Walking and Barking

Have I mentioned how much I really, really loooove weekends? :)  They just seem to always go by super duper fast. :(  This weekend was no exception. 

Well, Friday evening was pretty lackadaisical since my day was spent on a field trip to the Aquarium of the Americas and IMAX 3D Theatre. 

The clip is not completely clear, but there are some massive turtles, sharks, and stingrays in the aquarium.

  Other than fish, you can see birds, penguins, otters, and white alligators.  The IMAX Deep in the Sea was also fascinating and my 9-11 year old students loved it.

Saturday started with a visit to the park with the dogs.  While Chris played with the dogs, I did my own cardio circuit.  It consisted of lots of jogging, jumping jacks, lunges, high knees running in place, planks, side planks, basic crunches, and girly push-ups.  I did two sets of the circuits and then jogged around the field for a bit.  It was about twenty-five to thirty minutes of exercising and the lunges left me in some serious pain in the rear.  Chris actually joined me on one set of lunges and he is still whining about the pain claiming he will never do lunges again. LOL!

Sunday was a fun filled day which began at church.  Shortly after, hub and I met some friends downtown for a Mardi Gras parade.  We went to the Krewe of Barkus.  It was our first time attending and it was like no other parade I’ve ever been to. 

As you can see it is not an ordinary float parade with riders that I am accustomed to. It is animals on large floats, homemade floats, grocery baskets as floats with the pet owners walking along side pushing the floats.  It is animals dressed up as people, animals dressed up as animals, people dressed up as animals, and people dressed up as other people.  In the end, this parade in particular is for a good cause in support of helping animals in need of homes.

And here is a few other sites as we were walking through the quarter.

 

Mardi Gras Decor on the historic buildings.

 

While walking around downtown, you will see street performers standing on streets trying to make a buck.  Here is one of the mimes, but there are also magicians, artists, singers, tappers, and more.

Crowded streets awaiting the Krewe of Barkus!

We walked around for about 3 and a half hours downtown and then I headed over to my sister’s house to babysit until 10 o’clock last night.  Needless to say, I am a bit exhausted today.

Well, I did do a small amount of cooking this weekend, but for the most part I ate on the go from fast food type restaurants for dinner both Saturday and Sunday night which was not optimal, but hey I’m not perfect.

If you prefer to bake cakes using a boxed mix, I highly recommend doing what hungry-girl suggests.  I mixed one box of cake mix with one 6 oz. container of greek yogurt and a cup of water.  I then baked the mini-cupcakes according to what the box stated.  The cupcakes came out so moist and satisfied my sweet tooth cutting out much of the fat and calories and adding some protein from the greek yogurt.  I went with a lemon cake mix and used the peach chobani yogurt.  Hungry-girl states that her favorite is devil’s food cake mix with plain greek yogurt, but use what you have or prefer.  She does have some other 2 ingredient cake recipes which can be seen here.

 

I sprinkled some powdered sugar on top and they were great—much like a lemon poundcake.  I would probably make a whole cake rather than the mini-cakes next time, but either way would work.

Have a good night!  Have you ever been to Mardi Gras here in New Orleans?

Did You Take a You Day?

This week I have been trying to wake up a few minutes early to ensure I am to work on time.  We’ve started a new program at school called “Breakfast in the Classroom” where all students and teachers get a breakfast meal that is consumed together in class.  I actually do not have a homeroom class so I’ve just been monitoring in the hallway to make sure things are running smoothly.  I have chosen to forego the breakfast offerings after seeing the cherry pastries and granola bars and yogurt cups that the students have been given.  Today it was a pancake wrapped sausage on a stick.  Luckily, I ate prior to “Breakfast in the Classroom.”

I topped a cup of plain greek yogurt with a 1/2 c. blueberries, a drizzle of maple syrup, a spoonful of almond butter, and an oatmeal chocolate chip muffin was mixed in.

Instead of the usual Chai, I went with Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer Tea.   I don’t care for the flavor that much, but was hoping for some stress relief (which hot tea usually has that effect on me anyway).  The past couple of days I have been feeling some tension or stress pains in my chest.  It feels like tightening or pressure near my heart.  I think it could be due to my students’ standardized testing coming up and I am overly-anxious to get it done with.

On my way to lunch just before noon, I was stopped by two coworkers who wanted to know if I had begun to plan for a parent event we have yearly at school.  I went on to explain that my heart is feeling tightness and stressed and I just had not gotten to it yet.  One of the ladies asked, “Did you take a you day?”  My response was no as I don’t generally take off just because I need a break.  But I do like the sound of a “you day” or “me day” for that matter!

I then proceeded to the lounge to eat my scrumptious salad composed of spring mix, romas, pecans, reduced fat feta, blueberries, a few chicken chunks left from Sunday’s grilled chicken, topped with a tbsp. of olive oil, and 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar.  I enjoyed a banana on side.

Today I made it to the gym to get in some strength training and cardio.  I started with 10 minutes on the stair climber, followed by 30  minutes of weights, and finished up with 20 minutes on the elliptical.

After my workout I followed my Mom to her house to pick up some roast that she cooked in the slow-cooker last night.  It was a great help because I wasn’t left struggling with “what’s for dinner” tonight. I ate the roast on a sandwich thin with lowfat mayo, a reduced fat slice of swiss, and tomato slices.  I added some steamed snap beans for some greenery and veggies.

I decided I would try a few sips of a white wine I was given for Christmas to try and take the edge off.  I rarely drink alcohol and just can’t seem to acquire a taste for it.

Do you have any tips to relieve tension/stress?

Smothered Potatoes and Sausage

Last night I wanted to cook something that did not take hours to cook, but was a home-cooked meal that would satisfy both me and my husband.  I remembered a coworker a few years back explaining what she was eating for lunch one day—leftover smothered potatoes.  The smothering technique involves cooking potatoes, meat, vegetables such as cabbage (smothered cabbage with pickled meat is an old favorite that Mom has cooked since I was a child) on low heat in a little bit of liquid in a covered saucepan.  Combining the smothered potatoes with the sweet Italian chicken sausage I purchased on Sunday made for a fulfilling, tasty meal.  I had a simple lettuce and tomato salad on the side topped with Newman’s Light Honey Mustard Dressing.

Smothered Potatoes and Sausage

Ingredients:

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp. garlic

1.5 lbs. fingerling potatoes, chopped in 1” cubes

1 lb. sausage of choice, sliced (I used sweet Italian chicken)

1/4 + 1/2 c. of water

Salt and white pepper to taste

Tony Chacherie’s Creole Seasoning

1/2 c. green onions, chopped

Directions:

1.) Heat oil in large saucepan.  Add onions and cook on medium low about ten minutes until tender.

2.) Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds to 1 minute. 

3.) Next add sausage and 1/4 c. water.  Cook until browned.

4.) Add potatoes and 1/2 c. water.  Season with salt, pepper, and creole seasoning and stir.

5.) Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until potatoes are soft and almost creamy. 

6.) Stir in green onions, heat about 5 minutes more, and serve.

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Today’s Breakfast

Kashi Heart to Heart, Kashi Vanilla Island Shredded Wheat, Flaxseed, Blueberries, and 1 c. lowfat milk + Chai Tea

Lunch: Turkey, Reduced Fat Swiss, Spring Mix, Honey Mustard + McIntosh Apple + Cherry Tomatoes

I ate an apple pie Larabar before tutoring to tide me over til I got home.  That did not do the trick because I came home and snacked on pumpernickel pretzel sticks with greek olive hummus.  Then I decided to take it easy and watched “The Town” (since Chris and I started it last night but did not finish because I fell asleep), which was recommended during lunchtime talk yesterday.  I totally enjoyed the romantic action packed movie.

As for my stress free evening, I continued in that route by heating up a Kashi Roasted Vegetable Pizza.  Another simple salad was eaten alongside my pizza slices.

I think I need some hot chocolate to finish off the stress free night.