Ride With Pablo!

"You control your body. You control your speed. You control your power!"

Those are the words Pablo kept repeating last night and it really was motivational. Spin is hard, spin is tiring, but spin also forces you to go within yourself and find out how hard you can push yourself. And when you think you have pushed yourself far enough, go a little more. Spin makes you use your own body to build resistance against the bike - you control your ride and, just like Pablo said, you control your body. It's all mental. When the heat in the room is getting to be too much and the music is just too loud, and your muscles are sore and you can't climb that hill any higher (and you can't actually see the hill they want you to climb), you just have to remind yourself that there is an end, and the longer you push, the quicker the end will come!

Last night's class was hard and great! I hadn't been to a spin class since October so I knew this would be hard. I knew I would not be able to push myself as hard as I wanted to, but as long as I was there and moving my legs and sweating, I knew everything would be okay. I love that moment when Pablo gets on his bike and says "Hello! How is everyone doing? Tonight's going to be easy" because you just know, there is no such thing as easy when it comes to Pablo! When the lights dimmed and the music started playing, I lowered my head, turned up my resistance and just rode my bike. I rode the hill that Pablo told me we were going to ride and I got up out of the saddle when it became really tough, and sat down and pushed my legs faster to go downhill. The music was loud, emotions were strong and I was loving it! I couldn't think about anything at all. I sang along to the music in my head and just went with the flow. I love that Pablo rides with us and then he walks around the room and makes sure that everyone is doing okay - I love that he locks eyes with you and moves side to side standing in front of you while you move side to side on the bike. It's motivational and it's fun!

I had a lot of Weight Watchers Activity logged from the ride (5 points), but the fitbit did not do a good job. From the chart, it looks like I was barely moving during the 45 minute class, whereas the activelink tracked high activity levels. I only hit my steps goal on my walk home. I am glad that I use both to track my activity because sometimes the tracking does not make sense. Obviously last night's spin class was more activity than the fitbit shows since it is showing my walk to the class as more activity than the class itself.

I got home last night and made a quick dinner of a rice cake topped with avocado and maple ham. Dessert was what I was waiting for, but I needed some quick protein and fiber and good food right after my ride to refuel and help my muscles repair! Dessert was a baked chocolate cookie dough quest bar with arctic zero chocolate peanut butter ice cream! It was heavenly. And it kept me full the rest of the night - I didn't go into the kitchen once to snack and I didn't take a bite of Ryan's cereal for his late night snack! Tonight, I plan to make the quest banana boat! We have plenty of bananas at home and chocolate powdered peanut butter and so many flavors of quest bars to choose from! I am going to leave out the chocolate chips and only use half a quest bar to keep the points lower. Bananas are 3 WW points when you cook with them, so it makes the dessert an extra meal if I used a banana and a full quest bar. By only using half a bar, and using powdered peanut butter, my points are lowered, but the taste is still just as great (I hope)!

I didn't go to bar method this morning like I had planned. I got really used to sleeping in and having breakfast at home this week so I decided to do it one more day and get back into my routine Monday! For breakfast, instead of my usual egg white and oatmeal pancake, I made an omelette with ham and avocado (5 WW Points). Basically a recreation of dinner last night. And I added chia seeds for some extra "expansion" of the eggs and to make it more filling! It tasted so delicious and kept me full all morning! The avocado melted inside of the egg and became "cheesy." Tomorrow I will have my pancake since I need to be full all day before our 16-course tasting menu at Eleven Madison!

It's unbearably cold again today and I am so ready for this winter to end. It seems to be going on forever! It makes me not want to wake up early, workout, get out of bed, walk, or be outside. I miss going on a walk after dinner with Ryan, but it's too windy and too cold, and not fun! We would much rather stay inside watching TV. And as fun and comfy and warm as that is, it does not help with our activity. I can't wait for the warmer months to show up so we can get our butts moving again! Then we can walk and bike everywhere and then I'll be more motivated to get out of bed in the morning for bar method!

Tonight, we are going to stay in and watch a movie. I am ABSOLUTELY going to bar method tomorrow. It's our 1 year anniversary and I am going to bar to celebrate, just as I did 1 year ago! Then we have our amazing dinner to prepare ourselves for! They say it takes about 4 hours for the entire meal - so we have a reservation at 5:30pm and we plan to be there a long time! I know with a tasting menu the plates are small, and by spacing them out, I know we won't get "stuffed." I am dreaming about the food that we had at our wedding so I am so excited to be going back to Eleven Madison. It is such a treat to eat there and I can't wait to share it with my husband!

XO

Evening Bar Method Workout

Last night's bar method class was great! I got off the waitlist and into Tiana's 5:45pm class which takes place in the smaller studio C. I really like the small studio because the class is small so there is more attention on each individual. My shoulder was really hurting by the end of the day so I did take a few modifications like push-ups against the bar and laying down on the mat during round back. The hardest part of class was during final stretch when you pull on the stretching strap - that seemed to hurt my shoulder the most. We did arabesque for seat work and I was shaking through the whole thing. It had been awhile since I had done it so it took a little bit to get used to the turned out position and having my hips uneven. During foldover it's important to keep your hips squared and not turned out and since I had done so much foldover this month, I had to remind myself that arabesque is different. It works your obliques as well as the underside of your seat. It felt really good!

I got home and made a kale and grain salad. I got the kale and mixed grains from FreshDirect pre-made deli salad. It was made with sprouted mixed grains, including mung bean, letins and brown rice, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, kale, soybeans, cashews and olive oil. I served it with mesclun salad, tomatoes and cucumbers to give it the appearance of being more than just grains in a plastic container! It was delicious and filling for an evening meal (it was 7:30pm by the time I got home so I was eating much later than I was used to). The total was 8 WW Points.

For dessert, I was really excited to bake a quest bar. Since I had a cookies and cream bar before bar method, I opted to only have half of a chocolate chip chunk for dessert. I didn't want too much protein and I didn't think eating 2 protein bars in a short amount of time was a great idea. Tonight though, I prepared to have only 1 quest bar after spin and have 2 hard boiled eggs before the class. The baked quest bar was delicious!! Even more than just microwaving it.

I baked the bar on foil in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. The outside was browned and crispy and the inside was moist and gooey. Even having half felt like such a treat! The chocolate chunks and the gooey cookie made me think I was actually having a perfect chocolate chip cookie, but it was even better! I topped it with chocolate peanut butter arctic zero and some coconut chips. It was only 2 WW points for half of the quest bar and I only had half a serving of the arctic zero for 0 points!

Tonight I am going to bake the cookie dough bar (5 WW points). I cannot wait to try that.

This morning I slept in again since I had taken an evening bar method class and had breakfast with Ryan. We made egg white and oatmeal pancakes topped with almond butter and coconut. It looked just like a juice generation acai bowl! I even blended some almond better with the egg whites. It was nice to spend the morning with Ryan (and Haley) and commute to work in 10 minutes. But, it is much harder for me to go to an evening bar class so it's easier for me to wake up and go and have it done with. Because you need 12 hours to cancel a morning class and only 2 hours to cancel and evening class, I can always talk myself out of going at night because I'm too tired from work, or I am too hungry, or I just want to see Ryan. But the mornings need much more of a commitment with the cancellation policy so I just have to get myself out of bed and get to the studio and I know I will feel much better afterwards.

I am exciting to spin tonight too. I haven't been to Pablo's class since before Italy! I know I am going to be sore but I am going to bar method tomorrow morning so that will certainly help stretch me out before my muscles know what happened to them! I usually hate spinning - I hate being yelled at, I hate feeling like I am in boot camp, and I hate thinking that I need to burn calories and sweat in order to lose weight. The problem with spin is that, yes you burn a lot of calories, but that is not an excuse to stuff your face when the class is over. People over eat after a spin class because they think they sweat so much and need the "fuel." I also don't want my muscles to bulk up so I don't turn the resistance knob as much as I could, but I need some resistance so that I do get a good workout and my muscles have something to do. Spinning with no resistance is pointless! I also love spin because I usually get 6 activity points so it's great on weeks (like this week) when I need a boost in points, especially with a 16 course tasting menu on Saturday!! Pablo is a lot of fun though. Pablo (and all of the instructors at the studio) are so encouraging and they tell you to ride for yourself and not for them or anyone in the class. They tell you that you don't have to follow the routine and to be at your own pace - make it about you and what you want to accomplish. It's a great 45 minutes where you break a sweat, you get out of your own thoughts and you listen to some really awesome music and just take a ride.

I hope everyone is having a great day! It's really cold out and I know we're all looking forward to warmer weather. Just stay positive!

XO

Quest Bar Addiction

I have a problem...I have an addiction to quest bars. They are the perfect on the go snack / meal replacement and there are so many different flavors, I never get bored. And you can eat them as a protein bar, microwave them so they are warm and gooey or bake them and make quest cookies! You can add filling and roll the bar to make a cannoli or top with peanut butter and almond butter - the possibilities are endless!

GNC is having a special promotion - buy 3 get one free, and I had a $10 off coupon so I bought 12 quest bars for $18. That's an $18 savings! I saved $1.11 on each bar. It's incredible. At $3 per bar, it is expensive (except when you consider that I pay $10 for lunch in NYC and $3 for a meal replacement is not that bad). So I stocked up! And now that I have a few evening classes in the next few weeks, they will definitely all be eaten.

The newest flavor, cookies and cream is my favorite (right now) followed by white chocolate raspberry. The chunks of white chocolate are always huge and make me smile when I think about how I am spoiling myself with a delicious sweet treat, but it is packed with protein (20g) and low carb and gluten free and has no added sugar! It's a great clean snack. Maybe I will replace my ice cream with quest bars at night! Or I can just cut a quest bar in half and put ice cream in the center of them and make a quest bar ice cream sandwich. Nothing wrong with combining my two loves!

Before tonight's bar class I am going to have a cookies and cream (5 WW points).

Slow Cooked Turkey Meatballs

I love coming home to the smells of a home cooked meal. I think it was part of growing up - my mom would cook dinner every night for the family when we got home from school and the smell of it throughout the house is something I will never forget. And she always had fresh baked bread to go with the meal. On weekends, she would even make homemade bagels.

Last night I walked home from work. It was a little bit cold, but since I had been sitting at my desk all day and I hadn't done a morning bar class, I knew I needed a little activity! So I walked home (that got me to a total of 9,000 steps for the day and 1 WW activity point). I got home within 20 minutes and the turkey meatballs I had prepped in the morning were warming in the slow cooker. I love that I was able to cook them for 6 hours, but still keep them warm even though I wasn't home! Slow cooking is so easy and because I slow cook in large batches, we have leftovers for days! I was already thinking about all of the meal possibilities that we could make with left over meatballs (meatball parm or meatball wraps anyone)!

Ryan and I had meatballs with mashed potatoes (FreshDirect Sides in a Snap) and asparagus. I love crunchy, bright green asparagus and it was a nice break from our usual salad. 4 meatballs with sauce were 5 points and 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes were 5 points. The meat was dense, but still moist from having slow cooked for 6 hours. Next time I might even cook it for 4 or 5 hours since the meatballs are so small. Or I could make 12 meatballs instead of 24 so that 2 meatballs would be 4 points. However, eating more is a mind game so having 4 meatballs (small) instead of 2 (large) seems like a lot more to me. And if I think I am eating a lot more, then I stay fuller longer!

For dessert, I had a Yopa greek yogurt with dark chocolate bits that I had put in the freezer. It was just like eating ice cream, and I topped it with a banana.

Tonight I am going to SoHo for a Bar Method class. I really wanted to sleep in now that the upstairs neighbors haven't been so loud and I wanted to have breakfast with Ryan! He made ham and cheese on udi's gluten free bread with eggs over easy and I had an egg white omelette topped with powdered peanut butter, flax seeds and a banana! It was fun to sit around with Ryan, watching the morning news and getting ready on my own time. However, this morning, I am feeling not working out and I feel a little sluggish. I am excited for an evening class, but I am not excited about it being at 6:30pm. It means I won't be home until 8pm. I hope it warms up a bit so maybe I could bike home. It's been awhile since I took citibike since I got so used to the early morning bus/train commute, so it's about time I took a bike ride!

I also plan to go to spin tomorrow night. If I am going to complain about feeling bloated, sluggish, tired and not happy, then I need to do something about it. A good diet is great, but exercise helps get everything moving and sweating mentally tells me that I am doing something good for my body. I sweat a lot more in evening bar classes because the studios are warmed up, people have been in classes all day, and the air is not as fresh (sounds gross, but the morning classes have cold studios from not being used all night, so I don't break a sweat). It's all mental - I am not working any harder in an evening class than a morning one, but sweating makes me feel like I am pushing myself harder. I also am a bit more flexible at night because my body has been moving all day (well, not really since I sit for 8 hours). I feel more flexible, stronger, and more capable of going lower, tucking harder and even taking some of the challenges like raising my legs in flat back or the L shape in round back. I did hurt my shoulder last night, so unfortunately I will be modifying with push-ups at the bar tonight. I am going to have a Quest Cookies and Cream bar before class (my new favorite flavor) and a pre-made kale and grain FreshDirect salad when I get home for muscle recovery protein! Night classes usually energize me, so I hope that I will be able to fall asleep reasonably early. I have been feeling so refreshed lately now that I have been sleeping through the night!

I also worked to work this morning, again, it was cold, but it felt good to get in some activity before I sat around all day since I didn't do a morning bar class!

Below is the Turkey meatball recipe. Skinnytaste recipe can be found here! I used 99% fat free turkey breast and gluten free breadcrumbs. This can be made with turkey, chicken or beef (WW Points will vary). Enjoy.

Skinnytaste Crock Pot Italian Turkey Meatballs
Servings: 6 (4 meatballs)
Weight Watchers Points: 5

Meatballs
1 pound turkey breast, ground
3 tbsp Schar gluten free breadcrumbs
4 tbsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1/4 cup parsley
1 egg
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce
1 tsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, combine turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley, garlic and cheese. Mix all of the ingredients together.

2. Form small meatballs and set aside (24 meatballs)

3. Meanwhile, in a small pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.

4. Add garlic and saute until golden, be careful not to burn.

5. Pour crushed tomatoes into slow cooker with bay leaf. Add garlic and oil from pan.

6. Add meatballs to slow cooker.

7. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve and enjoy!

Skinnytaste Cilantro Lime Shrimp

Friday bowling was so much fun! Ryan and I usually go bowling alone and it is so fast - 2 games, 30 minutes, $60. It's just crazy and doesn't always seem worth it to go. But with 6 people, it took us 2 hours to bowl 2 games, and we had a great time! The first game we played boys vs. girls team which we knew going into it would not be very motivational to the girls - of course, we lost. But the second game, the boys picked the girls names from a hat and we played 3 teams of 2. I was paired with Aaron (Stephenie's boyfriend) and we won! The scores were really high, I bowled 108 and Ryan bowled 138! After the game we went to Stout, a pub in Herald Square. I ordered the grilled chicken salad, but Ryan's weakness for Buttermilk Fried Chicken got the best of him and he ordered that for dinner. I don't blame him, they looked amazing. I never want to tell Ryan not to order something, or not to eat something because it contains Gluten. I want him to make decisions regarding food and his health for himself and sometimes, buttermilk fried chicken is worth it to him. If he feels deprived than living gluten free becomes a diet, a struggle, a pain rather than a way of life, and a healthy choice. It's important to make a lifestyle work for you. No one pressured Ryan to eat the chicken, it was what he wanted and since we are not celiac, the pleasure of eating the fried chicken was worth it to him - and to see him happy, makes me happy.

Ryan is really busy at work and has to work from home in the evenings and weekends right now while he waits to hire a coordinator to help him with his research studies. This weekend he went to work to write a research paper and I stayed home and relaxed and watched TV, which, after not getting a good nights sleep for the past month, felt amazing! Saturday night, Ryan cooked dinner for us. He made gluten free chicken francaise with gluten free fettuccine. It was delicious! And I let go of all of my controlling tendencies when it comes to cooking and trusted that Ryan was measuring, weighing and serving everything as it should be! I never want to let my tracking get in the way of enjoying food so it's good every once in awhile to let go and not worry about points and calories as long as I understand portion sizes and ate well the rest of the day! Ryan was so excited to cook for me that he made sure everything was measured following the directions of the recipe (which he emailed to me so that I could upload it to my WW Recipe points tracker).

Sunday, I cooked dinner and made a simple, easy, delicious recipe from Skinnytaste. I made Cilantro Lime Shrimp which I paired with gluten free chicken dumplings and a salad. The shrimp would have gone perfectly with pasta if we hadn't had it with the chicken the night before. The recipe was so easy to follow, and the points were really low so I was able to have a couple of the dumplings which were 2 points each! I had more than one serving of the shrimp since it was so good and because heating shrimp as leftovers isn't that great. So Ryan and I each had about 1.5 cups so it totaled 7 points. I went a little overboard with dessert though because Ryan made King Arthur's Gluten Free Brownies and I had a cup of So Delicious Purely Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Coconut Milk Ice cream. I found different gluten free, dairy free, soy free flavors and stocked up. Ryan thinks I have a problem now since the door of our freezer is filled with ice cream! I may have a slight addiction. The only problem with having it in the house is that I will eat it...and then I'll complain that I ate it, and then I'll eat some more because I feel bad about myself and the cycle will go on and on until all of the pints of ice cream are gone (and then I'll buy more). I wish I didn't have such a sweet tooth!

The Skinnytaste recipe can be found here, or I have listed it below!

Skinnytaste Cilantro Lime Shrimp
Servings: 6 (2/3 cup)
Weight Watchers Points: 3

1.5 pounds shrimp (peeled)
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp cumin
2 tsp olive oil
5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp lime juice (from 1 medium lime)
3 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

1. Season shrimp with salt, pepper and cumin

2. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil to the pan. Add shrimp and let cook for 2 minutes.

3. Flip shrimp and let cook for 1 more minute.

5. Add garlic to the pan and let cook for 1 additional minute.

6. Add cilantro and mix well.

7. Remove pan from heat. Squeeze lime juice all over shrimp and mix once more before serving.

Serve and enjoy!

The last couple of days I have very minimal activity. Despite going to Bar Method Monday morning, I wasn't able to hit 10,000 steps goal, or 2 WW activity points. It is absolutely due to me sitting at my desk all day and not walking around for 8 hours. I also didn't go out for a walk with Ryan last night, which I should have, but we were waiting for our dining room table & chairs to be delivered. Unfortunately, it was delivered, but with a box missing so we were unable to build the table. It is really frustrating and now we have to wait another week for the box to ship and be received. I am just so ready to not be working on the apartment and just have it complete. I try not to think about what we still have to do to "finish" the apartment like hanging art, building the desk, building the table/chairs, because I just want to enjoy living there. It's just so shocking how big the apartment is and how much time and effort it is taking to fill it and make it homey! And March is a very busy month for me and Ryan so we have to finish this stuff now, otherwise, before we know it, it will be April!

Today I woke up early to prepare a slowcooker meal for dinner tonight. I am making Skinnytaste Crock Pot Turkey Meatballs with a side of mashed potatoes and asparagus. It was so quick and easy to prepare and I love that it is cooking while I am at work so as soon as I get home, I just get to eat! Here is a sneak peek!

I made a delicious cobb salad for lunch today with salami, turkey, grapes, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber and avocado and Lentil chips for an added crunch. It really hit the spot because I was craving something salty and sweet so the grapes and avocados balanced perfectly with the cold cuts and Lentil chips.

Work has been steadily busy which is great because the day is going by, but it is hard because I am stuck at my computer and only getting up for a few minutes each hour. I can't wait until it warms up so I can go for a walk around the block just to get some activity in.

I am going to start spinning at Pablo Fitness again this week. I love his studio - it is the first time and only time I have ever enjoyed spinning and I am excited to start classes again. Mentally, with all the ice cream I have been eating, I just need to sweat. Bar Method is amazing and nothing will make me want to work out more than a Bar Method class, but I need to push myself a little harder and sweat out some of the sweets I keep eating. Pablo has amazing energy and even though I can't stand riding a bicycle in place for 45 minutes, when the lights go off and I just get inside my head, it's a mental game to push myself harder and faster and I feel great afterwards. I have a 10 class pack so hopefully in the next 2 months before it expires I will use it all!

Can't wait for dinner tonight! I will be sharing more photos tomorrow!

Stay warm everyone.

XO

Steak Fajita

Ryan and I love a good taco or fajita - it's a delicious easy meal to make and fun to eat. Tonight we are going bowling with friends and out for Mexican food later. When I told Ryan, he said he wanted fajitas for dinner anyway, so we made steak fajitas for dinner and will have more tonight. You can't go wrong with some steak and peppers and ]we can have chicken or shrimp to switch it up at the restaurant.

We bought pre-sliced peppers, onions and steak last weekend so this meal was super easy to make. I know it costs more for pre-sliced products, but if it saves me time and energy, the extra cost is worth it for me. And fajitas are great because the filling is so versatile; you can switch the meat and have a completely different meal. We've been having a lot of chicken lately so I was happy that we bought steak. We had leftover corn tortillas from taco night 2 weeks ago (that's why I always make sure to buy products I know I can reuse). Ryan melted cheese on his fajita while I opted for dairy free. I provided the points values and recipe below for the steak and pepper fajitas but did not include the tortillas in the points values - we used Mission Yellow Corn Extra Thin Tortillas (2 tortillas is 2 points) but feel free to use any kind you want, even tacos, or burrito wraps. I grilled the tortillas directly in the oven before topping with beef and peppers to keep the corn tortilla crispy and from falling apart. This is entirely up to you how to make this - I baked the tortillas at the end also to melt the cheese for Ryan's. My entire meal for 2 fajitas was 8 WW Points.

Steak and Pepper Fajitas
Servings: 4
Weight Watchers Points: 6 (3 oz. cooked meat plus pepper and onion mixture)

1.25 lbs Steak (different meat will effect WW Points values but you can use pork, chicken, shrimp, etc.)
1 cup bell pepper, variety of color, sliced
1 cup onion, sliced
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat large saucepan over high heat. Add olive oil.

2. Add peppers and onions to pan. Be sure to not burn them, but let them brown.

3. Add steak to the pan and cook being sure to flip the strips for even cooking. Season the steak and pepper mixture will spices and salt and pepper.

4. Evenly top a tortilla with pepper and steak mixture.

Serve and enjoy!

I have been having trouble sleeping through the night still as our upstairs neighbors seem to be awake only during the hours of 11pm and 3am which just happens to be my prime sleeping hours. Last night I slept from 9:30am - 11:30pm, was awake from 11:30pm - 2:30am and then slept until my alarm went off at 5:15am. I hope that things improve as everything about this move has been great except for our upstairs neighbors. And the amount of time and energy and money we have put into this new apartment, I would hate to have it ruined by inconsiderate neighbors. It is just hard for me to understand how people are unaware of how their actions affect other people. I grew up in an apartment building and you can hear everything through the walls and floor; I think that I am much more thoughtful and considerate though than others so I get mad when people don't care as much as I do. I would never think to move furniture, vacuum, play loud music or slam doors after a certain hour because I care about creating an enjoyable community and living environment, but other people are just unaware of their actions. I guess I should stop caring so much and just live for myself and my family and do what is best for us because that's how everyone else seems to be living.

Our dining room table and chairs are scheduled to be delivered Monday! Finally we can entertain and have people over!! The desk arrives in 2 weeks and the apartment will finally feel complete (aside from hanging art on the walls). I am just so proud of what we have done in the 3 weeks since we moved in and I love being home (except at night when I dread going to be bed). I hope Ryan and I can be in the apartment for awhile and be a family here. Haley certainly seems to be enjoying all of the space she has to run around and sleep. We even bought a new pet hair vacuum which I am excited to use to keep our furniture and home clean! I can't believe I am excited about a new vacuum, but I feel very adult having an apartment that I am proud to show off, so I want to take care of it and have it presentable all the time! I now understand why my mom is always cleaning her apartment - it's something to be proud of. When I was younger, my mom was always vacuuming and cleaning early in the morning (who knows who will stop by or what might happen during the day), but I always remember that she had to have every bed made all the time. I agree - a unmade bed makes the room look messy even if it's not. But on weekends, if we got out of bed for a second to go to the bathroom, we would have to yell at her that we aren't awake yet and not to make our bed. She is rubbing off on me in every positive way and I love it. I am becoming my mother more and more and I am happy about it (though her noise sensitivity I could have done without)! I am so proud of my mom and hope she is proud of me as her daughter.

I did not bike at all this week as the weather was rainy every day that I went to Bar Method. But I mastered the bus/train route and took the 6:15am class Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Tuesday we did diagonal seat, Wednesday we did pretzel and today we did pretzel under the bar. I love being back in my Bar Method routine. My body feels better when I am working out and even though I am exhausted from not sleeping, what else would I be doing at 6am? I might as well get my butt to the studio and work out rather than hang around the house upset that I didn't sleep through the night again. I didn't get to have breakfast with Ryan this week though, or walk to work from home, but next week I plan to take class Monday, Wednesday and Friday and spend more time in the morning with Ryan. We have our 1 year Wedding Anniversary coming up next Saturday, March 1 and we are having a 16 course tasting menu at Eleven Madison where we had our reception. I might have to throw in an extra Bar class next Tuesday or Thursday though just to prep for that meal! I plan to take class Saturday morning just as I did on our wedding day.

I can't believe it has been a year since we got married. It went by so fast and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us. We have definitely grown up together the past 7 years and being married has only improved our relationship. We are still getting to know each other and learn from each other and we will constantly change and help each other. I am so happy to have married my best friend!

I can't wait to go bowling tonight and get out and spend time with friends and Ryan! I just hope we can both stay awake through the day!

XO

Vietnamese Style Hot Dog

Last night, Ryan was planning to make macaroni and cheese with hot dogs - I knew he was going to have this for dinner even before I asked him what he was planning to eat. He loves Annie's Homegrown Gluten Free Rice Pasta with Creamy White Cheddar. It is delicious, but I didn't have enough WW points to eat a cup of it, plus a hot dog, plus some kind of dessert - I never let food get in the way of my sweet tooth so I don't compromise on dessert! I also knew that 1/2 a serving would not fill me up and I would end up eating way more than I should, so I opted for something a little different, but still almost the same so that Ryan and I could eat dinner together but not be making completely different meals! I opted for a gluten free Vietnamese style hot dog. We didn't have gluten free hot dog buns so I used 1 slice of Schar Multigrain bread toasted (in the oven because we got rid of our toaster since we barely eat bread anymore) and topped with a hot-mayo sauce, cucumber and broccoli slaw and a reduced fat Hebrew National hot dog. Ryan made a side salad for both of us and it ended up being a really delicious meal. Dessert was So Delicious Purely Decadent Pomegranate Chip and Cookie Dough ice cream (soy free, dairy free, gluten free - made with coconut milk). I was in heaven!

Vietnamese Style Hot Dog
Servings: 1
Weight Watchers Points: 6* Points will be effected depending on the bread used

1 slice Schar Multigrain Bread (or any hot dog bun)
1 Hebrew National Reduced Fat Hot Dog
Thinly sliced cucumber
1/4 cup broccoli slaw
1 packet stevia
2 tsp Hellmanns Light Mayo
1 tsp hot sauce

1. Cook hot dog (either in boiling water, microwave, grill, or stove).

2. Meanwhile, combine mayo, sriarcha and stevia to form a dressing.

3. Toast bread and top with dressing, thinly sliced cucumbers and broccoli slaw.

4. Top with hot dog

Serve and Enjoy!

Things have been going great this week. We had Monday off from work so Ryan and I hung around the house and relaxed. Sunday afternoon we went to Barclay's Center in Brooklyn so see Battle of Brooklyn: LIU vs. St. Francis. We sat court-side and the game was so exciting - St. Francis lost by 1 point in the last few seconds of the game. It was fun to sit so close to the game in such a big arena. It's not something we have ever done, or can afford to do for NBA teams. We were with my parents and brother so after the game we went back to their apartment and ordered in Chinese Food. Ryan and I then walked home which felt so great!

I have been getting back into my Bar Method early morning routine and feel so much better being consistent about my workouts. I figured out the bus/train route to get to SoHo and have been even making it to the earlier 6:15am classes - which honestly is too early for work but it feels great not to have to rush through class or leave early to get a shower! We even did pretzel this morning so my mood is lifted!! Hopefully this week goes by fast, I can use the weekend again!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

XO