Colton, Jillian, and Some Product Reviews

Basically, what I've been doing for the past two days...

Let's start with the most important, okay? Late last Wednesday (February 23rd) my good friend Krissy's water broke. Three and a half weeks early! On Thursday (February 24th) she delivered her son, Colton Daniel. I found out she was in labor on Thursday morning, and naturally I could barely think straight all day at work, waiting to hear the good news. Mama and baby were both healthy and happy, despite the early delivery. Two nights ago Pat and I had the pleasure of meeting baby Colton.

I was a little bit nervous when I realized that the smallest baby I'd ever held were my twin cousins Lauren and Kara, when they were two weeks old. Colton was only five days old, and since he was premature, he was just the tiniest little guy! But as soon as I had him in my arms, I was in love. He just peacefully lay there, sleeping, waking, and sleeping again. Absolutely precious.

 

6'3 Pat looked like a giant holding the barely 19-inch Colton.

  

I was astounded by how great Krissy and Steve looked. I always assumed that parents with newborns would be exhausted and only change their clothes once or twice a week, but Krissy and Steve were very clean, awake, and most of all, positively beaming. Then again, if that little peanut was yours, I'm sure you'd be beaming, too. I can't wait for another visit with him!

I took Monday and Tuesday as recovery days from the Hyannis Half Marathon, and on Wednesday I went to the gym to bike. I biked until I finished my book, which took me 50 minutes. After biking I foam rolled, and I felt so much better. I know that you have to rest to let your body recover, but getting moving again and loosening up my muscles felt amazing. 

After work yesterday I debated between going back to the gym or being lazy and watching movies until Pat got home. I didn't feel like going back to the gym, but I did want to do something productive. I ended up finding a lot of work out videos On Demand, I'd totally forgotten that these were available. So I picked the person who I'd most want to train me: Miss Jillian Michaels. I pulled some furniture out of my living room until I had (barely) enough space to do the video - 6 Weeks Six-Pack.

 

I'm a big fan of Biggest Loser, and have always said that if Jillian was my trainer I'd be so scared and would do anything she told screamed at me to. This video definitely got my heart rate up and a few times I felt out of breath and wanted to stop, which in my mind is how you should feel if you're pushing yourself. When I finished I felt great and had a lot more energy then I'd had before.

I've been on a candy detox this week (plan is for no sweets Monday - Friday). Normally when I try to do this I think about it a lot, complain about it even more, and don't make it as long as I plan to go. This week is a little bit different because my friend Chrissy is doing it, too. It was actually her idea, and when she suggested it my first thought was, "ew no, that's not fun." My next thought was "ugh, I suppose I could do it." (I know you're all taken aback by my maturity about the whole thing). I thought it would be as hard as usual, but so far it has actually been pretty easy. Chrissy and I talked about it and we think the difference is that there is someone else holding you accountable. When I'd do this on my own I'd easily give in, thinking I couldn't do it. Now I don't want to give in because I feel like I'd be letting Chrissy down. We've been texting each other with our weird sweets cravings, and helping each other by suggesting better options to fight the urge. Its Thursday and I haven't had any sweets yet!

Some things I've been eating more of instead of my usual 967 pieces of candy daily:

Salads

Fruit (especially grapes, oranges, and apples with cinnamon)

I also bought these Crisps as another sweet alternative. The only ingredient is fruit, so there's nothing added, and they are preserved by being freeze-dried. I bought three packs: strawberry, peach, and pineapple. The strawberry didn't make it home (Pat and I shared them in the car).

The strawberries tasted just like the strawberries in the Special K Red Berry cereal (just a little less sugary) and were very good. The peaches were pretty good, but I prefer the strawberries. I have yet to try the pineapple crisps. I like that these are very convenient to grab for a sweet snack on the go and that there aren't any additives or preservatives in them.

Last night for dinner I tried another new food item - Butternut Squash Ravioli from Trader Joe's.

I love butternut squash, and I love Trader Joe's, but I didn't really love these. They were really sweet (due to the Amaretti biscuits that are mixed in with the squash) and seemed more like a dessert than a dinner. I'd prefer these if they were more savory - like with roasted garlic and spinach or something. I had my raviolis with some Italian broccoli (my new favorite way to eat broccoli - steamed with marinara sauce and fresh grated Parm cheese).

This morning I got up a little bit early and did another Jillian Michaels workout (this time the 30 Day Shred

Breakfast this morning was a new twist on an old favorite. Favorite = oatmeal. Last night I prepared some overnight oats in an almost-empty jar of almond butter (there was probably a little under 1 tbsp left in the jar).

In the jar went:

• 1/3 cup organic oats
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

I mixed it all together, cover it, and stuck it in the fridge.

This morning, instead of eating the oats cold, I heated them up (stirring contents first). After 2 minutes on high, my breakfast was ready.

This was really delicious! The vanilla almond flavor was great, and the oats were extra creamy after soaking all night. I will definitely be making this again - and the jar proved to be a great way to bring breakfast on the go (as I often do).

*Also - check out my recipe page. I updated it yesterday!