Monthly Archives: August 2015

Aug 26 2015
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Life, Style

What I’m Wearing Wednesday…And Some Feels

I’ve been trying to figure out how to make this formal announcement about some big changes in my life and have struggled with the right way to do it.  I’m not really sure there is a right way so I’m just going to do it the “me” way.  For some time now I’ve been needing a change in my life.  Because most people always see the mentally tough Crossfitter side of me in the gym who can compartmentalize whatever is going on in my life and just focus on the WOD at hand, they might not understand how hard the last two years have been on me.

After a seemingly perfect pregnancy through most of the previous year, my daughter, Reese, was born two months premature in January of 2014.  Her and I were traumatized both physically and mentally from the unexpected experience, but regardless, I had would drive a total of two hours a day for the next 50+ days to the NICU where she was staying to watch her grow in a box, just waiting for her little lungs to become strong enough to let her come home.  Great start to parenthood. Continue reading →

Aug 19 2015
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Style

What I’m Wearing Wednesday

After the 100+ temperatures this last week it’s finally cooled off a bit this morning so I had to throw on a sweatshirt to run a few errands. Since my husband has been gone for FOURTEEN DAYS now and is finally coming home Friday night…I think…I threw on this light sweatshirt because I am SO ready for the weekend to be here!  I found this sweatshirt via Instagram and my mom got it for me as a gift not too long ago.  I love that it’s that 80s kind of off the shoulder Flashdance style that goes perfectly with my workout clothes, which we all know I’m wearing 90% of the time.  I went with a size Medium because I wanted it to feel a little on the cozier side.  Check out @ilycouture on Instagram.  They’re that kind of brand that makes statement pieces that are fun to add to your wardrobe on occasion.

So this is what I’m wearing this Wednesday…

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Weekend Sweatshirt – Ily Couture

Aug 18 2015
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Eats

Grilled Veggie Tacos with Spicy Yogurt Sauce

IMG_9102Solo dinner again last night. Going on day 13 of my husband out on the Northern California fires. But that’s ok, cooking for just myself means I get to experiment with food ideas without the pressure of having to impress somebody else. If it doesn’t work, no problem, I don’t have to tell anybody about my food fail. But if it works then I can’t wait to share it with everybody.

We all have favorite foods and the staples we make every week, but sometimes all it takes is a little tweak and you’ve got a new favorite.  I wanted tacos last night but didn’t have all the usual standard Mexican fixings and my daughter was on hour three of constant whining, so there was no way I was going to the store. Time to get creative. Continue reading →

Aug 17 2015
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Eats

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Bake

Spaghetti Squash BakeTo say that a lot has happened in my life over the past few weeks is an understatement. But regardless of my husband being out of county for the past 11 days, playing single parent to Reesey Girl and dealing with the consequences of my life decisions, I still manage to take care of my diet.  My meals might be a little less complicated but that doesn’t mean that they have to suffer in the taste or health category.  I always cook certain meats and vegetables in bulk.  For the obvious reason of being prepared on a flexible eating program, but also for times like these when life is just so full of stuff that you might feel like straying from your goals.  Having food items that you can mix and match that are half-prepped in the fridge makes things so much easier and really give you no excuse to fall off track.

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Aug 12 2015
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Style

What I’m Wearing Wednesday

Normally I would buy my bikinis pre-summer because I want to maximize the amount of time I get to wear them, but I just got this one last week.  Months ago I signed up for this pretty large CrossFit competition and in recent years, swim WODs have almost become a staple in competing lately.  Anyways, I realized that none of my current swimwear is competition appropriate, so I asked my friend Molly Vollmer about recommendations for a good athletic two-piece since she’s competed numerous times.

She gave me a couple of brand names to research but everything was online.  Ordering swimsuits online when you’ve never tried on a specific brand is sketch.  I took a chance and ordered a Jolyn two piece and when I got it in the mail last week I was not disappointed!  However I AM disappointed in the fact that I have to withdraw from the competition this weekend because my two male teammates, one of which is my husband, are out of county on a strike team fighting fires.

I’ve been training months for this competition, and sacrificing many cheat meals, as it has some very legit athletes that sign up and I wanted to be in the best shape possible for my performance and teammates…not to mention I wanted to make sure I could rock this bikini for the swim WOD.  Turns out…

One…There’s no swim WOD programmed, and two, I obviously am not competing anymore.  Double bummer but, hey, I got a cute swimsuit out of it and the bottoms are great for tanning 🙂

If you’re interested in checking out Jolyn, they have a variety of cuts and colors.  The color selection is out of control.  Amazingly bright colors that will get you noticed.  I opted for the solid triangle top with a criss-crossed tie in the back and the Euro bottoms because a bottom that is “full” coverage tend to come up a little too high on my short frame.

I ordered a medium in both top and bottom and I consider myself muscular and curvy.  Because the top has a tie in the back you can adjust the fit easily and the bottoms have a drawstring built in as well to make sure they are secure.  Even though this is an “athletic” swimsuit it’s super cute.  So i’m wearing it while I lay by the pool and showing you all since I don’t get to wear it this weekend 😦

Pardon the nursery room pic, it’s the only full length mirror I have in the house!  So this is what I’m wearing this Wednesday…

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Jolyn Triangle Top – Black

Jolyn Euro Bottom – Lava

Aug 09 2015
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Eats

ALL of the Zucchini

Since I adopted 4 zucchini babies last week, i’ve had to make sure that they were well taken care of.  I think I have mentioned many times before how much I hate wasted food, so to have giant zucchinis sitting in my kitchen staring at means I have to use them…any way I can.  So i’ve been eating zucchini in one form or another almost every day for the last week.  But i’m ok with that because I LOVE my veggies and being on a flexible eating plan, I can basically eat ALL of the zucchini and barely put a dent in my macros.  The recipe below for my stuffed zucchini boats are so low in carb and fat grams and super high in protein.

There are so many things you can do with giant zucchinis, both simple and a little more complicated.

Here’s a small list to think about:

Stuffed Zucchini with Anything and Everything

Zucchini Noodles topped with marinara, pesto or garlic and olive oil

Zucchini Lasagna

Zucchini Pizza Rounds

Grilled Zucchini Slices (this mornings breakfast pic below)

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Almond Flour Crusted Zucchini Sticks

Burgers with Grilled Zucchini “Buns”

Zucchini, Tomato and Mozzarella Cheese Bake

Zucchini Chips Continue reading →

Aug 03 2015
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Eats

Japanese Yam Chips

unnamed-1On the last day of our Tahoe vacation we got home super late in the day but had planned on making dinner.  Just grilled meat, salad and baked potatoes. We had brought up some Japanese Yams, my favorite of the sweet potato variety but they take forever to bake in the oven depending on their size and it was too late to start baking them whole. They needed to be used before they went bad so I decided to make them into chips! Never tried it before but figured why not? I love them whole, why wouldn’t I love them sliced thin and crisped up? Continue reading →