Month: August 2013

I have a problem and some random photos

SweetHanrahanLeave a comment

Hey party people!  How’s your week coming along?

Mine has been a little rough but I guess that tends to happen from time to time, right?

Aside from my rough week, I have been struggling to keep my diet in check.  For me, once I start eating shitty food, it slowly morphs into a problem <— where I’m at now.

SO, with that being said, it is time to clean. it. up.  For the rest of the week, I am going to work on my path to eating clean again.  Which means I am going to focus on cutting out the following:

1) Sugar (ice cream, I’m looking at you!)

2) Alcohol (waaah!!!)

3) Processed carbs

My weekends these days have been fairly boring so I haven’t been taking pictures like I usually do.  There are a couple of random pictures from the last few weeks that I thought I would share.

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A friend of ours, Ryan is going to run the Chicago marathon and so he and his wife had a little rooftop party to help raise money for PAWS.  The rooftop had a cool view of Union Station.

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And the food was quite delicious!

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Sunshine + Beer (which I don’t ordinarily drink but…when in Rome, right?)

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I went on a run for the first time in a loooong time and snapped a quick photo of the skyline.  I did a .5 mile warm up + 3 mile run + .5 mile cool down.  My legs are still giving me issues so I think I’ll have to continue to layoff for a while 😦

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Now that the summer is winding down, we were sure to grab at least one more concert in the park.  Boy was it CROWDED!  Crowds are not my favorite (read: I am a total lunatic when it comes to crowds in that I. can’t. deal.) so we left at intermission.

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We had a little lunch at West End because we could bring the dogs.  I’m not sure why though because every time they come, I get so annoyed that I begin to question my life choices.

That’s all I’ve got for now! 

Has anyone else been slipping up when it comes to food or fitness goals?

-As usual, I find that the fitness/working out part is easy but my real challenge is with my diet!

A couple of workouts and summer is almost over

SweetHanrahanLeave a comment

It’s Friday, bitches!

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My week has gone by somewhat slowly but at the very least, I did manage to get in a couple of really good workouts that I thought I would share with you…

Abs & butt workout

Warm Up:

20 minutes on the elliptical

3 rounds of 15 reps for each move:

Dead lifts, bridges, outer thigh with resistance band, inner thigh with resistance band, plank back kick

 Then I did the Blonde Ponytail’s 5 moves for a solid core workout.  It is good if you don’t feel like busting ass at the gym…not too crazy but still a good little sweat sesh.

This next little workout got me a little sore all over which was nice!!!

I started with about 15 minutes on the elliptical, followed by…

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I don’t know about you guys, but I am getting really depressed about the fact that the end summer is quickly approaching us.  What really gets my panties in a twist is the kind of summer we’ve had here in Chicago…a CHILLY one, what is up with that??!?!?  If I had anything to say about it, I would request that the summers be so hot that my nips are literally sweating off!

So, I thought I would share a couple of pictures of this past summer to help us all focus on the present and not worry about the impending winter fall temperatures.

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Me and my little Otis hanging out by the lakefront on one of the few days that it was warm enough to warrant a bikini.

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It was also the weekend where all my in-laws (+the significant others) were in town.

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On a nice toasty day, we went to go check out the gay pride parade and I stumbled upon this fellow with these killer shoes!

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Enjoy sunglasses while you still can, folks!!!

On the bright side, we can all enjoy a nice cold beer no matter what season it is, am I right?!?!?!

Anyone have last minute summer plans?

I like food…a lot

SweetHanrahan3 Comments

‘Sup homies?  It’s almost the weekend, baby!

Per usual, I’ve got a lot going on (who doesn’t, right?).  So, I thought I would make this short and sweet by sharing some of my recent meals with y’all.  Everything is fairly easy to prepare, delicious and healthy!  So let’s get to it, shall we?

I lost a bet to my husband not long ago so I had to make him breakfast and do the dishes.  I decided to make veggie-packed eggs and The Lean Green Bean’s French Toast Oat Muffins (I used blueberries and walnuts in the recipe and topped it with light agave syrup)…

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SALADS:

Spinach, garbanzos, red pepper, red onion, basil, walnuts, olive oil (you can add goat cheese, if your little heart desires it)…

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Spinach, dates, slivered almonds, strawberries, olive oil, balsamic vinegar…

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Spinach, dates (again, yes!), pistachios, apples, red onion, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, olive oil…

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This one is a crowd pleaser, promise: Cobb Salad with Spinach (I prefer romaine but I work with what I’ve got people!), hard-boiled egg, chicken (cooked the night before for ease in the morning), red onion, cucumber, tomato and the same dressing mix as the previous salad: dijon mustard, olive oil, apple cider vinegar…

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Dinners:

Loaded sweet potato equipped with: grilled chicken, jalepenos, cilantro, scallions, corn, avocado (I added some salsa after I snapped the picture)…

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My husband found THIS salmon burger recipe and let me tell you!  This thing is the SHIT!  I also made a watermelon salad on the side…

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Let’s talk about the watermelon salad for a minute.  I mixed up some watermelon, goat cheese, tomato, basil, arugula and balsamic vinegar.  Try it, you’ll thank me in the morning…

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Roasted chicken with sweet potatoes and shredded brussels sprouts (I just shred the sprouts, add some olive oil and dried cranberries into a teflon pan and cook until the sprouts are ready)…

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And finally, I made Kath’s Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken, oh my goodness, SO good!…

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If anyone makes one of these concoctions, let me know how it turns out!!!

Any recipes you wish to share?