Two Sides & a Duck

I'm sure many of you have read Abby's latest blog post by now and are anxiously waiting to read my response. Well, you'll have to wait a little longer. Today has been a hotbed of activity trying to get all ready for Thanksgiving and Nickey's birthday.

As Abby said, there are two sides to every story. You've heard hers. And, if you haven't, you can read about it here: http://transformwithpaige.blogspot.com/?spref=fb I wonder what you thought about it. I'll be formulating my next blog post while I'm away for the holiday. Not sure if I'll get to post until I return, though.

Abby issued me a challenge last Sunday... to run for 20 minutes straight without stopping or walking by this coming Sunday afternoon. I've not done it yet, but guess what I just did? I registered for the Great 5K Duck Race.

Stay tuned....

The Cop Showed Up to the Party!

I've already mentioned how Halloween is NOT one of my favorite holidays. However, I love an excuse to eat and drink with friends!

I am a Pampered Chef consultant, for the second time, actually. I was a consultant for about 6 1/2 years when I lived in Missouri. After my separation, I decided it would be a great opportunity for me to get back into and earn a little extra money. I have always loved the products and needed to restock my kitchen, so it was an easy decision!

At my cluster meeting last month, my Director made a cheese ball that was delicious! It's a Pampered Chef recipe, of course, and features the Three Onion Rub. The ingredient that I thought was ingenious, though, is the crushed Cheez-Its on the outside. I could eat this cheese ball all day long with celery! That makes it healthy, right? ;)

White Lightning Chicken Chili is somewhat of a Halloween tradition at my house. I started making this Pampered Chef recipe when my kids were little and it's one of my son's favorites. I'd never had any kind of white chili before this recipe and no other one compares to it now.

I also made a Pumpkin Ribbon Cake which is another PC recipe. The first time I made it was a show I did several years ago. It's always fun when you make a new recipe for the first time in front of a group of people and you're supposed to look like you know what you're doing! ;) I'd never liked pumpkin until I ate this. With a nice suggestion of pumpkin in the cake and the cream cheese ribbon throughout, this dessert convinced me that pumpkin can be pretty dang good! I made this for Nickey's birthday two years ago and she loved it, so it's a special occasion cake for us.

With my menu planned, I had invited a few friends over. I knew the weather wasn't going to be great (drizzly rain and cool) and we probably wouldn't have very many trick or treaters (even though we had candy out the wazoo, thanks to my candy lovin' girlfriend).

Amy and Evan were the first to arrive and Amy arranged the celery on the plate with the cheese ball for me. I think it looked great, what do you think?

My favorite part of the night, though, was when Abby and Justin arrived. I've teased Abby since the beginning of our journey about being a "cop". She surprised Cecelia, Becky, Nickey and me and showed up to a 6 AM run of ours and I commented that the "cop" had "showed up to the party."

So when I heard the knock on the door and turned to look, there was Abby, all decked out, in COP attire!! It was great!

Busted for non-healthy food options!

And, standing behind her was Justin, dressed as a cow! 

We had a great night and enjoyed the company of our "fitness" and "workout" friends. Of course now, they are simply "friends"... they don't need a designation.

Halloween SGPT

Last Monday night was our last Small Group Personal Training Class for that particular session. I've grown to really enjoy our SGPT classes. As I've said before, it's always something different with Abby; never the same workout twice. And we always leave exhausted and dripping in sweat. 

Each session there are new faces who join some of us who have been around a while (and still need every class). Although I've made much improvement, I know I still have a super long way to go before I ever begin to look "natural" working out!

With our last SGPT being the week of Halloween, Abby told us that we all had to dress up. Y'all may not realize, but I just don't like Halloween. I don't like dressing up. I'm not sure where it all stems from, but I could venture some lines of reasoning: first of all, I hate scary stuff, I hate to be scared, I'm terrified of horror movies (and even really suspenseful ones). I won't look out windows at night for fear of seeing who may be looking in... with really freaky eyes. As a kid, I always had sucky costumes. One year, I was a mummy, meaning I was wrapped totally in toilet paper. I felt like such a dork. Another year, my mother dressed me in a M*A*S*H* 4077th sweatshirt, gave me a surgical mask and called it done. What? Our "neighborhood" growing up consisted of four houses besides ours; not ideal for Trick or Treating. Then, we'd get to climb in the car and go "up town" to visit a small handful of houses of our "special" friends/teachers, etc. I've never been a big candy eater, so that really wasn't a draw either. Halloween is definitely my LEAST favorite of all the holidays.

But... I agreed to dress up. Brandy and I had talked about how funny it would be to print out one of Abby's fortune cookies and pin it on our shirts and then bark out an "Abby-ism". For Brandy, it would have been "Quit looking at your watch." For me, "Stay on those heels, you need to be able to wiggle those toes." As we talked, our idea got bigger and Brandy thought we should have a little spin-off of "Thing 1 and Thing 2", so she came up with "Abby 1, Abby 2, etc." signs for everyone in the class to wear. With black yoga pants, a brightly colored tank, a cap, and a watch, we were good to go! 

We all met in the parking lot so we could pin our Abby signs on and all walk in together. We were on the verge of being late to class because of this; Kim had a panicked look on her face and told us we better hurry up and not be late because she's scared of Abby! LOL

The joke panned out beautifully... when we finally made it in, Abby was dressed as "The Biggest Loser"... our roles had been reversed!

The Abbys made The Biggest Loser Side Plank!

As soon as the pictures were taken, of course, Abby had us blowing and going. No getting out of a workout just because we were dressed up as the boss. She had planned a scavenger hunt-type workout; we were all over the Y. In the gym for Medicine-Ball Rolldowns, Bicep Curls/Tricep Extensions, Burpees and other stuff; Walking Lunges around the track; running the stairs; Ellipticals, Treadmills. We worked in pairs and with nearly every "challenge", we had a bonus challenge--to better Abby's score/total.

Medicine Ball Rolldowns

Burpees

Trading Places... Now I was the boss!! :)

Melynie and I had our work cut out for us. I might have wanted to cheat a little. And I might have actually cheated a little on the lunges. Just keeping it real for you, my faithful readers. Here's Melynie and I during some of our workout.

Bicep Curls/Tricep Extensions

We enjoyed another wonderful night of working out with Abby and were sad to see this session come to an end. With the completion of this session, some of us felt like there should be a celebration as well. And, it just so happened that Wendy's had re-opened that day after being closed for several weeks for remodeling. Brandy, Erin and I decided we should support their grand re-opening; we had worked out really hard, so we deserved it, right?

Was all this crap food worth it?

I had a junior bacon cheeseburger, a bacon and cheese baked potato, a Coke and a Frosty. Yes, I admitted it. Some of you think I'm a fool for admitting here, in front of my trainer, the crap I put in my mouth. I'm just being honest. And, it helps me look back and remember why I'm at a plateau with my weight loss (or, if I gained back a pound or two...).

So, was it worth it? No. It really wasn't. I've never been a huge Wendy's fan anyway. It was OK while I was eating it. It was kind of weird, though... as much as the building had changed, the food was still the same ole crap. Disappointing, to say the least. And that night... my belly was all cramped up from eating it. Regrets? For the food, yes. For the company, no!

Marathon Training. Yeah, Right!

At the beginning of this journey, I agreed to do everything Abby did. Whatever classes she offered, I'd be a participant. THEN the Marathon Training Program came into existence. What??

Refer back to my "I'm in Trouble" post for more about my feelings on all this.

Anyway, after Abby and I talked about my fears and concerns and cleared the air some, I showed up for my first "Marathon Training" session. The "marathon"ers were to run eight miles, the "half-marathoners" six miles and me... I got a special deal of only four miles. And I didn't have to run. I just had to do it.

7:15 on a Saturday morning. Thirty-six degrees outside. Walking four miles. Yep, those things are exactly what motivate me. Just what I want to do... be outside, early, in cold weather, exercising. But... I showed up.

We all set off at the same time, from the same place. Very quickly, we started spacing out. Normal, actually... we're all different; different levels, different goals, different everything. I was content, though. I was bundled up enough to stay warm, so I just worried about Self. Didn't bring my iPod, so it was just me and the brisk cool air. 

I vaguely knew the route in my head, but knew it was going to take me down a road I'd never been before. That was kind of exciting, seeing something new but not having a concept as to where I was or how much further until.... That part was a little scary, actually.

I thought a lot. So many different things ran through my head. Lots of daydreaming, planning, list-making. I sang to myself a little. No one was around to hear me. It was going pretty well. Once I warmed up a little, I jogged some. Not too much, though. I was still in opposition to this whole thing. At one point on the route, I realized I wasn't sure whether I should turn left or right. With no sign of anyone in front of me, what was I to do? Trust my gut. Left. I was right! Around Smith's Landscaping and Logan's, I started to think to myself that maybe I'd turn around at Heritage and head on back. That was almost halfway. I could shave a little of the route and be back a couple minutes earlier. Who would know the difference?

Abby would. Abby my trainer. Abby the Cop. Abby would be at the hospital track waiting for me. She'd be there just to make sure I didn't cheat. She'd be there to check on me, to make sure I wasn't dead. She'd be there.

She wasn't there.

I went all the way to the half-way point without cheating one bit and she wasn't there. Dammit. So, I felt like Forrest Gump. I got to where I was going, so I turned around and went back.

Realizing I was half-way through, I knew I could do it. I could begin to think about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I was feeling pretty confident and good about myself. And I wasn't regretting the time or the temperature anymore. I was invigorated. Back around Smith's Landscaping, Evan and Jake whizzed past me. Evan looked like he was just out playing around... he's amazing! Jake was pretty impressive as well.

Was almost back to the starting point and I hear my name. Brandy was coming up behind me. Have I mentioned that I really don't want to like her? She's so cute and tiny and so... runny! I've gotten to know Brandy a little more the last couple of weeks and I really like her... a lot. Even though I don't want to. I love teasing her about that! :)

An hour and ten minutes after I began, I was back at my starting point. And I felt good. Not physically, so much, but mentally, I really felt great about it.

I headed to the Farmer's Market for healthy food. 

Collard Greens and Jerusalem Artichokes

Then I went to the Waffle House for not so healthy food. Abby, Evan and Brandy joined Nickey and me after their runs. We had a great time and it made the time, temperature and effort exerted all worth it!

Post-Run Nutrition at the Waffle House!

Beets and Jerusalem Artichokes

As part of Abby's Trainer In Your Back Pocket program, she issues a monthly nutrition challenge. For October, her challenge was for each of us to try a food we had never before eaten. I knew instantly that beets were going to be my choice. 

I grew up hearing about beets and everything I heard about beets made me think they were totally gross. When Abby and I started this journey, we went grocery shopping to help me learn how to look for and shop for better food choices. We bought some beets because she told me how healthy they would be for me. But I never cooked them. Instead, they rotted in the bottom drawer of my fridge and I pitched them.

Challenge accepted. I bought more beets. I even looked for ones with nice looking greens so I could use those as well. When Abby and I had bought them before, the greens were all pretty pitiful looking. I used the beet greens first; just added those to some other greens (collard and turnip) I was cooking. Of course, with them all mixed together, I couldn't tell how the beet greens themselves really tasted, but that's OK. I ate them.

Then, it was time to try the beets. I washed them good, then rubbed them with olive oil, salt and pepper then wrapped in aluminum foil, just like someone told me. I'm guessing it was Abby, but she's not a cook, so who knows? The oven was set at 400 and whoever told me how to do this said it'd take 20-30 minutes. WRONG! Dern things were in there over an hour and they still weren't tender all the way through, but I was tired of waiting.

I took them out of the oven and unwrapped them. Beets are a beautiful color. When they cooled almost enough for me to touch, I attempted peeling them. Blasted things hold their heat! Finally got them peeled and my hands were stained to high heavens. Sliced the bold purple-y red balls and put them on my plate. First bite... tasted like dirt. Try again. Second bite... tasted like dirt. OK, once more--bite number three tasted like dirt as well. I swear I washed them good. Maybe beets have an acquired taste and I just haven't acquired it yet. I don't know, but my first attempt at eating beets wasn't quite successful.

However, I've purchased some more... maybe the second time is the charm.

At the Farmer's Market a couple weeks ago, I saw something interesting that Scott Enlow had; he always has really pretty and odd looking stuff. That's where I got my long, skinny Japanese eggplant this summer; also, I've purchased shallots, garlic, greens, peppers and several other things from him. But this new little nugget was sure different... it looked kind of like ginger; was very knobby like ginger, but certainly didn't smell like it. Come to find out, I was meeting Jerusalem artichokes.

You can read more about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_artichoke

Scott told me they can be sliced and used in stir frys and would be similar to water chestnuts. The selling point for me, though, was that they could also be peeled and boiled like potatoes. Because the carbohydrate content of the Jerusalem artichokes is high in insulin which doesn't convert to sugar in the body and can't be absorbed, they are considered "safe" for diabetics. Hmmm.... I bought two pounds.

I cooked them four days after I bought them. I tried to peel them, but remember--they were very knobby. And, in that four days, they had kind of turned soft. You know how soft a potato can get as it ages? Very hard to peel. So were these. I decided I wasn't going to the trouble of peeling all these soft, knobby things I had bought, so I peeled about half of them, sliced them and tossed them into some greens I was cooking. If they are like potatoes, I figured, they'd be just fine. And, I guess they were. They really had no taste, except the green juice. But, to be honest, the effort wasn't worth it for me. I won't be buying them again, I don't think.

But, Abby, do I get bonus points for trying not one, but TWO new foods I've never eaten??