This week, I begin training for my very first half marathon.  A half marathon?!?! Really, who am I? It wasn’t all that long ago that I proclaimed I hated running. I was never gonna be a runner and that was fine with me! I am still not exactly sure when and how it happened but I started running. And I liked it!

But why a half marathon?!?! Good question, I am so glad you asked!

I know myself. I am easily distracted and the queen of procrastination. A half marathon required me to truly prepare. I must train. I must train for weeks and weeks….12 weeks to be exact. I cannot half ass a half marathon. It is absolutely essential that I put in the hard work required to complete 13.1 miles.  ESSENTIAL! That is why it had to be a half…so I can’t procrastinate and half ass it.

This past week I let stress get the better of me! I did not work out. I allowed myself to eat things I know I shouldn’t have been eating. While I don’t feel I went overboard like I used to do, I made choices I have not been making. The worst part is I knew exactly what I was doing, I just didn’t really care.

The word for this week is mindful. I need to spend time with my thoughts and be mindful in my actions. It will do me no good to just mindlessly go about my business. I need to be mindful in my training. I need to be mindful in my eating. I need to be mindful in my relationships.

Training begins tomorrow. I am super excited to start my half training.  I am following Hal Higdon’s plan for a novice with a few changes. I will be switching my rest day from Friday to Saturday depending on what day I decide for my long run each week.  Based on some advice from friends who have completed half marathons, I am going to make sure my rest day is the day before my long run. I printed out my training plan and added dates so I can cross off each day.

Thanks to my good friend, Jenna, I have been menu planning for a while now. I have not been the best menu planning blogger lately but I have been planning. Summer is a bit harder to plan and blog but I know how incredibly important menu planning is to my journey. I am not the most organized person so I need all the help I can get. Making a menu plan really helps me keep everything straight.  I enjoy sitting at the table with a notebook and cookbooks and recipe magazines spread out around me. I take everyone’s schedules and meal choices (the kid and husband each get to give me requests and I fit them in as best I can) and put together a plan.  I write it all out and stick it up on the fridge.   This week I am trying something a bit different. I am posting a picture of my hand-written menu.

Along with my menu plan for dinners, I am going to plan out my breakfasts, workout gear, lunch and work clothes before I go to bed. I want to be ready and prepared for each day. I finally broke down and got myself a new Fitbook.  I know I need to track better and I loved my old fitbook. It feels good to start a new fitbook, which conveniently enough has 12 weeks worth of tracking and my training is 12 weeks long.

I must be mindful in my relationships. I have decided to take a week away from twitter.  Twitter distracts me and eats all my time.  I need to spend more time with my family and myself. Quality, undistracted time. I am going to see how I feel after a week but I think this twitter break will be good for me. I am also going to limit my online time, the random time-wasting online time must be limited. I will continue to blog.  This week really taught me that I need my blog. Writing is like therapy.

Tomorrow is a big day.

A fresh start.

A beginning.

Week 1, HERE I COME!!

My menu plan will definitely help keep me sane. Every Sunday I think about the schedule of the week – who has what at what time and when?!?!  This week was no different except I found myself looking at the gym schedule and fitting in the class I want to take with  the menu….ya know, Big Man is cooking this night while I go to class…what do you want to cook this night honey? I assure you I know just how lucky I am to have a man who cooks!

On the menu this week:

Sunday: Big Man’s Father’s Day Dinner – he was inspired watching Rick Bayless make Chorizo tacos.  I did not watch the episode so I am making  this up from Big Man’s description.  I have fresh flounder for the kid – she doesn’t like chorizo.

Monday: Spaghetti and a salad. Big man makes an awesome pot of spaghetti sauce and it will be ready for me when I come home from the gym. I am a lucky girl.

Tuesday:  The karate kid is somehow turning 11!! The birthday girl has requested French Toast and maple link sausages. I will also make a spinach omelet and fruit bowl.

Wednesday:  Beef & Green Beans – chinese take-out style! Wednesday is a busy night. I will make a kickboxing class either before a late dinner or dinner before a late kickboxing class. The kid has karate at 5, Big Man will take her while I either make dinner or go to the gym…have I mentioned how lucky I am.

Thursday: Turkey Sloppy Joe Sandwiches.  Need quick and easy, my senior are graduating. I have been with these kids for three years…it is almost as emotional as my baby girl turning 11, almost.

Friday: Steak night is being moved to Friday this week because of graduation U rescheduled my personal training session to Friday.  And the kid is sure to ditch us for her friends since she is spending Saturday and Sunday nights with Granny (Big Man’s mom who coincidentally has the same birthday as the kid). I want a steak and baked potato night.

I love my menu plan. We don’t always …err ever…follow the plan exactly as it is written.  It does however encourage us to NOT order out – we dont have the wallet or waist for that. Are you menu planning yet!?!

Sunday:  Crabcake with cucumber salad I am blogging the menu and it is after dinner and OMG crab cakes were beautiful and delicious!

Monday: Turkey Balls with Egg Noodles (or Chinese take-out) I was just invited to meet a few girlfriends at 5:30 and I have a meeting at school at 7. Husband has already mentioned Chinese and it has been a while.

Tuesday:  Chicken Cheese Steaks with a big salad made with romaine and red leaf lettuce from my garden.

Wednesday: BBQ chicken and grilled veggies

Thursday: Steak Night – steak (duh) and a salad from the garden.

Friday: Shrimp/Fish Tacos

It is very important that we eat dinner together as often as is possible. It is just as important that we make meals that fit our schedule and are healthy and balanced.  We may not always follow the plan exactly…hey, life happens…but having something planned for each day helps us not stray off track.

Are you menu planning yet? Why not? Give it a try, I promise you won’t be sorry.

Thanks to all the men and women who have served this great country! Memorial Day is one of Big Man’s favorite holidays.  Do you have any idea how many war movies there are on TV this weekend?!? Big Man learned to love war movies (and westerns for that matter) with his grandfather, who passed away when Big Man was only 10.  I have been watching war movies and westerns and old black and white movies with Big Man since we started hanging out. I have grown to love them all. I love the stories and the acting [with no special effects, acting was truly an art - in my humble opinion] and old movies are like a great book – when it is over I am left wanting more.

This weekend we watched quite a few movies but we were also very busy. Saturday I dragged all kinds of crap from my attic to my mother’s house for a yard sale.  Sunday was errands and housework and poker night. Today was a fantastic day of rest and relaxation with good friends. We celebrated with a barbecue at the bay.

On the Menu this week:

Monday:  leftover spaghetti and meatballs….after a day of boating and BBQing this is perfect and quick.

Tuesday: Grilled Pork & veggies (red peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, squash and onions) and cous cous

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner ~ cream chipped beef, scrambled eggs and homefries.

Thursday: Flank Steak, potatoes and something green….all on the grill.

Friday: Grilled chicken with a slaw salad and corn on the cob.

Planning this menu is an essential  part of my weekend.  I sat with my little notebook and figured out what days I am where and what days the kid is where….I had to coordinate the classes with meals.  Thankfully, my family loves breakfast for dinner and grilling! Both are lifesavers for busy weeks.  I am so thankful to my friend, Jenna, for introducing me to the wonders of menu planning. If you are a menu planner, or not, you should check out Jenna’s menu linky…lots of awesome planners link their menus and I get the greatest ideas…you can too!Click the menu pic right there to the left and check out Chive Talkin.

but today we spent the day outside.

We love  Sunday night dinner around here. It is usually our most inspiring meals. The husband and I take turns creating Sunday night magic.  This week I was inspired by a show on Food Network and the meyer lemons the husband found at the produce market.  I will be making my version of Shrimp Cakes with a side of red beans & rice with andouille sausage. Dinner will be accompanied with dessert (this never happens). Meyer Lemon Pie will finish off this perfect creole-inspired meal.

*We still have one month left of school. The wind-down is always busy and me going to the gym 3-4 times per week and the kid having karate 2-3 times per week makes it even busier. But I am more determined than ever to keep eating good, healthy, real food.  We eat dinner together almost every night (the kid is getting a very active social life and heads to sleepovers every chance she gets) and this is super important to me.

On the menu this week:

Monday:  Steak & chicken with sauteed spinach and potatoes. {kiddo does not like steak and I will have extra grilled chicken for snacking or fueling before hitting the gym}

Tuesday:  Breakfast sandwiches & potato-pepper hash

Wednesday: Spaghetti and Big Salad

Thursday: Oven “Fried” Pork Chops with cabbage & potatoes

Friday:  Super Sloppy Joe’s with Big Salad

It is a simple menu this week. Simple is good, especially when it will allow us to get a healthy real meal on the table every night, no matter what is on the schedule.

Planning this menu allows my family to eat healthy dinners together. Knowing what is on the schedule allows me to keep the schedule and not be stressed about how busy we are.  I have Jenna to thank for my menu planning skills. She taught me all I know.

Are you menu planning?!?!

This Mindful Menu post will be a bit different than other weeks.  Besides planning my dinners I will also be “planning” my workouts.  Menu planning has been a huge part of my success…I am taking my planning to other aspects of healthy living.

Since I started going out of the house for workouts, planning is more important than ever.  Lucky for me, I can take classes at 7:45pm most nights. I get home around 9 but it allows me to have dinner with my family and get my workout.  Last week the kid was sick and home from school so that made the schedule easy. This week, she is all better and raring to go back to karate.

My workout schedule:

Monday: staying after school to run/walk with one (or two) of my students. (I will be walking until I get my orthotics because my arches are not happy with me running right now.) 7:45 Boxing with the insane Irishman.

Tuesday:  7:45 Boxing with the insane Irishman. Possible walk while the kid is at karate.

Wednesday: staying after school to run/walk with one (or two) of my students. 7:45 kickboxing…I am hoping my friend from work comes with me.

Thursday: I am hoping to get a Personal Training appointment for this day but if that does not happen I will take a 7:45 boxing class.

Friday: Rest Day or a Walk/bike ride around the neighborhood.

Saturday:  9:30 Boxing class followed (hopefully) with a long walk with an old friend followed by yard work and house work.

Sunday: Rest Day.

Kid’s Schedule:

Tuesday: Karate 6-7pm

Wednesday: Karate 5-6pm

Thursday: Chess afterschool (pick up at 4)

Friday: Kiddo has field trip to Philadelphia Historic District.

AND FINALLY the Menu:

Sunday: Chicken Cacciatore. I use this recipe as a starting point but I do my own thing. I use the immersion blender at the end to pulverize the veg (I take out a scoop of the chunks for husband). The kid will eat anything over spaghetti noodles.

Monday: Breakfast for Dinner. This is a favorite of all of us!!

Tuesday: BLTs and Slaw. Did you see how busy Tuesdays are around this house?!?!

Wednesday: Steak, mashed potatoes and a green veggie. And a big old salad…thinking my first head of romaine should be ready to come out of the garden.

Thursday:  Grilled Pork Chops and Veggies over cous cous.

Friday: Pizza….figure that is easy for a night I have no idea what time my kid will be home.

I am tired just planning for this week. On  top of all this planning that you see here, I also have lessons to plan for the week at school.

Even on Mother’s Day one must plan the weekly menu. Knowing I must link to Jenna’s menu roll and knowing that I fall apart without a menu plan make this a necessity.  A Mom’s work is just never done!!

On the Menu this week:

Sunday ~ Country Ribs, Mac & cheese, and a salad

Monday ~ Meatloaf, leftover mac & cheese and broccoli

Tuesday ~ BBQ chicken, pasta salad and grilled veggies

Wednesday ~ steak, mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach

Thursday ~ Pork cutlets, cabbage & potatoes

Friday ~ Spaghetti

**I am working on a big project at school so the menu is kind of on the easy side. I want to make it a point to get me to the gym 3 nights and the kid to karate 2 nights this week. That makes for busy evenings so I am looking for quicker, healthy meals to feed my family. Menu planning helps but there has to be more.  What are your shortcuts to healthy food in a hurry?!?!

Sunday: Pork Tinga a la Rick Bayless

Monday: Shrimp Scampi Florentine.  I am following this recipe but I am going to make this pesto for it and not use a jar like the recipe actually calls for. I am not exactly sure about the pesto part – pesto is not my fave but I have never made it myself.

Tuesday: Picnic Dinner of BLT and tuna macaroni salad

Wednesday: Kid’s Choice: Ravioli with Meat Sauce and a big old salad.

Thursday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a spinach salad.

Friday: POM & Balsamic Glazed Chicken.

**I am focusing more on real food and eating like a real person. This is important to me! I need to eat like a normal person, a normal healthy person. I need to be a good role model for my daughter. I grew up watching my mom on every diet under the sun. Why did she diet so much?!? Well, my mom was forever on the hunt for a new man or she was trying to keep current man happy. Stepdad #2 was a health freak and a body builder so mom became a health freak and by extension so did me and my sister.  I could go on and on and tell you stories but I won’t. I want to lead by example and I want to be healthy for me as much as for my daughter. I don’t want her to have food issues.

Real food is my new goal. Not necessarily low calorie but high nutritional value will be the focus. Balance as well.  I never really learned how to eat and prepare healthy foods. I am learning so that I can teach my daughter so that she never feels helpless and out of control the way I did.  Normal foods like spaghetti and meatballs, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, are staples in my house! I have increased the nutritional and health of these staples by adding veggies in and choosing lean meats.

As Always, Thank You Jenna! Menu planning is huge part of my “REAL FOOD” revolution.  If you are menu planning, link up with ChiveTalkin. If you are not menu planning…well, why the heck not?!?!

*BIG MAN started a new job Thursday.  He has been out of work for nearly two years and Thursday was a long day. The alarm went off at 5:00 in the bloody morning.  A lot of adjustments need to be made to wake up at 5am. Adjustments need to be made all around; we have been spoiled having Big Man home all the time to handle the day-to-day stuff of running our household.

*I live 10 minutes away from the Atlantic City Racetrack but I have never actually been to a live horse race. Many times, when I was younger, my mom would take us to the mall (right next to race track)  and we would watch races from the mall parking lot. The track does not run horses very often anymore. In fact, there are only 6 days of live racing each year. Yesterday, I finally went to see my first race. I bet on the ponies based on their names and their parents’ names and I won some and I lost some. I had so much fun. The husband and I are always looking for “different” fun stuff to do and now that he is back to work we will enjoy random nights out as often as possible.

*kettlebells! Holy fucking wow!! I went to a kettlebell class yesterday morning at LA Boxing. YES! Morning, as in 8:30 in the morning. I knew my day was going to be busy and I wanted to take an early class. I saw the kettlebell class on the schedule and I thought “what the fuck, I don’t really want to do jumping jacks anyway and I want sexy arms.” Seriously, that what went through my mind.  Well, that was a very hard class and my legs were shaking and my arms were shaking.  The instructor advised me to take Advil a couple of hours after class and Monday would probably be rough. Today is only Sunday and my legs are seriously sore.

*Laundry is a pain in the ass! Laundry is even worse when the washer and dryer are in the basement and your legs are sore from kettlebell class.

*I am sorry for the cursing but sitting down causes me great pain. I almost cry every time I pee.

**I am not really sorry about the cursing but I do hope I do not offend anyone. I have a potty mouth and well, that is just me.

On to the FOOD….I know that is what ya’ll want to see.

On the menu this week:

Monday: Turkey & Spinach meatballs with spaghetti.

Tuesday: Chicken Caesar & Boboli pizza (from last week…we just never got to it ~ blame it on 5am wake up calls)

Wednesday: Kid’s Request Night:  Breakfast for Dinner – french toast and omelets.

Thursday: Big Man’s Request: Steak and a Salad.

Friday: BBQ’d chicken or shrimp or fish. I always have chicken in the freezer but I may stop at the local fish market. I am craving fish.

As always ~ if you are not menu planning…well, why the heck not?!? Menu planning has helped me in so many ways. AND now that Big Man is not home all day to take care of the details, I am going to need to stay planned and organized. It is essential for me to stay sane and on top of all that must be done.

Thanks Jenna, for keeping me mindful of my menu!

Apologies for the lateness.

I have been getting lazy about menu planning. Not sure why but I think it has to do with the funk I have been in lately. I am pulling myself out of the funk and I do have my menu planned; I actually planned it all yesterday but I just didn’t blog it.

Ironically, the weeks I have slacked with my menu planning I have gained. I know there are a number of reasons for the gains and I will not blame it solely on lack of planning. But there is definitely a connection.  I recommend any and every body menu plan.

On the menu:

Monday: Choucroute with is basically smoked sausages and sauerkraut. This is hubby’s dinner of choice and we only have it once in a while. It is not my favorite but I like it enough.

Tuesday: TURKEY TACO TUESDAY

Wednesday: Grilled Chicken with a pasta & veggie side dish.

Thursday:  Steak & Shrimp ….I love this time of year. I love grilling…especially since Big Man does all the grillin’

Friday: MIL is taking me and the kid to dinner. Big Man is leaving me for his annual trek up the mountain for “fishing” with the boys.

This is not a very exciting week in the land of Jen but it will be filled with greens and grillin’! What’s on your menu?