What I Ate Wednesday # I need to figure that out ;)

Happy Hump Day Y'all! So, today is bound to be a BUSY one! We have so many appointments and things to get done. So this will be a quick one!

I had a very healthy week last week and this coupled with my workouts I am really starting to see some abs coming back ;) Can't wait to take some 30 day pictures!

Shakeology has been had each and everyday post workout. Apples, cinnamon, pb my favorite tastes like an apple pie snack. A treat from this organic place down the road. Bananas, pb, and dark chocolate because sometimes you just need that. Banana, string cheese, two dates, and pistachios. 

In the top left, frozen watermelon is amazeballs try it if you haven't, egg scramble, and raisin toast, blueberry coffee cake, and vegan coffee, sweet potato leftover breakfast bowl. Tuna salad, eggs and salad. Chicken and cheese crescents with fruit and veggies, steak bites with twice baked potatoes and zucchini, and some lo-mein after a movie on Sunday ;)

Workouts

I've been really good about following my workout schedule this month. I've really stuck to it and added in some things and I am sore in the most amazing way!

Last Tuesday I did a 30 minute run and saw this project called Cartas al Cielo read my post to learn more about it...it is awesome.

Last Wednesday: Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Thursday: 50 minute run and Insanity Cardio Abs

Friday: Insanity Cardio Recovery

Saturday: Cardio Power & Resistance...it was awesome:

Sunday: X-Stretch & a 20km bike ride...some in the rain ;)

Monday: 10km bike ride and Cardio Power and Resistance plus this:

Tuesday: 200 burpee's and a 20 minute run to calibrate my heart rate monitor (not easy) and stretching

Today: Will be a half hour run and Insanity cardio recovery and 200 burpees....on top of tons of walking due to meetings we have today and doing the last of the cleaning of our old apartment. It looks to be a very strenuous day so we shall see how all that goes.

I hope everyone has a healthy and fabulous Wednesday!

Cartas Al Cielo

Wow, do I have a post for today! I tell ya I love being a runner because I discovery so many new and interesting things I may not see if it weren't for try to get those miles in during each session. On Tuesday I went out for an easy 30 minute run. I just wasn't feeling it so I told myself when you see something that inspires you stop and take a picture. It will be worth it, it will make the run more fun, and you never know what you will find. Sure enough...I had no idea what I would find.

I crossed the bridge over the canal that divides our neighborhood from this area of Amstel Park and found this:

A very pretty, well maintained little trail. It leads out on to a road that goes throughout the park (I have never seen any vehicles aside from park official ones) and throughout the park there are several graveled areas and little islands of trails. 

So, as I ran and explored I came upon this:

I took one look into this sphere and immediately felt very small. It absolutely took my breath away at how big I realized the world was in that one little moment.

I backed up, looked around the sphere and just enjoyed the view for a moment thinking about why this was here. Who else had been here and felt what I was feeling...a sense of wonder and amazement! Then, I noticed the little slit in the front there and made a mental note to google this when I got home. But, as I continued to run I did not have to wait:

I came across this board that, lucky for me explained the piece of artwork in not only Dutch, but English. I hate being illiterate in Dutch (although my typing skills have gotten tons better from using translate lol), but am glad things like this come in English too so I actually know sometimes what is going on around me! This piece is done by Alicia Framis and is called Cartas Al Cielo, which means "Letters to Heaven".

The way I interpreted this is the thought behind this is it is a sphere that reflects the world around us, capturing the enormity of all we inhabit. Allowing us to reach those that have gone on to their heaven. 

The board basically says the reflection of the sky, which many believe to contain the afterlife, is a place where we can look in moments of hope, desire, or desperation. Many times we look to the sky to talk to those we have lost...so, the thought of this enormity being reflected in a mirrored sphere led the artist to create a postbox to reach those we miss that have gone to the heavens above. When you visit you can slip a letter in to someone you have lost and the thought is they will get your letter delivered in heaven.

I will admit this actually brought tears to my eyes. It is an unselfish piece to share with the world and allow others, especially people like me who love to write letters, a way to "contact" those they have lost and are looking down on us from heaven. 

Such a beautiful piece and I am so glad I live just a block away from it!

Have you ever come across a piece of artwork that just took your breath away?

Glorious Summer What I Ate Wednesday +week in review of workouts!

I really have to get a better title for my What I Ate Wednesday posts...these are hard though because well, they are what they are! But, I had a *spam* commenter say the titles were "boring" and if a spammer thinks its boring...in my mind there is no doubt it is...so I need to get my creative brain flowing.....so this week I added "Glorious Summer" to the title since we kicked off summer vacation this past week finally....but, I still need to figure out what else to title these...for now though, I will continue to call a spade a spade ;)




I feel like I wasn't a very good journal-er for this week my food photos are really sort of random! ha!

Breakfast one morning: Oatmeal with almond milk, coconut oil, blueberries, chia seeds, blueberries, banana slices, cinnamon, and a tiny bit of vanilla sugar (I made, recipe coming soon it is amazing)

This was a quinoa scramble minus the eggs. We've been using up food because I am too lazy to transport it from one house to the other lol So this has a little bit of everything in it: peppers, onions, mushrooms, quinoa patties I made and had frozen topped with a bit of cheese. It was perfect after a nice 40 minute run & some insanity cardio recovery.

I confess: this is canned pineapple lol It was still delicious & I used the pineapple juice it was packed in to make a delicious drink with pineapple juice, pear juice, and some lemon...it was very yellow. :P

This is probably my most favorite salad ever! I will be posting the recipe soon...but it is so delish!

Hubby worked late one night and the kiddo and I didn't have to be creative so veggie nuggets and sweet potato pieces and onions it was. Easy, fast, and we had leftovers ;)

Finally...we had a great little treat day this past week on Friday. School let out Thursday so we partied hearty on Friday with a day at the beach & some delicious treats!

For me: Mojito...so tasty! For teenager: Coke

We split this tasty little concoction....nachos with salsa and guac and some chicken satay. Satay was a bit much for me I only had one skewer...the teenager devoured them though! 

Finally...some ice cream! No better way to kick off summer than some awesome ice cream and a walk on a bright sunny day along the canals of Amsterdam!

It was a great week and I really stuck to eating clean and healthy a majority of the time! This is good for me because I have been caught in a "cheating rut" for a while now...(btw, a "cheating rut" is where every meal is a cheat meal lol)

Now for my week in workouts! This has been a fantastic week for me. My legs are super sore, but I am more energized and feeling accomplished after my workouts even on days when I wasn't particularly looking forward to the workouts...

Last Wednesday: Ran 30 minutes and stretched...I did my C25K...it truly was an awful run. I was still lethargic after our Paris trip but, I got out there and did it and had a great time! 

Thursday: Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance

Friday: we were at the beach all day and our train coming home was late! We at dinner and I ALMOST didn't work out....but, I started getting mad at myself for not working out so I got up & did it! This is the end result of Insanity Pure Cardio! 

Sweaty & gross but feeling amazing!

Saturday: P90X Stretch and date night since it was raining all day I wasn't up for a run in the freezing rain ;)

Sunday: Got up at 7am and went for a run before everyone got up...did a 40 minute run then came home and did Insanity Cardio Recovery. 

Monday: 20 minute run with the teenager that included two sets of 20 second sprints, then some Insanity Cardio Abs...my abs still ache ;)

Tuesday: Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit

Starting today I may have to change my schedule around since it looks like it is supposed to be really rainy the rest of this week and I am not a fan of running in the rain in this colder European climate....but, hopefully it will be nice enough for me to get up and do my 40 minute scheduled run with my cardio recovery...but we will see...may wind up being pure cardio ;)

How about you...if you run do you run in the rain? If you don't run what is your favorite thing to do for exercise?

What I Ate Wednesday-Europe Week 2

Well, we are around at hump day AGAIN! Just a few more days until the weekend...can we make it?! I hope so! We've been having some great meals since moving to the Netherlands and I have really found a joy for eating healthy, unprocessed foods again! My body is so thanking me!

So, here is...

French toast with banana's & honey...my daughter & I split this for breakfast was so filling!

Then, some apple & cranberry juice at a pub with hubby. I Love the muddler (is that a word?! LOL) they give you to smash up your lemon with!

The lunch I had was amazing. Baked egg covered in cheese and it had ham & tomato inside. I couldn't eat it all but it was tempting lol

Locally made Dutch ice cream. This is so creamy and amazing. Thank goodness I just got a small scoop because I could have done some damage with this. It was called chocolate chip cookie.

My mother's day dessert...chocolate ice cream with whipped cream...thank goodness for small bowls to make me feel like that was a lot of ice cream hehe

This has been my breakfast the last couple of days. An orange, banana, and cherries. So tasty the flavours when mixed together taste like an orange cherry creamsicle!

My coffee this morning was all like well, Meow hehe

Our meatless-ish Monday dinner...yams with cheese and green onions and eggs scrambled with cheese, tomato, and green onion. I've been on a serious green onion kick the last couple of days!

This last week I've been doing some fun workouts...I got some new running shoes so I was able to start my C25K running...

Aren't they adorable?! #sweatpink

So here is my review of workouts:

May 8th-Ultimate Hot Body Workout

May 9th-Barre Workout

May 10th-Off went shopping all day and had a fun party that night & then walked the Red Light district so that was workout enough in 6" heels!

May 11th-Off-out late the night before, it was mother's day and we had to go to another city for a cheerleading practice. I walked a solid 6 miles that day lol a workout was not happening

May 12th-Day 1 of C25K & Barre workout

May 13th-Ballet Body Sculpt (Barre)-Her dog is hilarious & does a "magic trick" haha

Today, May 14th-Day 2 of C25K & Barre workout for butt & thighs

What are you doing for your health? What have you been eating?