Niki's Neverending Adventure

Hey guys!! How has your Sunday been? Mine’s been pretty nice!! It warmed a little above freezing today so a lot of the ice has been melting. Not sure what that means since the temps are going back into the low 20’s tonight. Hopefully not too much refreezing, since I have to go to class in the morning! Maybe they will cancel it again… probably not, but I can dream right?!

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I attempted my long run on the treadmill today and it wasn’t very fun. I tried to watch Ghost of Girlfriend’s Past, but the sound was all the way up and I still couldn’t hear it that well :(  Kinda weird since I’ve never had an issue watching TV before while running on the treadmill. Maybe movies are quieter?? Anyway, I ended up doing 8 miles instead of 11, and I am totally fine with that. 8 miles on the treadmill is plenty of torture for one day! My feet were killing me and I felt exhausted! I felt so much more tired on my 8 miler today than I did my 10 miler outside last week. I’ve told y’all before how I think the treadmill is harder to run on, and I am definitely sticking to that! I don’t know how some people only run on treadmills! I am so looking forward to running outside again! Bring on the warmer temps please!!

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My tummy was unhappy for a while after I finished my run, so I didn’t eat lunch until around 3pm. I had freezer soup AGAIN!! I just keep craving it! Plus, it’s so easy and quick :)

 Buffalo Chicken Chili with a dollop of Light Sour Cream and some Shredded Cheddar Cheese.

With some chips and salsa on the side.

These Scoops with a Hint of Jalapeno are AMAZING!! You must try them! I will be buying them from now on!!

I told the fiancé I would make him some more cookies so I used the same recipe and made a whole batch of All Time Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies!! They look yummy! I will be having some for dessert! I used the flax+water again instead of eggs. I like how they turn out better than if I used eggs!!

While working on the cookies, I had a cup of Chai Spice Black Tea with skim milk and sugar. This is so good!!

 

And for dinner I made some Zatarains Jambalaya and roasted some Acorn and Butternut Squash!!

I added some Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Sausage to our Jambalaya.

And the squash!! Roasted at 400* for 30 minutes in a little EVOO, salt and pepper! So good!!

All together now! This dinner was awesome!! I’m ready for some cookies!!

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So, I told y’all this morning that I would recap how I’ve been doing so far on my 2010 goals. Here it goes!

Fitness and Nutrition

1. Run at least 2 half marathons- Haven’t had the chance to do this yet, but I am planning on running the Germantown Half Marathon March 21st and the Nashville Country Music Half Marathon April 24th.

2. Try to run at least 1 race per month (if possible, according to races available in my area)- Fail. No races available this month, but I do have 2 10k’s planned for February! That makes up for January, right??

3. Strength train at least 2X per week- includes ab workouts, bootcamps, and free weights. I have been doing SUPER well at this! I have been strength training 2-3X per week every week so far!

4. Incorporate more veggies in my diet. Try to include a veggie with lunch and dinner at minimum. I’ve been doing ok at this. I have discovered a new love for squash though!!

5. Limit sweets to one treat a day- This is going to be SUPER tough for me!! Big FAIL. I have already given up on this because when I was limiting myself to 1 treat a day, that’s all I could think about! So some days I have a couple treats and other days I only have one. I feel ok about this!

6. Drink more water!! I think I will try to drink 48 oz a day minimum. That’s 3 of my Nathan water bottles which is a lot more than I’m drinking now! I have been doing AWESOME on this!! I can totally tell a difference in how I feel in general and on my runs now that I am really hydrated!

Personal

1. Finish planning my wedding and honeymoon and continue enjoying every minute of it! Still working on this!!

2. Marry the love of my life on June 11th, 2010!! Not here yet but it can’t come soon enough! We cannot wait to be husband and wife!!

3. Daily quiet times reading my Bible and spending time in prayer- I have definitely been slacking on this, I need to make it part of my morning routine. I always feel so much better after spending time with God! I have been doing really well with this also! I have done a quiet time every single day since January 1st! I am using a devotional that will have me read the whole Bible in a year! I love it! I truly look forward to this special time each day. I also started trying to be part of the 5 o’clock club!

4. Become a better listener, less bossy, and more understanding. Still working on this… I think this might be the hardest one on the list!

5.Cut back on needless spending and put more in savings. This is VERY important!! I am in school and have NO job so I don’t need to be spending money like I have an income! I am going to try to save $200/ month minimum. FAIL! Not because I am needlessly spending but I have had some crazy expensive expenses come up :(  The one area I am spending way too much money on is grocery shopping! Someone please help and give me tips!!

I think I’ve been doing pretty well! What do y’all think?? How have you been doing on your 2010 goals so far??

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Tomorrow is a special day for me tomorrow!! Can you guess what it is??

Have a lovely night!!

Posted in: on Sunday, January 31, 2010 at at 8:18 PM