New Years Eve/Day Recap!

New Year's Eve was definitely one of the highlights of 2014. Some friends from our home town were visiting so we all bought tickets to a local club that serves a full menu and then they have dancing after dinner. 

Escape is normally one of my favorite places during the day, on a nice day to sit outside and have a drink and enjoy Amsterdam. I had never actually had anything to eat there, I was pleasantly surprised though! 

The table was adorable. The night's menu and some winter confetti. So fun!

Dislaimer: I didn't take a photo of everything we ate. I honestly forgot some of the time because we were having so much fun!

First course I didn't get a photo of was a duck breast salad...it was delicious!

Next course you could get either beef or fish..I opted for the Cod.

....and I stole the sweet potato puree from hubby's beef plate haha

Next we got some sort of bubbly something or other....I'm guessing this was a bit of cava. Whatever it was made me extremely bloated! Ugh.

Last came dessert...it was "sparkling"

Sorry, I know it is blurry, but how cool are all those desserts on "fire"! It was pretty hard to breathe in the room though after these went out haha

The full dessert was a chocolate moose with a white chocolate ice cream rolled in white chocolate shavings and some sort of fudge cake with nuts. It was very delicious.

After this we went upstairs to the club part for dancing. It was packed and hot but we had a great time!

Our one friend is ridiculously tall, I stole this picture from him. haha

Such a fun night. I won't post the picture we had someone take of the four of us just before we left at 2am...we were so sweaty it looked like we'd just done a full workout! ha! But, felt great and was such a fun way to bring in the new year.

New Year's Day we decided to make use of our unlimited movie passes and went to see Interstellar, which was fantastic! ...and since I was feeling lazy we went out to eat too.

These were the spiciest meatballs I have ever eaten. It said they came in a spicy tomato sauce but failed to mention there were also giant red pepper flakes in the meatballs as well. ha!

Somewhere under all that cheesy goodness is a vegetable lasagna ;)

Then, on the way home hubby stopped and picked us all up some mini Ben and Jerry's to nosh on while we cuddled in bed. 

Such a great way to start off the new year...now though we are back to reality...

....which isn't so bad.

Now, since it is the new year, lets talk workouts!

January 1st I was supposed to start Insanity Asylum, but I was tired so I took a "rest day" haha but, here is what Jan 2nd on has looked like:

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Speed and Agility

Saturday: Back to Core

Sunday: Vertical Plyo

Monday: Speed and Agility

Tuesday Back to core

Today: Vertical Plyo

*there is a Strength DVD I am supposed to be doing but I don't have a proper band so I need to pick one of those up. asap. Here is a break down of all the DVD's I've done so far and what I think of them. It is important to note I have completed all of the P90X series multiple times and I have done Insanity 5 times, so some of my opinion(s) may need to be taken with caution:

Rest Day: was awesome haha

Speed and Agility: It was tough, but seemed just like a tiny bit more advanced version of insanity. The moves were a bit more advanced, loved the progression moves like in and outs where you'd start on the first rung of the ladder then move to the second and then the third. I thought that was a great way to measure your movement and go from easy to advanced.

Back to core: This one may have been my favorite. I still didn't think this one was super difficult. It starts off with three different types of jumping jacks, all of them working the back. After the jumping jacks you moved on to monkey squats...I LOVE these things. I could do them all day every day (ok, probably not but they are my favorite exercise haha). The reverse planks at the end I found the most difficult move of the workout. There are some one legged bridge moves, no matter how in shape I am these kill my hips so I modify them. I do a few and then just do regular glute bridges. I figure no reason to injure myself over one move. I will say though the more I practice doing the one legged glute bridges the stronger my hip gets! I used to only be able to do one then I'd throw my hip out of whack and couldn't do any thing for weeks, but now I can do four before I feel a "pull" and know I should stop..so YAY!

Vertical Plyo: I am pretty sure this is the DVD where Shaun-T lost his freaking MIND! I found it EXTREMELY difficult..could be too I was just exhausted from the other days and was surprised by how much more advanced the moves could get. I cannot express how insane this workout is. So you know power jumps where your legs are wide you squat down and jump up both knees coming up and feet off the floor? Well, here you do one legged ones of those. Yeah, those are insane, you have to be really, really, really careful. At the end as I am flinging myself all over the mat during one move I was totally regretting saying any of these workouts seemed "easier" than I imagined. 

So, that is what my week has looked like...what have you been eating, and how have you been moving?

P.S. I'm linking up with Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for WIAW, come on over and check out the party ;)

What I Ate Wednesday....Christmas Edition!

Join the rest of the party with Jenn over at Peas and Crayons!

Well, well, well...we have arrived...New Years Eve at last!!! Who is ready for 2015?!

Me! Me! Me!!! 2014 was an amazing year, so many fantastic things happened between a trip to London, going to Hawaii for the first time, and moving to Europe it was a year of dreams come true for us. No better way to wind down the year than recapping what we ate for Christmas....but not before throwing it back to my top three favorite What I Ate Wednesday posts!


Now, on to what we ate for Christmas!

Christmas Eve

The table all set, ready to sit down.

We did brown sugar glazed pork chops, broccoli with cheese, and mashed potatoes and gravy for the kiddo and husband but I am not a huge fan of gravy or mashed potatoes for that matter so I doused mine in sour cream and cheese haha

 Christmas Day

Started the day right: Baileys, hazelnut delight red eye!

Effort: 10, Taste:10, Execution: 2 haha

It does  not look pretty, I know, but they were amazing lol I have several things I will do to make this better next time the first being bake the rolls in a circle crammed together so they look like rolls and are smothered in the brown sugar goodness, then put them in the shape of a Christmas tree. lol I will also make the frosting more pasty instead of drizzly.  But these were amazing...seriously. Here is the recipe:

2 cans of crescent rolls

1/2 stick softened butter

1/2 cup-1 cup brown sugar (I didn't measure lol)

1 tsp cinnamon, or to taste (again, I didn't measure)

First lay out the crescent rolls to form a rectangle and using a rolling pin roll them together so it becomes seamless.

Spread softened butter over rectangle and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll up and cut into 12 rolls.

Bake at 200 Celsius for 10-15 minutes until desired doneness.

This is what we snacked on all day, after presents we got dressed and decided to treat ourselves to unlimited movie passes at our local theater. It is a fantastic programme our theater offers and so we wanted to take advantage especially with a teenager on our hands she loves to go to the movies!

We left early and decided to see if a restaurant was open and one was! We got really lucky. Not only was this place delicious which is a rarity here, but the prices were good and the service was amazing!

Being silly...as you can tell she is trying so hard not to laugh her butt off and act like a "typical teenager" these two crack me up!

They know me here apparently...sat us right next to all the wine!

We got these cheese stick type things. They were super tasty so long as you like Feta and Dill. I really enjoyed them but the kiddo and hubby do not like dill...at all! haha

They were all out of whole wheat pasta I was so sad, but the dish was still good chock full of egg plant, zucchini, onions, peppers, and mushrooms!

Hubby's pizza...tasty huh?!

When we got home from the movies we snuggled up for The Santa Clause and drank some amazing hot cocoa!

Serves 2:

2 cups whole milk or half and half

300 grams milk chocolate (I love Tony Chocoloney's if you are Europe)

1 tsp vanilla

Whipped cream or marshmallows, optional (but not really, we all know this lol)

Chocolate shavings/sprinkles, optional (but so much more fun)

Shot of Baileys (totally optional! put in after you pour in to mugs, don't serve to kids, drink responsibly...duh)

Heat all over medium to medium low heat stirring constantly until chocolate is melted. Once done can give a whirl with an immersion blender to make it a bit frothy. Divide up between two mugs, add Bailey's if you so desire to the mugs that will be served to adults, top with some whipped cream or marshmallows and chocolate shavings if that is your bag, baby!

Our Christmas Eve and Christmas day were so delectable! I even got in my two workouts: Max Cardio Conditioning on Christmas Eve and Cardio Recovery on Christmas Day!

Since this is New Year's Eve we are headed out to a club/cafe that does a dinner and dancing so pics to come of that...we are attending with friends from our hometown. New Years Day, we don't eat anything special...we will be in recovery mode so I am thinking a bike ride downtown if weather allows and an early dinner with our friends and kiddo will be in order. Pasta I think. Lots and lots of Pasta.

So, what was on your menu for Christmas Day? Do you have anything special you eat for New Years Day? 

Menu Plan Monday #67! Happy New Year!

Last meal plan of 2014, and first of 2015! How exciting!

This last week was a blast with our Christmas Celebration. Even with everyone on break I managed to keep up with my workouts. It helped that we didn't want to go anywhere since it was rainy and gross all week long!

Workouts last week:
This was my last week of Insanity!
Monday: Max Interval Circuit
Tuesday: Max Interval Plyo
Wednesday: Max Cardio Conditioning
Thursday: Cardio Recovery (Yes, yes, I workout on Christmas Day, round of applause to all of us that did)
Friday: Rest, did lots of shopping, gotta love Boxing Day! :D
Saturday: Max Interval Circuit
Sunday: Rest...did lots and lots of cleaning.

Workouts planned for this week:
Monday: P90X3 Dynamix
Tuesday: 2 mile run and Isometrix
Wednesday: PIYO Sweat
Thursday: 1 mile run and Asylum Vol 1: Speed and Agility
Friday: 3 mile run and Asylum Vol 1: Strength
Saturday: Back to Core
Sunday: 4 mile run and Asylum Vol 1: Vertical Plyo

This week Marks 30 days of working out everyday. Some days will be stretching days but I am starting Insanity Asylum Vol 1, I hear it gives amazing results if you really are on track with your nutrition so I am stoked about that. I really want to see abs this year, so fingers crossed I can have self control and really change my eating habits for the better!

Linking up with Mommy Run Fast, Jill Conyers, and I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Breakfast
Toast with sprinkles
Over night oats
Brunch
Brunch at restaurant by our house
Cereal
Smoothies
Eggs and toast
Pumpkin Muffins

Lunch
Soup and bread/sandwiches
Tacos
Snack
Snack
Veggie bowl/grilled cheese for hubby
Leftovers
Snack

Dinner:
Out with friends
Rotisserie chicken with potato wedges and salad
Out with friends for NYE
BBQ chicken bites with potatoes and salad
Burgers/veggie burgers with salad and fries
Breakfast for dinner
Pizza and wings/cauliflower wings and salad

We are really looking forward to our New Year's celebration, some friends of ours are coming in from our hometown that we haven't seen in ages so we are looking forward to partying it up with them, then on New Years Day, meeting up with our teenager for breakfast once she leaves her friends house! What are you doing to ring in the New Year?

New Year, New You: Goal Setting

Hello, friends! Welcome to 2014!!! What a year I hope this will be for the blog! I started the year off with my S'mores Pops being featured over at The Wednesday Round Up. Pretty darn exciting, that is my first feature ever! Yay!

Img Credit

So, since we are talking about the new year, what is it that everyone does in the new year? Make resolutions, right??? Well, don't do that. Resolutions suck. They are usually broken by January 2nd, if not then then by January 14th. Resolutions are those dreaded things that everyone thinks they have to make because everyone talks about them and you would feel totally lame if you didn't make any resolutions. Well, I'm here to give you permission to be lame and not make a resolution. Congrats. Awesome. If you really want to make a change in your life though, an honest to goodness change, then continue reading.

Goals. Goal setting is what we all need to do. I don't care if you are reading this post on the day it is published or if you are reading it in April or August. It is time to set some goals-right now. Seriously, you'll thank me. There is never a "perfect" time to accomplish a goal-the only time is now!

Here is how I goal set.

Step one.

Write it all down. Just get a sheet of paper and write down every single solitary thing you want to accomplish this year. I don't care how big or how small it is. If you want to work toward it, write it down. 

Step two.

Get another sheet of paper. Looking at the first sheet make categories and classify each item in a category. This is purely for organization sake, but trust me you will thank me later for this. As you can see in my above picture I knew already my goal categories as I'd been thinking about this for months so I was able to do this right off the bat. During this step get a little more specific with your goals, if possible. Some will be so basic there isn't getting more specific, it just is what it is.

Step three.

Get yet another sheet of paper. Looking at your first category, the first item. Write it down. List what you are going to do to accomplish that item. 
For me fitness was my first category. So I titled my page Fitness: Steps to Goal. 
Complete P90X3 was my first item in that category. I wrote January 6th-April 13th: Follow classic schedule. -Record each workout. I wrote this because it is the dates the program lasts through. I will start it January 6th. Each day I workout I will record my workout on this paper. I chose this fitness tracker because it has squares big enough for me to write in, plus it has a space each week for me to weigh in and record measurements (which I feel are more important than weight). I went ahead and printed off enough for my 13 weeks of P90X3.
I then wrote out a 10 week schedule for my half marathon training. This makes it not optional. I also wrote down a date of 1/15/14 to register for the half marathon. This way come hell or high water I have a date I have to register for this by.
Next is Complete P90X2. Order on: June 16, 2014: Follow classic schedule. Start June 23rd-Sept 28th. This gives me a set date so if I need to budget for purchasing the program I can do that. It also gives me a set start date so after my half marathon training is over I can jump write in, not him and haw about what I should do next.
P90X. Start: Sept 29th-Dec 29th: Follow classic schedule. Again, gives me a solid start date and finish date. Can you tell this is my year of P90X? If anyone wants to join me please don't hesitate to contact me at katen21@gmail.com, I am happy to help you get the programs and join me on this fitness adventure!
Flexibility. Schedule in 15 min each day to increase flexibility. -Splits/standing splits, -Hip flexibility, -Backbend

You'll also notice I have "Why?" written all over my page. This is because one of my goals is to target my Why. As in why do I work out? Why do I eat well? What is my motivation? It is the reason that will keep me going and keep me motivated. 

Here are my other goals for 2014:
Fitness
Run the Rock n Roll half in Seattle
Complete: P90X, P90X2, P90X3
Get off sugar
Pinpoint my why
Increase flexibility

Blog
Get on a schedule
Promote affiliates to make $
Gather list of weekly/monthly link ups and link up!
Increase page views every month
FB Goals: July 500 followers; December 1000 followers (come follow me!)
Instagram: July 500; December 1000 followers (come follow me!)
Twitter: July 300; December 600 (come follow me!)
Use google plus more
Find a blogger network
Go to the local blog conference

Business
Get Etsy Business off the ground
Each month help 2-3 people begin reaching their fitness goals
By Dec 2014 make a specific amount of money from my Beachbody Business.

Personal
Call my brother every two weeks
Organize and complete Happiness Project
Tune into Mark's love language(s)
Floss
Plan a nice vacation with Mark while kiddo is at camp
Go to HI with Cammi & see BFF & family
Finish TEFL

So I am using this method to work for all of my goals. I feel it really takes the guess work out of know what my next step will be. Now,  for the more "simple" goals where you are just trying to make a new habit such as "Floss" or "Call my brother {on an actual phone lol} every two weeks" I am going to be using a great printable I found over at My Love for Words.

Monthly Goal Tracker at My Love for Words

This sheet is perfect because you can write the habit you are trying to form and then check off each day you complete the item! I am excited about this because I am totally a "gold star" kind of person. Meaning: I need to see I did good and give myself a pat on the back. This is the perfect way to do that! At the end I have physical proof I did something successfully, not just hung out and convinced myself I did it, without actually doing it. 

What goals do you have for this upcoming year? If you'd like an accountability buddy (even if it's not fitness related) come on over to Facebook  and send me a message. I would love to help! :D