National Siblings Day

So I just read that today is National Siblings Day... 

...and I'm all sorts of excited now. 

Let me take a minute to introduce you to my family :) 

Back Row:Lindy (step-sister), Will (Lindy's husband), Holly (the baby), Mark & Momma, Ami (the eldest of my full siblings), Jim (Ami's husband), 

Sitting: Lisa (my bffl), Me, Sean (aka Quincy, step bro, another bffl)

Laps: Carter (Lisa's puppy and my cuddle buddy), Lucy and Micah (niece and nephew)

  How many homeschoolers fit into a tree? 

Apparently 7. 

Me, my sisters and 3 of our family friends.

 Ashley's birthday celebration in Big Bear. 

Bahaha look at Quincy! 

Sisters sippin' on bellinis in Vegas... 

Keepin' it classy 

Sisters in San Diego 

Ami was so mad that me and Lisa "ruined" the photo

We thought it added pizaaz

First game of the season, Redskins vs Cowboys 

My Washington, DC adventure with brother

(and if you look closely, you can see Ashley in between our faces... I tried to include her since she was soooo jealous that we got to go to the game and she didn't)

I LOVE these punks. 

Can't wait to see them when I visit California in a month.

Dear Ashley...

Let's do this next time we are in the same state...

Running Plan - Week #2

My roommate and best friend's wedding is exactly 8 months from today.

Last year on her birthday

I was told that as a bridesmaid, my only duty was to "stand there and look pretty".
I told her that I was really good at that ;)

At our friend's wedding 

I also told her that I would be her workout buddy in the upcoming months, since I'm her only local bridesmaid (everyone else is back in SoCal, where we're from).

Last week, we signed up for a bootcamp together. I don't feel ready for a bootcamp yet, but it was a great deal (hellooooooo, Groupon!) and its super close to our house (15 minute walk or 3 minute drive)... so how could I resist?  It's always way better to make a fool outta yourself when you have a friend to laugh along side you anyways.

Since the bootcamp doesn't start for a few more weeks, I will continue with my running plan for now.
Enjoy :)


My Running Plan - Week 2

1st Workout
Warm up: Walk 5 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 1.5 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 8x
Cool down: Walk 5 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

2nd Workout
Warm up: Walk 5 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 2 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 7x
Cool down: Walk 4 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

3rd Workout
Warm up: Walk 5 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 2 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 7x
Cool down: Walk 4 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

4th Workout
Warm up: Walk 5 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 2.5 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 6x
Cool down: Walk 4 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

Get it. 

Happy Easter!!

from the admin girls at my work

elephants in their Easter Sunday best 

How CUTE is this??? 

P.S. Did RD make a new friend, Ashley? 

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!! 

Mean Green Sandwich Machine!

Food, how I do love it so!

Experimenting in the kitchen is one of my favorite hobbies... but its tax season right now. I'm gonna take a wild stab in the dark and guess that no one reading this post is a tax accountant (Right? Right? Ok, so maybe it was a lame poke in the light), so I can explain to you what that means to me.

• I am working on average 55-60 hours a week (only two more weeks left!)
• I am too lazy to spend hours cooking extravagant meals when I get home from work
• I am too lazy to wake up early and prep a "real meal" before work

Ergo, I've been eating "easy meals", but trying to stay on the healthy side. Hopefully I spend some time in the kitchen this weekend... but until then, here's a peek into what my meals were like yesterday...


Breakfast

Vega One meal shake with unsweetened Almond Milk and a banana. 

I love that the Vega One powder has three servings of green vegetables in each scoop, along with a boatload of other good-for-you's. It's also vegan, mostly raw and super easy for my lazy butt in the morning. 

Also, I love my yellow blender bottle. Yellow makes me happy :) 

Lunch

Mean Green Sammich Machine: Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain bread, cucumber, avocado, alfafa sprouts, vegenaise, red leaf lettuce, and spinach.

Oooooh I do love me a good sammich! My momma used to make fun of me for it. Said that in order to win my heart, a boy should show up with a sandwich instead of flowers. You may laugh, but my momma is a smart, smart lady.

Dinner

(not pictured.... oops!)

Essentially a repeat of lunch, minus the bread. I went to the gym (running plan, workout day #3... woohoo! Go me!) and when I got home I wasn't hungry at all... but I knew I needed to eat something, so I made some lettuce wraps using essentially the same ingredients as the sammich.


Speaking of the gym... when I was leaving there tonight, there was the most gorgeous sunset! I snapped a quick pic before hopping in the car. Arizona really does have the prettiest sunsets that I have ever seen - and that's a bold statement coming from someone who grew up in So Cal watching the sun set behind the Pacific!

Have a great Friday! :)

dear robin...

every time one of these fools come on the radio

i cant help but blast it

and dance around rapping my white girl heart out..

(although, technically, i'm Latina.. samba my heart out? cha-cha my heart out? oh i got it- SELENAAAS my heart out..)

but it's NEVER the same as it is when we drive together..

can we say random road trips to SD?!

(i guess gwen stefani should be in here, too.. but she's a white woman...

..and that's racist)

{inside joke}

55 Days to Awesomeness

I started going to the gym last week and it has been tough. Physically and mentally.

You see,
I used to go to the gym 3-5 times a week.
I used to work out with a personal trainer.
I used to be some sort of fit.

Then life happened...
work happened....
boyfriend happened....
excuses happened...

But you gotta start somewhere... and I'm positive it will get easier each time I go. I'm going to try a "4 week Beginners Running Program" to get back into that cardio groove. The plan calls for 4 work outs a week. I plan on doing Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and then either Thursday or Saturday, depending on work.

(Right now, I feel more like the bottom picture...)

Week 1

1st Workout
Warm up: Walk 10 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 1 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 5x
Cool down: Walk 10 mins
Total Time: 30 mins


2nd Workout
Warm up: Walk 10 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 1 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 7x
Cool down: Walk 5 mins
Total Time: 29 mins


3rd Workout
Warm up: Walk 10 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 1 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 5x
Cool down: Walk 10 mins
Total Time: 30 mins


4th Workout
Warm up: Walk 10 mins
Run/Walk Plan: 1 min run, 1 min walk, repeat 7x
Cool down: Walk 5 mins
Total Time: 29 mins

Currently my mantra... I may not be doing as *much* as I used to...

 but I'm doing something... which is better than nothing... BAM!

Time for a throwback!

circa 2005

...on our way somewhere...

...probably up to no good...

...definitely singing and dancing to Devo... 

WHIP IT!!

the poker run

here are some pictures from a poker race

we attended out in the desert

of southern california.

all taken by my husband's iphone

it woudnt be a trip with my husband if he didn't find a snake

-Ash

This mornings quote....

Ash: we gotta blog more about the stupid stuff we say

Ash: (but dont blog that..)

55 days to awesomeness

i actually got up to work out today.

and my trainer and i were both impressed at my skills.

(haven't been to the gym in like 2 months)

have a feeling i'll be sore tomorrow

but i'm still proud i went while i was still sore from our hike saturday.

yay for fitness!

-Ash

My Box of Magic

Every other Friday I get a box of delicious magic delivered to my doorstep.... I wake up on those Fridays like a little kid on Christmas... I rush to the front porch to see what sort of goodies arrived during the night.

The magical goodies in the box are an random assorment of organic, locally grown, fruits and veggies.

I LOVE to be in the kitchen, Googling various recipes and concoctions to try. It's fun to be surprised with random produce that I've never cooked with before. And this produce is DELICIOUS.
A million times better than the grocery stores (even when you buy organic at the grocery store) AND it just shows up at my doorstep... how cool is that?!

This week's assortment:

Please ignore my reflection in the mirror... I promise 

I don't have a Santa belly... its just the shirt and the angle :) 

Veggies:

• 1 bunch of spinach
• 2 bunches of carrots
• 2 bunches of kale (with red stems? interesting....)
• 1 bunch of chard (rainbow? not sure... stems are lellow)
• 2 broccoli crowns
• 1 cucumber

Fruit:

• 5 bananas
• 3 fiji apples
• 3 braeburn apples
• 3 tangelos
• 5 kiwis
• 2 pears
• 1 avocado

I see lots of yummy juice, smoothies and salads in my future!!

LeBonk!
"Did you mean: 'clam bellies'?"