What I Ate Wednesday - Anniversary Edition!

This is my special 4th edition of "What I Ate Wednesday".

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary and our 12 years together. It seems like just yesterday we were teenagers passing each other notes in the middle of class. Now we are married with a house, careers and two fur babies. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

We decided to keep our celebrations simple this year and stay at home for the evening. Dan had plans to make me the perfect meal, and he certainly did (recipe will follow below). I planned a Pinterest surprise which ended in an utter fail. The plan was this: buy a helium balloon for each year we've been together and tie a memory to the bottom of each balloon.

 

Cute right?

 

Well it would be a cute idea if their wasn't a worldwide helium shortage! Yep, you heard that right. How come I feel like I was the only one who didn't know this has been going on all year? The party shop had a nice little sign on their front door saying that they were not taking balloon orders.

 

Great. I guess this is my first Pinterest fail.

 

Regardless, we had a wonderful evening together. Helium balloons could not have made it any better!

Here were my eats for the day:

 

Breakfast (6:30 am):

• Black peppercorn encrusted bacon
• Toast
• 2 Eggs over easy
• Hash brown patties

I work up early and treated Dan to this super grease filled, artery clogging breakfast. This is far from my regular breakfast of Cheerios's or oatmeal. I didn't feel right till about 1 p.m. after eating this. It was worth it though!


Snack (10:00 am):

• none

I felt to ill to eat my snack. Darn grease!


Lunch (12:30 pm):

• Oikos key lime Greek yogurt
• Banana
• Dole "Live Well" bites

These were supposed to be my snacks for the day, but my full appetite wasn't back from breakfast yet.


Dinner (8:30 pm):

• Lobster pizza... Seriously, the best dish of my life
• Creme Brulee

I did NOT track my nutritional details for the day.

When I got home from work Dan was in a frantic state in the middle of a messy kitchen. He still had his work clothes on and was elbow deep in pizza dough. He immediately told me "I think I'm in over my head".

Poor guy.

He was following two recipes he found online and was tweaking them with the ingredients he was able to find. He managed to persevere and pull it off! Everything was just amazing. He really has cooking talent even if he won't admit it.

Here is the recipe for the best damn pizza in this world:

Lobster Pizza

Makes one 10 inch pizza pie

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
1 bay leaf
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 small onion
5 garlic cloves
1/2 cup olive oil
2 shallots
6-8 lobster tails
1 bag pre-made pizza dough (Hubby got ours at Sobeys and it was amazing)
At least* 2 cups of ricotta
Fresh chunks of Parmesan

1. In a pan, heat up the olive oil with 2 shallots and 3 garlic cloves, let it rest when done
2. Blanche lobster (about 4-5 minutes), remove meat and let cool
3. Sauté onion and 2 cloves of garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, and ½ cup of white wine. Add lobster shell/body and then add 2 cups of cream and 1 Tbs, tomato paste. Cook, reducing to one cup, then strain and cool. Add lobster meat.
4. Place pizza dough on pizza stone. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Spread ricotta and grated parm on pizza dough, be generous!
6. Add diced lobster cream to next layer.
7. Sprinkle shallot garlic mixture on top
8. Bake for 15 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Real Food Traveler

 

We paired the pizza with Flat Rock's 2009 Rogue Pinot Noir. A match made in heaven - just like us!

Switchin' Things Up

Since the marathon had ended, I took an involuntary break from running. My leg was injured badly and it was telling me it was time to take a break. After 18 long weeks of pushing through that marathon schedule, it was time.

I had some x-rays done, and numerous visits with my Doc. All tests came back negative... no fracture was present. He was confident it was a shin split that needed time to heal. I thought two weeks off would let me recover, but after my first run back at it my leg pain returned.

Frick...

It's been 4 weeks since running and I am confident my leg is healed and it's time to get moving again. I miss running and I desperately miss the gym. When I committed to my marathon program I decided to not cross train and instead focus on running and running alone. Since I've been on this gym hiatus my new workout plan will focus on toning and muscle building once again.

Below is my new (old) plan that I implemented yesterday.

Please note: I am not a qualified personal trainer or medical professional. This plan was developed solely for myself and has worked for me in the past. Please consult a professional before starting any fitness plan to see whether or not it could work for you.

I like this plan because it is very flexible and has me in the gym for only 75-90 minutes. I increase the weights and reps as my body adjusts and record everything in my log book during my work out. On days where I feel like doing a harder workout, I will really pump it out during my cardio session.

I hope to squeeze in some light yoga in the evenings at home when I can.

What do you do to switch up your workout schedule?

Do you get in your workouts during the holidays?

38 Days till Christmas.....

My oh my.... where has the month gone!

My last post was on Halloween and time has been on fast forward since then. I feel like I woke up today and it was the latter half of the month and Christmas was just around the corner.

This past week I've started listening to Christmas music on my morning commute. I also have plans to start putting up my decorations around the house. My festivity is kicking in and I just can't wait for the big day!

As I reflect back on other Christmas's they also seem like a blur. I feel like all of the prep and work that goes into that day is truly not enjoyed. Instead it is rushed and with too much purpose. This year I am making an effort to enjoy every little minute leading up to the holiday. I've been thinking about all the activities I have coming up and have already started to gear up for some fun.

Some items on my holiday agenda are:

• Cookie exchange with my girlfriends in tacky sweaters
• Office Christmas party
• Strolling through the Niagara Falls festival of lights with my hubby & pugs - Starbucks peppermint mocha in hand
• Assisting hubby with the outdoor lights (I shudder - this will be fun this year... this will be fun this year)
• Attending numerous holiday craft shows... my first one I'm going to tonight!
• Putting up the Christmas tree with the movie Elf on the TV in the background, while we sip hot chocolate
• Purchasing gifts for a local family through the Project Share Christmas program
• Buying my husband his B.A.S.S. Hallmark collectible ornament
• Taking the pugs for their Christmas portraits

Do you take time to enjoy every minute of the holiday season? Or would you rather it be over already?