2013 - Week 17

Hi again. So I'm sure you're just dying to find out if I completed my workout challenge right? First of all, I should tell you that my Bible reading, dream journal, and daily memory journal are still going strong. Should I just assume that is the case and only tell you from now on if it changes? That might be a good idea. If I'm capable of doing all of these other tasks, I should at least be able to keep on top of those few little things. Alright, I won't hold you in suspense any longer . . . of course the answer is: YES. It was truly a challenge though; here is my recap of how each day went:

Day 4 - Ahh, back to my original studio from Yoga Month last year. They actually have two locations, and this was at the location that was older and smaller, and yet it still felt like a breath a familiar fresh air. The class wasn't crowded, it was very clean, it was nice having the staff remember me (they are all very nice) and I really enjoyed the class (it was a new type of class that incorporates some ballet barre work . . . something I'd never tried before. Who knew that such tiny little movements could be so difficult? It was a bright and early class (I had to be there at 6:15, on a weekend), but it was worth it . . . I wish I could go to all the rest of my 8 classes there. Ah well, 4 down, 4 to go . . . let's see what these other places have to offer :)

Day 5 - My workout today was at an older studio, but everyone was really nice. It was a TRX boot camp class, so it started with some outside warm ups (yay, it's finally warm enough to be outside :)) and then basically an intro to and basic workout with the TRX system (here's a link to some YouTube videos about TRX if you don't know what it is). It's interesting, but if you have a sensitive back you have to be very careful, especially with the "Rip Trainer". It was definitely fun to try something new though.

Day 6 - Today was TRX again, but I enjoyed it more this time (I think it was because there was no "Rip Trainer" portion). The class today was at a smaller chain studio, mostly focused on personal training. It seems really nice and very personalized . . . I wouldn't mind going there, and I think it would definitely produce results. The parking lot was super busy, and that made me a little late, but other than that, everything went smoothly. It was a small class, only five girls (including me) in my class, but it was a nice size for the space available at the gym. I worked out pretty hard and felt good afterwards. This was my first time using those crazy big rope things too (the ones you always see on "The Biggest Loser" ads). Oh, and the trainer was at least 6 months pregnant, so if she could do it, so could I. Only two workouts left!

Day 7 - Whew . . . I think this is the sweatiest I've ever been in my life. When hot yoga first came out, I thought it sounded like a really bad idea and really unhealthy (seriously, who thinks that working out in super hot conditions is a good idea, it sounds like instant dehydration and an easy way to pass out to me). Unfortunately, this class made it feel that way. I was rather dizzy and kind of nauseous the whole time. It was just SO hot and humid, I was kind of uncomfortable and rather glad when it was over. I did push myself and I felt good when it was done, but I'm glad I didn't go to that studio for my yoga month . . . I wouldn't have survived. It's kind of a bummer, because the studio is in a great location really near work, and I wanted to love it, but sadly I didn't. I'm glad that one is over though and that I know not all hot yoga is like that . . . I never would have claimed to like it if it was.

Day 8 - I MADE IT :) Today was quite challenging, but I enjoyed it. It was a small gym with just a few trainers. The average class size is six, but my class was just two. Because of that, we got lots of personal attention and the focus of this class was on learning how to do the exercises properly. I definitely think this place is a great place to get in shape and you will be spent when you are done, each and every time. I didn't think I would like this place, but I did and I am happy I got the opportunity to try all of these places . . . very cool experience.

So there you have it . . . eight different classes in two weeks. Some were great, some were not, but all in all, I'm very glad I got to try all the classes and studio/gyms and meets all the new people. There was an "after party" thrown by the sponsor of the challenge, but I had other plans and couldn't attend, so I can't say how that was, but the opportunity to try all of these classes for free was great.

Now that I've worked out so much, I deserve lots of sweet treats, right? Of course :)

I made a few new things this week, both sweet and savory. I guess I should start with the savory ones, since I made them first.

To begin with, I tried a new pizza dough recipe. I don't know if it beats out my old standby (Emeril's perfect pizza dough), but it was worth a shot. I used whole wheat flour and, on the suggestion of one of the commenters, added crushed red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning to the crust . . . brilliant idea. I topped it with fresh tomatoes and basil, two cheeses and some pepperoni . . . that experiment was a success :)

Mmm . . . pizza

Since I was on a whole wheat kick, I thought I'd try to make a soft whole wheat bread too. I really love my Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book, and when the authors came out with Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, I was really excited. Unfortunately, most of the recipes I've tried out of the healthy book haven't worked out as well as I had hoped, and this one was no exception. It was kind of disappointing, but it's not too bad. Definitely still edible, but after only sitting for two days (the unbaked dough sits in the fridge until you are ready to bake it, for up to five days), it already tasted kind of fermented. Don't get me wrong, I love sourdough, but this just didn't taste that great. Maybe my flour is too old? Anyone have any other ideas?

Next, I tried my hand at roasted asparagus. Asparagus was on sale at my local Aldi, so I decided to buy some. It's not my favorite vegetable, but I was pretty desperate for anything fresh after the long, cold winter, so I figured it couldn't be too difficult. The recipe was easy, and turned out pretty good. I think I'd prefer hollandaise sauce to the hard-boiled egg (even though it's more difficult) and maybe the Meyer lemon would be better than the regular lemon I used. I only had old lemon zest too, so it was lacking that lemon kick that I was hoping for . . . that's my own fault though, not the recipe. I partnered the asparagus with my lovely truffle potatoes, a slice of the whole wheat bread, and lemon-pepper baked fish . . . take that Friday night fish fry :)

Before

After

Mmm

Finally, I did have a few sweet recipes too: no-bake energy bites, avalanche bars, and homemade "Pop Tarts".

The no-bake energy bites were a great Pinterest find and super yummy. I used ground almonds because my ground flax was rancid . . . oops. They were easy to make and definitely hit the spot :)

No-bake energy bites

The avalanche bars were a little too sweet and hard . . . I think I'll stick with regular rice krispies or the peanut butter chocolate ones in the future, but it was something good to try, and if you love white chocolate, this might be the recipe for you.

The Pop Tarts (which I made with my lovely friend, the Ganache Queen) turned out more like pocket pies, and the dough was nothing like the pastry dough in the picture, but considering the recipe called for "1/4 unsalted butter" it wasn't surprising we got confused. 1/4 what? Cup, pound, ? We went with 1/4 cup and it wasn't really flaky, so I'm thinking 1/4 pound was probably correct, but I'm not really sure. Anyways, the idea was good, but the recipe needs a bit more work I think. I wouldn't recommend the recipe, but I do recommend the idea, and love the fact that you can make tons of different fillings. We made strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, apple cinnamon, brown sugar cinnamon, and s'mores. They all oozed out a little bit, but they were still tasty little pies.

Pocket "pop tart" pies

Okay, well I think all of those recipes will give you lots of things to try this week, if you so desire. Get outside, enjoy the lovely weather (I hope you have lovely weather anyways, wherever you are), and try some new recipes :) Talk to you next week.

2013 - Week 16

Okay . . . Week 16 . . . big stuff going on :) Not much to report with my dream journal, Bible reading, or daily memory journal, just plugging along as usual. But, on the exercise front and the baking front, there were a few new things.

For baking, I tried out a new recipe for Oatmeal Cream Pies. Yum yum, they were really good :) They were a little putsy, so maybe next time I could pipe the filling in, instead of taking all of the time to spread it, but otherwise they were pretty great. It was a toss up whether to leave cookies really soft or bake them a little longer so they don't sag while filling and eating . . . I'm not really sure which was better. They were supposed to be like the imitation of the snack cake variety, and I don't think I've ever actually had one of those, but my friends at Bible study said they were just as good, and they went really, really fast, so I think they might have been even better :) The only problem with them was that the next day, the cream filling had crystallized so they tasted a little grainy . . . anyone have any ideas how to prevent that? It might have just been my fault and maybe I didn't make it quite right. I wouldn't let that stop you from trying this recipe though, they were so yummy, so you'll probably just eat them all right out of the oven anyways :)

Oatmeal Cream Pies

Next, I tried a recipe for mini meatloaves, three ways. I've discovered something interesting about myself during all of these challenge things . . . I just can't do it the easy way if the hard way seems cooler. Sure, I could have just made one type of meatloaf, but since there were three variations, I had to try all three at once . . . and I did. My husband and I both rated them in the same order: #1 - American, #2 - Mexican, and #3 - Italian, although that might have been because that was the order of decreasing flavor and we both had colds at the time, so we couldn't taste much (hence, the Italian one didn't taste like much of anything, and the American one was very flavorful). At any rate, they were easy and pretty tasty, plus I loved how cute and little they were and how we could try three different kinds of meatloaf in one sitting without feeling totally gluttonous.

Mini meatloaves before baking (L to R, American, Italian, Mexican)

After baking

Complete dinner

But wait, there's more :) I was tasked with bringing dessert to a girls night that I was attending, so I made some yummy pumpkin chocolate chip bread (family recipe). I even made cute mini loaves to send home with the girls, but it just didn't seem like quite enough, so what I did do? Made a cake of course :) And this one is a gem: Gooey chocolate marshmallow cake by the "Bird on a Cake" blog. I needed something simple and something that I had all of the ingredients for, and this fit the bill perfectly. It was actually very easy, and very tasty. We didn't eat it right out of the oven as suggested, but we did reheat our pieces in the microwave for about 20 seconds before eating . . . ooey gooey goodness :)

I was a little concerned because it looked like the frosting was all "broken", but it turned out okay, so if this happens to you, don't fear. 

Mmm . . . gooey

So now that I made all of these tasty treats, I should probably tell you how I'm trying to work all of those calories off. Through the yoga studio that I went to last August (you can read all about it here) I heard about a two week mini-challenge put on by a yoga clothing store and a variety of fitness centers around town. I only really signed up for it so I could go to a class at the original yoga studio, but then, per usual, I figured if I was doing one class, why not try for all eight? Why I do this to myself, I have no idea, but there it is.  I took my first three classes at three new fitness centers this week, and here is how they went:

Day 1 went pretty well for not doing hot yoga since August. Not quite as nice of an entry area as the other studio, but they did have two studio rooms which means more classes, which is a plus. Overall, it was a pretty good practice . . . I learned a few new things and the instructor was nice.

Day 2 - Again, a nice instructor, but it felt like a really long class. I think it was the first hot yoga class when I wondered multiple times, "Are we done yet?". It was a very busy place . . . it felt more like a regular gym because of the packed locker room, the noise level in the yoga room prior to class (I'm used to it being a more calm atmosphere), and the wet floors at the end (they didn't have the cool spaghetti-like floor that soaked up all the sweat, so there were puddles . . . gross). It was hot and humid yoga for sure, not the nice dryer heat that I have experienced at the last two places. But it was a good workout, I got to try a few new things, and I was very sweaty at the end (yes, believe it, you doubters who think I never sweat . . . you know who you are ;)).

Day 3 - Today I tried a cardio dance class at a larger fitness center . . . it was a really nice facility. The class didn't have the Latin flare of Zumba, so it felt more like dancing in a club . . .  not quite my style, but the instructors were nice and it was pretty fun. I think I like the relaxing (and warm) nature of hot yoga better, but it's good to try new things too. If I lived closer to that fitness center I would love to be a member . . . it seemed really nice and they had a wide variety of classes.

So yeah, that was a really long post . . . sorry about that. Tune in next week to hear the exciting conclusion of my exercise mini-challenge . . . you think I can do it? Hopefully I'll have more yummy recipes to share then too. Talk to you next time :)

2013 - Week 15

Hi from Week 15 :)

Unfortunately, this was kind of a disappointing week. I kept up with my Bible reading, dream journal, and daily memory journal, but other than that, I didn't make much progress. I thought that going through all of my pictures for my scrapbooking task would be fun, and some of it was, but then I realized that when I organized them all last year, I think I picked the wrong ones. Here's what I mean . . . I used to have a Mac, and it saved all of my pictures in "Originals", "Modifieds", and "Thumbs" folders. So I thought I copied the originals or modifieds to my current computer, but now going through them, a lot of them are very small and really low quality, so I must have gotten only the thumbnails for some of them. So my entire time on my internship and quite a few other big life events now have very poor quality photos representing them. It's really a bummer. A few of the folders that were affected I was able to salvage because my husband also had copies of my pictures (engagement pictures, a vacation, etc.) but some of them he did not have and are now lost forever. If I would have been smart, I wouldn't have deleted the originals off of our external hard drive where I was storing them, but that was my way of keeping track of my progress . . . when I imported them into my new computer, I deleted them from the hard drive so I didn't have duplicate copies. I guess that was a bad idea. So I'm pretty bummed about that, but there's really nothing I can do about it, so there's no use fussing over it I guess. I'm planning on just taking a few of my favorites and printing them off at a smaller size so the grainy-ness of the photos isn't as evident and hopefully it will work out okay.

My exercising was a highlight though . . . a friend let me borrow her "Gold's Gym Cardio Workout" Wii game (which, so far has consisted of mostly boxing), so I'm having fun with that. It seems like it has a lot to progress through and I do feel sore after doing it, so we'll see how it goes in the future.

So other than that, for my "new thing" this week, I made some pizza out of focaccia bread that I had made. It turned out pretty well (I used the Panera Bread focaccia recipe found in this book: Panera Bread Cookbook. It's a really easy and tasty recipe.) I took the bread and sliced it in half, and then I should have toasted it first, but I didn't, so the sauce made the bread a little soggy, but it was still good. I just put a simple topping of pizza sauce, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese on it. Then I baked it and served it with a salad . . . yum.

Focaccia Pizza

Since that wasn't technically new, just a reinvention of something I already had, I did try one other recipe. If you read my post last week, you saw my trial of a thick and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe from my friend's blog, All Food Considered. He was comparing two ways of making chocolate chip cookies chewy, using melted butter or oatmeal. Last week, I tried the melted butter method, and let me tell you, they were fantastic. This week, I tried the oatmeal method (recipe here) and while they were good (and just as big as last weeks :)), they didn't beat out the melted butter method . . . surprise, surprise ;) They are definitely more filling though and still tasty. You could even add nuts to make them more nutritious. Perhaps I cooked them a bit long, but they got a little hard and needed microwaving to make them soft again after a couple of days. The others didn't need that.  So if you want a little healthier version, go with the oatmeal ones, but if you are really looking for a tasty, awesome chocolate chip cookie, stick with the melted butter version :) On second thought, the oatmeal ones actually had more butter in them than the melted butter version, so forget about the oatmeal version, just make the first ones :)

Before baking

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 In other news, I made the roasted garlic and sweet potato soup again with more imitation "Cheddar Bay biscuits" that I talked about in Week 11. Oh goodness, so good . . . I think that meal was the highlight of my week ;) So here's to a better week next week. I hope you are all doing well. See you back here later :)

2013 - Week 14

Well, Week 14 sure flew by too. I just don't know where the time goes. As far as progress though, this was a very good week.

For my exercise, I worked on pilates and stretches again, I'm quite enjoying that. My Bible reading and daily memory journal are up to date, but I only really had one dream all week. That's quite odd for me because I usually have dreams every night . . . I think it was because I didn't get enough sleep again. As for my task . . . drumroll please . . . I FINALLY started on my actual scrapbooking. I cleaned off my living room floor, took my bedside drawer out, and sorted all of my scraps. I know some are missing, but I have the majority of them (and the ones that I don't have, from about 6 years ago, are probably lost forever). I put them in order and made an outline of potential scrapbook pages. Then I went through the outline and referenced it with my photo archives and added more pages of events that I don't have scraps for. It's going to be so great. It was wonderful to get through those, and I'm really looking forward to picking and ordering prints next week :)

So many scraps, so little time

I had a few fun new things that I tried this week. First of all, since I have really only been baking or cooking for my "new thing" each week, I decided I should try to actually learn a new skill. I found this video on Pinterest: Curly hair video, and gave it a go. Considering how long it's been since I used my curling iron (probably best measured in years), I was a little shaky at using it, but I think it turned out okay. Next time I will have to try and get more body at the roots before curling, but it was very fun to have voluminous hair :)

Before

After

Back

My other new thing was a recipe. My friend T.J. has an awesome food blog, All Food Considered (I am so jealous of his awesome food photography skills), and I found a recipe on there that I just had to try. I really shouldn't share the address of his site with you, because once you go there, you might never come back here, but he has so many good recipes, photos, and tips, that it would be very mean of me not to share, so here it is: All Food Considered. And, if you haven't guessed, the recipe I tried was what that link opens to: Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. I personally love all sorts of cookies: big, small, crunchy, chewy, etc., but some people are very particular about their cookies (you know who you are). I have a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, but they aren't very chewy, and I was definitely in the mood for chewy, and these hit the spot. They are so easy too, and make big cookies . . . yum. I highly recommend this recipe, just try not to think about all the butter that's in them ;)

Mmm . . . chocolate chip cookie dough

Big cookies

Can't beat a pile of fresh chewy chocolate chip cookies :)

That's all for this week, see you all next week :)