Green Monster Friday!

Good Morning Afternoon, whatever, and Happy Friday! 🙂 Though this work week was only a short one, it sure felt like a normal week to me!

Since I’m participating in Real Food Runner’s Green Smoothie Challenge I started my day off right with a Green Smoothie. This variation is a pretty traditional one as far as Green Smoothies go and is sometimes referred to as the Green Monster.

In the Ninja:

2 cups baby spinach
1-1.25 cups milk (I used Vanilla Soy)
1 tbsp flax seed, optional (I like Bob’s Red Mill)
1 banana (I used fresh, but frozen is always better…makes the smoothie creamier!)
ice

So far, I’ve really enjoyed making a green smoothie a part of my day. They seriously pack so many vitamins and nutrients in one shot that I really should drink them more often than I normally do. AND they’re actually delicious!

I have a few new recipes that I’m excited to try out this weekend, so I’ll definitely post those for you and give you my thoughts once I’ve had a chance to make them!

Anyone else still have their Christmas tree and decorations up? Nope? Just me? Kinda thought so.

Half Marathon Training

Given that this week was a whacky one…my training for this week was all off. Not only were we in San Diego last weekend but then NYE came and it really just distracted me. I did end up running 7 miles on New Years Eve…so there’s that. But for the most part, I didn’t do much other training this week. I am planning to go for a 3 or 4 mile run tonight and get back on the horse with a long run this weekend and my normal training plan starting next week.

Other than that small setback, I’m feeling okay! I ran my 7 miler (which was a new PDR for me, thankyouverymuch) and felt really strong. I’m definitely sure I could have gone another mile at this point so I’m feeling like I CAN actually finish this race, and feel strong! 🙂

Speaking of workouts, I’m planning to start tracking my weekly workouts here on the blog to not only help myself plan, but to hold myself accountable to what I’ve planned. It’s never any fun to publicize the fact that you decided to sit on the couch instead of hit the pavement…so I’m hoping this helps keep me motivated on those days where the couch is calling my name.

Fresh Friday

In addition to the Green Smoothie Challenge I’m participating in, Real Food Runner also does a thing called Fresh Friday (every Friday, as you would guess) where you detail “3 things that made your week fresh and fantastic!” Here goes for my first stab at Fresh Friday!

#1: Spending NYE with great friends (wine, great food and laughter!)
#2: The Green Smoothie Challenge. This has truly reminded me that incorporating healthy snacks into your everyday really can be super easy!
#3: Weekend trip to San Diego. Sometimes all it takes is getting out of town for a bit to rejuvenate and revitalize yourself. Having an awesome husband and pretty cute dog to spend that time with doesn’t hurt, either.

So that’s a wrap for now! We don’t have anything super exciting planned for the weekend but I’m excited to just lounge around, hit the mall and spend some Christmas gift cards (that are clearly, burning a hole in my pocket), and spend some time with friends. 🙂

P.S. Did you notice that Mariel Moves got a mini-facelift last night? It’s a new year so I needed a new design on the blog. I plan to continue to enhance this as I continue to establish my blogging adventure. A big shout out to Kim at 733 Design. She did an amazing job and was so super great to work with!

A Day of Eats & Day 2 of the Green Smoothie Challenge (GSC)

Okay, now that my San Diego Weekend Recap post is out of the way, let’s get down to my eats for the day! Breakfast today was a quick bowl of Quaker Oatmeal Squares as I rushed around the house getting ready. Thus why there is no picture… But I think you can imagine my simple bowl of cereal, right? Right.

Lunch was also quick and simple. I headed to a local stir-fry joint and constructed my own concoction of chicken, carrots, zucchini and green beans with brown rice and teryaki sauce. I seriously inhaled this lunch, I was SO hungry.

Tonight was a night of leftovers for Justin and I. I didn’t necessarily have anything planned for dinner so we worked with what we had. Easy brats thrown on the grill with leftover pasta salad and veggies and dip from our new years eve party. Easy peasy and still delicious!

A little while after dinner I made myself a green smoothie for a snack. Since I’m participating in Real Food Runner’s 7-day Green Smoothie Challenge so I had to get my green on! (plus I got a new ninja blender for Christmas that I love playing with!)

In the Ninja:

Frozen strawberries
2% Milk (I was out of vanilla soy, bah!)
Baby spinach
Tone It Up’s Perfect Fit Vanilla Protein Powder
Ice

So I believe that the protein powder sort of altered the color of my smoothie a bit…it turned out a bit more brown than the normal bright green. As far as taste goes, it tasted normal so, oh well!

Though I will say it’s difficult to drink a smoothie when it’s chilly outside! All the more reason to crank up the heat and cuddle up under a blanket, right?

And that’s JUST what I’m about to do! Justin and I made it all the way to Season 2 of Breaking Bad yesterday and I can hear that and my couch calling my name! Have great night everyone!

Stay Classy San Diego

Happy Monday Wednesday everyone! It sure feels like a Monday to me and I’m having a hard time getting back into the swing of the professional world after such a long holiday break.

As promised, I owe you all a recap of the wonderful weekend that Justin and I spent in San Diego with Peanut! The following will contain far too many pictures of my adorable dog. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! 🙂

Friday

Justin and I were a little nervous about a 4.5-5 hour car ride with our dog considering the longest she’d ever be in the car previous to this was about 20 minutes. However, we were worried for no reason. Peanut climbed right onto daddy’s lap and proceeded to sleep for the majority of the drive. Win! However, this meant that I did ALL the driving…not so awesome. Oh well, though…we made it safe and sound!

Justin and I were staying at the Hilton Gaslamp Quarter Hotel in downtown San Diego. We chose this hotel because it is pet friendly, has a little dog park right outside the front lobby and is very conveniently located within downtown San Diego. Steps from amazing restaurants and shops and very close to the pier and water as well. Check-in was a breeze. We are Hilton Honors members and I have to say we definitely received amazing customer service during this trip. While checking in we were informed that we had been upgraded from the Loft Style Suite that we had originally booked to a similar Loft Suite but with about 300 sq. feet of extra room as well as a large jacuzzi tub. Our pet fee (which is normally $75/night) was also comped! Thanks Hilton!

Once we arrived to our room Peanut was in heaven, so many new things to sniff! She ran around for a bit while Justin and I got down to the important stuff. Where should we eat for dinner?! Justin called down to the concierge at the hotel and asked where a yummy, dog friendly, place to have dinner would be. He asked if we liked Italian? OF COURSE and suggested we check out Chianti. The concierge even took care of making reservations for us, ensuring that we got a good seat on the patio so Peanut was able to join us. Awesome. We were starving so we packed our stuff up right away and headed out.

Peanut was a great sport even with all the distractions of the city!

Once we arrived at Chianti we were given, as promised, a perfect little table on the patio where Peanut could join us.

I was so hungry that I didn’t even think to snap pics of our dinner but let me tell you, it was delicious! I got the homemade pasta with meat sauce and Justin got the gnocchi. We both, of course, had a glass of wine to go with our meals as well.

All in all it was a perfect night for dinner on the patio…the weather wasn’t too cold and the food was delish!

Saturday

After a great first night, we woke up and decided to have a quick breakfast at the hotel before heading out for the day. We dined outside on the patio with a fireplace to take the chill off!

Peanut sat nicely at first and then got very curious as to what the heck mommy kept pointing at her! 🙂

The night before we had heard from some people at the dog park that the dog beach on Coronado Island was awesome and that it was a must visit while we were in town. Saturday morning was the perfect time to visit. We packed up and made the short 10 minute drive to the Island and explored the dog beach and let me tell you…I think Peanut thought she died and went to dog heaven. She literally did not stop running for the full hour that we were there. Coronado is a leash free dog beach, so she was able to roam and play at her leisure.

After Peanut was all tuckered out we headed back to the hotel. Justin relaxed on the couch with a very sleepy Peanut and I hit the gym for a quick 4 mile run. Gotta get my training runs in!

Saturday night we decided to keep it low key, since it was drizzling a bit outside and Justin just ran to the restaurant downstairs and got take-out for dinner. (we had already bought a bottle of wine to drink in the room).

Sunday morning our plan was to enjoy a nice breakfast before bringing Peanut back to the dog beach for one last romp before we head to make the long drive back to Phoenix. We had gotten a few recommendations from locals to check out Cafe 21 for breakfast or lunch and that we wouldn’t be disappointed! Since locals always know best, we took them up on their suggestion and headed to Cafe 21 for breakfast. Cafe 21’s menu is inspired by fresh, organic produce and they definitely had some different and interesting things on the menu!

We were again seated on the patio and I ordered a latte to get my morning started.

For my actual breakfast I ordered the banana pancakes. Once they arrived, I realized I’d forgotten to order a half stack instead of the full, regardless, they were delish so I’m actually glad I forgot. Not too dense, not too fluffy and also not too sweet. I would definitely order again.

Speaking of unusual menu items, Justin got the short rib omelet and was definitely happy with his choice.

After breakfast, we packed up the car and instead of heading right for the highway gave Peanut another quick run on her beloved dog beach. She ran and ran for another 30-45 minutes before we called it quits.

See you next time San Diego!

Our drive home was pretty un-eventful except as we were nearing Phoenix, we saw the brightest rainbow ever! Thankfully Justin got a shot while we were at a stop light!

It’s the simple things… 🙂

And that’s a wrap! Our San Diego weekend in a nutshell. Sorry for the super long post…and Peanut photo-bomb! I’ll be back later this evening with an update on my marathon training and healthy eating to start the New Year! I’m participating in Real Food Runner’s Green Smoothie Challenge and I’m so excited! I got a Ninja blender for Christmas so making smoothies is even more fun for me right now!

Hello 2013!

Happy New Year!

Justin and I rang in the new year pretty low key with a small get together at our place. We had an enormous spread of food, that unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of but it included things like; hummus and pita, crackers-sausage and cheese, fruit with fruit dip, veggies and dip, Rotel dip with tortilla chips, pasta salad and burgers on the grill. Needless to say we were ALL stuffed by the time midnight rolled around.

We spent the evening playing games (catchphrase anyone?), drinking, eating, laughing and catching up. It was a simple but great night, indeed!

And I should mention that while we enjoyed ourselves, Peanut did as well. Snuggled up on the couch with her blankey. Happy New Year Peanut! 🙂

2013

I don’t have a fancy post planned for all the great things that happened to me during 2012…I took a little blog hiatus during this past year and while it was pretty amazing (got married & went on a fantastic honeymoon, began making our new house a home, got promoted…) I won’t rehash that here. Instead, I wanted to talk about the few goals I have for 2013. While I’m definitely a list maker (checking items off a list really does bring me great satisfaction) I’m not really a New Year’s Resolution type person. I do however, have a few, very simple, things in mind I’d like to accomplish in 2013.

First, drink more water. Every single day. Now that I’m training for the Phoenix Half on March 2, I can really tell that my lack of water intake is taking it’s toll. I’m feeling dehydrated almost all the time, and I can tell it’s making my longer runs more painful than they should be. Plus, it’s good for me, right?

Second, Finish my Half Marathon on March 2. Run, walk, crawl. I don’t really care. Regardless of my time or anything else, I just want to finish. 13.1 miles may not seem like a long ways to some…but 13.1 miles is actually a really long ways. So I’m committing to just being proud that I’m taking on the adventure…no matter how I finish.

And finally, simply live. Or live simply. I’ve recently come to realize that we often spend so much time thinking about what comes next, that we forget to focus on the now. The next house, the next vacation, the next promotion, the next ANYTHING. And when we do that, we forget to pay attention to all the great things that happen in everyday life. A great run, a lazy Sunday with the one you love, a beautiful sunny day, a delicious cup of coffee. You get the point. 2012 was a great year for me…but I’m determined to make 2013 even better and I’m pretty convinced if I just remember to refocus and live in the moment, no matter what comes my way in 2013, it’ll be great.

So that’s that…my 2013 goals. Here’s to love, health and laughter for all in 2013! I hope everyone enjoys today. Take some time out for yourself and relax…you deserve it! 🙂 Justin and I are off to start a Breaking Bad marathon for the rest of the day. I can hear my couch calling my name!

MM

P.S. I’ll be back later today or tomorrow with a recap of our San Diego trip…I haven’t forgotten!