What a difference a size makes!!

Generally, I think advertising verges on evil, but thank you New Balance.
They put the idea of new running shoes in my head.

So, I got a new pair of running shoes and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!
My old shoes were kind of painful... I've various problems with them that I won't go into detail on (You're welcome!)

I've been in various amounts of pain at the gym since I started.
First, getting into shape.
Then, after I finally got into shape I broke my shoulder.
(Working out with a broken shoulder is not fun, I don't recommend it)
After that, there was those stupid Nikes.

I never really thought that my shoes would make such a difference.
Hindsight is 20/20, so I can't really blame myself for thinking that was normal.
But now that I know, I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out.

I bought shoes that are a size larger than I usually wear (an 8, instead of a 7/7.5), I think that might have helped too.

I'm not sure all the credit goes to my new shoes, but I had a killer day at the gym.
I broke through on the elliptical and had my best day in a long time.
I went up on the weight machines, even though I was exhausted.
Great day at the gym!

I'm going to try to do the treadmill tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.

Dollywood

Tomorrow night Dolly Parton is going to be on American Idol.
I wonder who will be the one to butcher "I Will Always Love You"?

I'm crossing my fingers it's not Syesha or Carly...

Why must you bore me?

I am so sick of movies that think they are special just because they are movies.

Is it too much to ask to be entertained? To be told a story?

I don't want to watch random people wander around (sometimes for 2+ hours!!) and then have it end.

If that's all it takes, then I could just film my life for the next three days and make a movie of it. I can tell you how that would go: Sleep, get ready for work, drive to work, work, drive home, eat dinner, go to the gym, relax for about an hour, go to sleep, repeat.
Sound boring?
Well, that's my point. If what I just described is more interesting than your movie, then why are you making it?

People have to put so much time and effort into making them, even if they suck, so why do you want to make one if you have nothing to say?

Tell me a story, for pity sake. Let's take a journey together and see where it takes us. Entertain me!

I Want One

I don't really want an AT&T Smart Phone,
BUT I do want a Sven.

Do you think I could find something like that at Ikea?

Recipe: Pasta Bake

I love pasta. I've always known that knowing how to make a good, low-cal pasta dish would be integral to keeping up this new healthy lifestyle.

Yes, let's just get this out in the open. I refer to this as a lifestyle change, rather than a diet. It's a little (a lot) pretentious, but I think it's an important enough distinction to deal with that. Diets are temporary changes you make, lifestyles are permanent. Diets also smack of the kind of self-hatred a lot of women feel about their bodies, which I find profoundly disturbing, but I think that's a topic for a blog by itself!

I've been watching a lot of Top Chef today, so I feel like I should apologize for not being some great gourmet foodie, but after this I'm done with that. It is what it is, take it or leave it.

Ingredients:
Whole wheat pasta (2 oz/person) - Try Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Penne Rigate, it's 180 cal/serv
Tomato sauce (1/2 c. /person) - I used Contadina sauce with Italian Herbs.
It's 105 calories for a can which is about 1 3/4 c.
Diced tomatoes (1/2 c. /person) - I used Hunts Diced Tomatoes with Balsamic Vinegar, Basic and Olive Oil
It's 175 cals for a can which is about 1 3/4 c.
Sun-dried tomatoes (6) - I used Mezzetta sun-ripened tomatoes in olive oil.
It's 30 cals/serving with is 3 tomatoes.
Reduced-fat Mozzarella cheese - I used Sargentos
It's 40 cals/2 tblsp

Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare pasta according to directions on the box.

Dice sun-dried tomatoes.
Mix sun-dried tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce. I added some "pasta sprinkle" which looks like it was basil, garlic, turkish oregano and thyme.
Heat it together in a saucepan.

I used an 8 x 8 pan for baking, but I was only making 2 serving.

Add pasta to a pan for baking.
Add 1/2 c. of pasta sauce for each serving.
Mix together.
Top with 2 tbsp of Mozzarella per serving.
Bake for 20 minutes on the lower rack.
Serve. Enjoy.

Here's the break down of the calories:
It's about 56 cals/serving for the pasta sauce which made 6 servings for Jeff and I.
180 for the pasta and 40 for the mozzarella.

Total: 276 calories

I was actually surprised at how much food this dish actually provided. I worried that the 2 oz of pasta wouldn't be enough for my non-healthy lifestyle husband, but it ended up being more than enough. I have no idea how much 2 oz of pasta is, so I used a cheap food scale I bought at the grocery store for $3. That thing is so handy. I use it all the time.

Badger Ball

If you see the Wisconsin Badgers Basketball team roaming around your home town, please return them to:

UW - Madison
c/o Bo Ryan
Madison, WI

I think they were replaced by robots tonight.
Unfortunately, robots who CANNOT play ball.
It was the most disappointing game I have seen in the tournament.

They showed no heart. They didn't get their rebounds. No one was ever under the hoop. No one drove to the hoop. They couldn't stop Stephen Curry worth junk. Where was the fight?

Sad, sad, sad. We deserved to lose... but oh how painful to watch it.
This is why I don't watch sports. I hate caring about something so pointless.

AND it's my mom's birthday today!
(Side note: Happy Birthday Mom!)
Way to ruin her birthday, Badgers!

Other disappointments today:
The selection of running shoes I've encountered so far... is it too much to ask for a little selection?
Mint Mojitos - Do they always taste like minty club soda?

On a brighter note: It's the weekend... can you feel my sigh of relief as the stress of the week melts away. Free time. Sweet, sweet free time and it's all mine. Fabulous! :)

You had me at Love Hate

Oh my God! I think that commercial was talking to me.
Not in that general way that commercials try to "reach us."
But I think it was specifically talking to me.
It was for New Balance shoes.
It talked about the crazy love/hate relationship with going running.
It's like they can see inside my head.
Congratulations New Balance. I'll throw out my Nikes.
New Balance 4 Life, y'all!

Recipe: Hot Ham and Cheese

I've made a lot of changes in my life over the last year. As a result of some of these changes (eating better, exercising more) I've managed to lose over 60 lbs. Which is great don't get me wrong but in response to the people who've noticed...
Yes, I've lost weight
No, I'm not sure what to say about it.
I'm not ashamed of it, but at the same time, it's a weird thing to be recognized for. Am I supposed to be proud? Not sure...

Anyway, as a part of losing the weight I've started finding low-cal ways of making my favorite foods. I needed somewhere to unload these things so they exist somewhere else other than just in my own mind. A recipe book, I know, would be idea. In lieu of that, here is my way of making a low-cal hot ham and cheese.
Don't give me bunk people, I'm not Top Chef, I like simple, quick food.

Hot Ham and Cheese

2 slices low-cal bread (Try Village Hearth Italian or 12 Grain) 40 calories per slice (=80 cals)
1 tbsp margerine (Try SmartBalance Light, it's got no trans fats) 45 cals per tbsp, you probably won't need a whole tbsp
2 oz ham (I use Honey Ham) 70 cals
1 - 1 1/2 slices of Reduced-fat Swiss (Try Sargentos) 60-90 cals
(I vary the amount of cheese based on the bread size and use enough to cover one slice)

Spread margarine on one side of both slices of bread. Place one slice, butter side down in a skillet. Add cheese, then ham, then the other slice of bread (butter side up).
Heat until toasted on both sides.

Total cals: 255-285

I usually have this sandwich with a spinach salad and light dressing for lunch. Yum!

A New Beginning

Yay! A new blog! A new place to dump all the endless words that buzz around inside my head all day long!

A few from the gym yesterday:
1. Some things are better without sound.
America's Funniest Home Videos is not one of them.

2. Why is it I can do 3 miles on the elliptical no problem, but 2 miles on the treadmill just about kills me?

3. Tats is back and running on the treadmill and that makes my day just a little bit better.

I don't know... this really isn't that great of a first effort for me, but I'm tired, my contacts are dry and sticking to my eyeballs and it's getting late. So, instead of bitching about it, I'm going to go to bed.