesterday was 5K and leg day! A good 1.5-2 hour workout that made me light-headed at the end. Afterwards, I was rewarded with Ihop! Even though I was allowed to get pancakes ( thanks, CJ!) I only ate one with very minimal syrup. I was so proud of myself! So afterwards when we went grocery shopping I bought stuff to make 4-ingredient peanut butter cookies and paleo chocolate zucchini bars. Well, I didn't buy everything for the bars so I just made the cookies.

I grilled dinner last night of steak, asparagus, potatoes and jalapeño smoked sausage. The smoked sausage isn't entirely the best for you but it is gluten-free, no MSG and fulfilled by spicy craving without turning towards mexican food.

Oh! I did get this amazing 4 spice kit at Costco for $1.97. I used the pumpkin spice in my coffee instead of cinnamon this morning. With it being cloudy, it definitely took me back to fall this morning!

Now, lets get to the real point of this post: COOKIES! I truly have to blog about this and give y'all the receipt because it is SO easy and tastes just like peanut butter. You won't even miss the flour.

4-Ingredient PB Cookies

Ingredients

1 large egg, whipped

1 cup of almond butter (or peanut butter)

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 cup of coconut palm sugar

Baking

Preheat oven to 350*

Whip egg in medium large bowl. Add peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until completely smooth. Fold in coconut palm sugar until blended. Roll into your choice balls, place on cookie sheet and flatten with a fork. No need to grease the cookie sheet at all and they won't expand so you don't have to give them too much space to roam!

Now, in mine I used regular peanut butter because CJ insisted it was better when we went to the grocery store. He compared the nutritional labels like a champ! I was so proud of him. I was hesitant to buy the coconut palm sugar for this recipe as I have a TON (Costco size) of organic sugar. I did a lot of reading and there truly is no substitute. It has the feel of regular sugar but the taste of brown sugar. When I opened the package, that is exactly what I found. Now, I don't see why you couldn't do a mixture of the brown and white sugar to get the same results. I didn't test it, but I am sure it could be done. Let me know if anyone tries it.

Since I was over my calories, due to dinner yesterday, I made CJ ate one. They were approved as they were "tasting like peanut butter." I tried one this morning and they were WAY softer than ANY peanut butter cookie I ever had and they tasted just like peanut butter. YUM! These will definitely stay in the cookbook for, forever. A simple, guilt-free cookie. I guess I can't complain about not having sweets anymore!

As it being Sunday, it is REST DAY and homework day. I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and is ready to rock out the week.

XO, Sandra

Crashing.

I can't lie. I am about an inch from getting a hot fudge brownie sundae, crying in the shower drinking wine and calling into work sick so I can watch Netflix all day. Yep. I have reached the bottom!

It is okay though. I am feeling better, sore as shit though, and the protein drinks are way too sweet for me. Salads taste good, until the girl next to me is eating pizza. My fruit is amazing, until the girl next to me is a eating a cheese stick. And if things couldn't get harder - free tacos. Need I say more??

I have a ton of homework for final projects coming due and man, I just want some chocolate! I keep thinking CJ won't know... but I know I will crack! I can't keep anything from him. So until our honeymoon, or until he gives into my grouchiness, I will eat this:

I do have another recipe for y'all. There are so many ways to make POTATOES. Yes, potatoes. The best food I can eat yet next to strawberries and steak! This way is my favorite.

Garlic Roasted Po-ta-toes.

Ingredients

- Any amount of potatoes you feel best (I used about 4, gives us some for dinner, lunch and usually some leftover).

- Oil of choice (I used avocado oil this time)

- Salt

- Pepper

- Garlic powder

Chop potatoes up into wedges or cubes, put into a large bowl. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle seasonings on (I used a ton because I love seasonings). Stir. Put into a glass 13x9 pan and bake at 400* for 30 to 40 minutes. Done.

You could also fry these on the stove-top with a little bit of oil. If you want fried potatoes, dice them up. If you want more like french fries, cut them like wedges. Just remember to soak them for 10 minutes in cold water if you go the stove-top route so they get soft.

Now that I have shared my miserableness for wanting SWEETS (Jillian, if you are reading this, please make some banana split cake...) and shared my awful recipe writing skills, I will now continue to study.

One month left before the end of the semester.

Assignment countdowns:

Class #1: focus group, analysis and whatever assignments follow.

Class #2: two discussion group posts and group final project.

Class #3: class facilitation next week, finalize and run a study, results summary presentation, final project presentation, draft paper, final paper..... yay! research papers. 

All of this would be so much easier if I enjoyed reading research studies as much as I enjoy conducting the research. Also, if anyone wants to gift me with a thesaurus to up my vocab game, my birthday is coming up (June). Not really, but seriously though. 

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week so far! Remember Mike, it's hump day!

XO, Sandra

P.S. Why doesn't anyone complain about ab day?? I can't roll over in bed with bruised abs. Give me leg day! At least it won't hurt when I crawl.

Meat Muffins

This morning I just wanted to sleep. However, at 5:11 a.m. I sucked it up and got ready for the gym. It wasn't too bad because I got to wear the best workout shirt ever.

Today was pure treadmill day. I started the 5K option and fast walked at 3.3. About .20 into it, I decided to run. As I increased the speed, the treadmill died. Uh, WAY TO RUIN MY RUNNING MODE. I sucked it up, hopped on another. Error. What?! Third try did the work! I did 2.76 miles in the 41m I had left before stretching. CJ commented on how much more I ran today than he has seen me do - improvement!

I made us eggs & bacon for breakfast. Said "have a great day" to the sweets, showered and laid back down. It was definitely the Monday blues. I however, decided that today I wouldn't let that happen. I got dressed, got ready and made it to work my usual 1 minute late.

Work didn't entirely kick my ass but it was a busier morning. I ate my 16oz of strawberries throughout the day and could barely choke down my salad. The dressing was terrible! It tasted too healthy. About 3 p.m. I made my protein coffee shake to get me going again.

This stuff is seriously delicious guys. It is a sweeter coffee and AMAZING. It isn't Whole30 but I am still under 800 calories for the day. For dinner I made sweet potatoes (CJ regular potatoes), asparagus (CJ carrots) and "meat muffins." The term meat muffins came from a girl at work. They are really meatloaf made in a cupcake pan. But depending on how you make them, meat muffins is a better term.

This recipe is SO easy y'all.

"MEAT MUFFINS"

Ingredients

1-1.5lb of ground turkey or (organic) beef

1 (organic) egg

1/4 cup of (gluten free) flour.

seasonings of your choice.

Sometimes I add chopped onions and peppers. Today I did both, except regular peppers I did sweet peppers. Such a great decision!!

Baking

Pre-heat oven to 425*. Grease cupcake pan. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Scoop into cupcake pan. Cook for approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve!

Super simple. I get all my meat at Costco, so if I do ground turkey it makes 12 meat muffins whereas the organic beef only makes 9. Either way, they are great portions and simply delicious.

Welp, now that it is 8 p.m. it is time to do some homework and then sneak off to bed early! 5:05 a.m. is going to come way too early.

XO, Sandra

One-Meal, Meal Prep

Today I did not work out. I took today off to get some homework, errands and grocery shopping completed. Considering it is 6:15 p.m. and I have yet to touch some homework, I would say today has been kind to me. CJ made breakfast & I ended up spending the morning watching the Lego movie and addressing our "Just Married" cards for friends and family. I finally ventured out to Target, Costco and Market Street.

I went to Target initially to return some shoes and ending up walking around. I got my command strips for the project in my previous post and a scale. CJ had a scale and told me yesterday that we needed a new one, so I got one. I used it during my meal prep today and it works pretty well! I am a little excited that we can be more accurate when entering in foods to our Fitbits.

I then when to Costco where I stocked up on a TON of fruit and got some other necessities like these sweet containers I got! I love that they are leak proof and plastic. Our current tupperware is sweet and easy but this makes SEEING the food in containers so much better.

I only prepped our salads for tomorrow. I was pretty excited since the new containers have an insert which makes prepping salads a dream! No more soggy lettuce or weird tasting veggies.

I then packed us some fruit for the week and prepped a bunch of other fruit. This weeks fruit is strawberries, bananas, pineapple, apples and grapes! I also got some watermelon but I forgot to prep it, so it will be good for next week!

I wasn't excited about prepping fruit or prepping anything actually. Yesterday I put these two pictures side by side and realize I have lost a little weight by doing the little bit I have been doing. I realized it truly was to get serious. I have been very strict with myself since April 1st for the Whole30 and very proud of how far I have come. Even though I am still craving a brownie sundae with hot fudge.

So, when I got home from the grocery store it was on. However, I forgot to dishes before I went so I packed everything in the fridge first. I did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. And I mean I CLEANED the kitchen. The cupboards, the stove, the counters, the sink... and now I NEED oven cleaner! CJ asked if it was the fat burner he put me on starting today, but I swear it is just because the house needed a cleaning!! I am just now getting my energy. I didn't feel good earlier and have felt very sleepy. Cleaning and prepping sure got me going though!

So I prepped, watched some T.V. and made dinner. Now I am here writing this and hoping someone finds inspiration from it eventually. I may actually like this blogging thing since this is my second post for today.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and has a fantastic Monday back to the grind!

XO, Sandra

Display Project

Saturday, CJ and I were so pumped that we finished our 5K in 50 minutes, we decided this project had to be completed. I didn't have the right tools to do it as Pinterest told me how to do it, but I did it!

For this I used 2 blank letters my mom sent me, Elmer's spray adhesive, scissors, an exacto knife and clear coat.

I placed our bibs out carefully deciding where to put them. We don't have many so far so I was determined to make it work.


I cut them accordingly and started to glue it on. I turned the bib over, put the spray adhesive on the back and press down firmly on the letter. I let it dry for a couple hours.

Next, I got my xacto knife, put a big C in the floor - oops! I then did both letters more carefully to remove the excess. I then used a clear coat sealant spray on top. I wasn't happy that the clear coat created some bubbles on the bibs but you can't tell unless you are looking closely.







Today, Sunday, I was able to make it to my favorite store in the world - Target. I got some Command strips to hang our medals. 

TA-DA! Project Complete. 



Super simple and so much fun to display your hard work. I encourage everyone to do one!

XO, Sandra

Reason for Everything.

You know what I did today? The Inflatable 5K. Did I die? No, but close enough.

Now let's go back to the beginning. I have been a yo-yo workout-er and dieter. I did sports in Junior High, refused them in High School and eventually got a gym membership I have had for the past 7 years. I have always gone for a month and then quit. Working out has never been something that I have kept up with, or my healthy eating habits.

I have done 2 Whole30's to try to train my body to eat better. The first was October 2014. I lost 14 pounds, was able to buy new jeans and felt AMAZING. Going out to eat was a struggle, the gym was a struggle and Halloween with no booze was a struggle! I kept up with it until I fell in love with a boy 6 hours away over Thanksgiving. 

We traveled a lot and ate out a lot. Eventually, he moved to be with me in March 2015 and we worked on getting our heads on straight. Us, and our roommate at the time, decided it was time for a Whole30. With our roommate and I having already been through it, we decided it should be a piece of cake. CJ (the boy) had never done one before and was freaking out. Mid-April 2015 we started our crazy journey. For Nessa (the roommate) and I, it was easier this time. Avoiding the bad-for-you-foods was the most difficult when we didn't want to cook. Regardless, we all lost approximately 17 pounds per person and felt amazing. CJ even proposed to me the weekend it ended and my engagement ring (fitted 2 months prior to this) was falling off! Kick in the following month of birthdays and 4th of July. We definitely kicked the healthy habit a little too quickly.



Now, to back track a little. During this last Whole30, Nessa, CJ and I decided it would be a fantastic idea to train for Conquer the Gauntlet, October 2015. We were eating right, working out and felt that we had adequate time to train. Fast forward to August, CJ had knee surgery. He was out of the picture. September spent back to school for me, Nessa in Europe for 3 weeks and CJ recovering. The gym never seemed to come back around. Good for us though, we wrote a sign saying "No Excuses" so when the time came, we had to do it! We also had Nessa's two-month along pregnant sister with us kicking our ass on the obstacles. I also had my, now sister-in-law, with us who trained for 1.5months (the beginning of her fitness journey) also kick our ass. They were total beasts! Being hyped up on adrenaline and sad about our failures, we decided to sign up for Warrior Dash in March, 2016. Nessa ended up moving out-of-state, so she didn't join us. CJ, Kaylee (the sis-in-law) and I were all signed up.



To prepare for the Warrior Dash, CJ and I signed up for Carol of the Lights 5K in December, 2015. It was 4 months out of surgery for him and another month of not working out for me. We still did it in 40 minutes which was awesome! Fast forward to Warrior Dash, another 2 months of not working out for any three of us. Fast forward a month, and you have CJ and I completing the Inflatable 5K.



I am super proud to say in the last 6 months I have done 3 obstacle races and 1 5K. I enjoyed doing them but was not proud of my progress at all. The first one, CTG, I failed nearly half of the obstacles and walked a lot. Completed it in 1.75 hours. The 5K, I seemed to do OK. Finished in 40 minutes. The Warrior Dash, I only failed one obstacle (but I tried) and walked most of it.

We completed it in 1 hour 10minutes. Today, I did all the obstacles, and ran more than Warrior Dash. We completed it in 50 minutes. I have been working on getting my ass to the gym and yesterday, CJ and I started the Whole30 again.

We never do the Whole30 110% but more like 102%. So that is good because it is extremely challenging for us. I started a monthly goal with April being bringing my 5K to 35minutes. I eventually want to start eating more paleo-like forever, enjoy cooking a lot more, run a half marathon and kick the obstacle races ass.

This blog is my journey to a better me and kicking life in the nuts. I will do my best to share what workout CJ made me do or what awesome recipe I tried almost daily. In the end, I hope this holds me accountable and motivates someone else to NEVER GIVE UP and ALWAYS TRY. Even if you think you suck at it!

XO, Sandra