Weekend Wrap Up and a Recipe!

NOOOO! It can’t be Monday already, I’m not ready! I guess I can’t complain too much since it’s only a four day work week, which is pretty much a win.

Anyways, on this hot sunny Monday I thought I would just give you guys a little recap of my weekend!

I pretty much had the house to myself most of the weekend since the hubby had to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Boo.

Friday night the hubby made homemade Cajun Crawfish and Veggie pizza and we lounged on the couch and watched OZ. It was good but not one I’ll probably rewatch over and over. But I did really like the monkey!

Saturday morning I wanted to sleep in but that didn’t happen thanks to this little lady.

Such a hard life...

So I cooked myself breakfast and opted for some more yoga. Yoga is really growing on me lately. Weird.

Painted my nails!

When the hubby got home we gave the pretty lady a bath, I may or may not have stood under the water hose like a 5 year old since it was over a hundred degrees outside.

Then we headed off to the Bayou City Muscle Car meet. Dinner, froyo, and a whole lot of horse power.

Then one of my friends brought up my handstand photos so of course I had to demonstrate my mad skills.

Sunday I was a perfect mix of productive and lazy, if that’s even possible. Went to lunch with my sister, went grocery shopping for the week, and then cleaned the house only to turn around and nap the afternoon away!

But since I couldn’t let the hubby think I was laying around all day (even if I kind of was) I got up and ran sprints!

Proverbs 31:25

And cooked him dinner. I love Iowa Girl Eats Spicy Sausage Pasta Skillet and have been craving it but I wanted to make it without pasta and more veggies! And voila!

Creamy Chicken Sausage and Veggie Skillet

2 tsp of olive oil
4 oz of half and half (I used organic)
1c of chicken broth
1 can of rotel drained
1/2c of onion
2-4 garlic cloves (or more)
3-4c of broccoli
2-3c of spinach
2c of chopped mushrooms
1pkg of chicken sausage
garlic pepper
1/2pkg Italian dressing seasoning

Add olive oil, onions and garlic and cook until the onions are clear.

Add chicken broth, rotel and sausage and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add half and half, broccoli, mushrooms, seasonings and cook until the broccoli is done.

Add spinach and cook until done.

Makes about 4-6 servings.

You can put a little parmesan or goat cheese shavings on top, YUM!

Today my sister Candace from Salt Water Quilts is coming to stay the week! HAPPY! HAPPY! HAPPY! And bringing my favorite kiddos in tow for the holidays. Who knows what kind of shenanigans we will get into this week!

Question: What did you do this weekend?
How do you plan to spend your 4th of July?

Eat clean, train mean, and inspire others!

-Jaren

Ps. New banner! How do you like it?

Pss. Remember you can follow me on Facebook or Instagram, just click the icons in the top right corner. And I will love you just a little more than I already do.

Sun, Fun, and Blueberries...

Ever have one of those days that don't start off the way you wanted? I really wanted to go to the CrossFit PRx lake day but didn't make it out due to errands. BOO. 

So instead I got in a great WOD at home while my mom ran on the treadmill. Gym time is like movie time with exercise! I think I was making my mother nervous while I was doing squats. Beastmode. I also got my Unbroken Designs belt this week in neon yellow; I absolutely LOVE it. Plus its pretty.

This week at CrossFit has been rough! I have been sore pretty much everyday. 

Some highlights: I PR'd my clean and jerk by 10lbs making it 100lbs, I finally got my toes to bar and strung two together (at the expense of 4 hand tears in one day - joy), and I over came my fear of high box jumps (usually do the 20" side of the box but Wednesday I did the 24'' side) but it was definitely a challenge mentally.

After my workout I had this amazing dish for lunch! Chopped tilapia over baby spinach and broccoli! SO GOOD. I pretty much inhaled it. And yes that is a John Deere plate. 

When the hubby came home we got ready to go to Moorehead Blueberry Farm to pick blueberries but when we checked their site they were already picked over. I was definitely not happy as I have been looking forward to picking blueberries for days. So like always it was Hubby to the rescue and he found us a new farm to try out called Pioneer Blueberry Farm! We definitely enjoyed it more so than the other farm. It had tons of organic berries at a great price and it was much more peaceful. We spent two hours in the 90 degrees heat sweating our butts off picking blueberries and ended up with 10lbs! Something about picking blueberries is so therapeutic. Not to mention that I probably ate my body weight in blue berries as I picked. Oops.

Dinner was thrown together quick: beef burger over baby spinach with onions, mushrooms and avocado and sweet potato fries. Definitely my favorite easy meal.

Well I'm off to help my mother make homemade peach and blueberry cobbler (I don't like cobbler apparently I'm a freak but Dad and the hubby do)!

Question: How did you spend your Saturday?

Did you PR or overcome a fear this week?

Eat clean, train mean, and inspire others!
-Jaren

Remember you can follow me on Instagram @kiwifitblog

MIMM #9 June beginnings...

Good afternoon my lovelies! Its Monday – BOO, and the sun is shining – YAY! So I guess I can’t complain too much! Sorry for the hiatus (Granny I’ll try to post faster I swear), but I got sick then the hubby got sick so you know how that goes. Fun stuff.

Since it's Monday, I thought we would talk about all the marvelous things that I've been up to this past weekend!

First, I got a sweet package in the mail from my friend who teaches an indoor/outdoor cross training program that was created with women in mind called the Brawlin’ Betties Frit Camp! Can’t wait to wear my shirt and to represent! If you are in the Killeen, Texas area check them out or check them out on Facebook!

My family came into town (missed them BUNCHES) so I made some more of The Lean Green Beans Peanut Butter Avocado Cookies. In fact I made a double batch, and they lasted a day. ONE DAY. Obviously they were a hit.

Saturday was a blast! I love when you have an all-over MARVELOUSLY AWESOME day. Woke up and went to CrossFit PRx for a fundraiser. Houston recently lost 4 fire fighters in a terrible fire on May 31st; it was a very sad day. So Saturday the husband, my family and I loaded up and went to show our support for the HFD Fundraiser. It was 100 degrees outside so I didn’t participate (I don’t tolerate heat very well, or at all in fact and I didn’t want to spend the rest of the day with a migraine puking all over the place). They had a team wod (5-Alarm Fire: 5 Rounds – 41 DU’s, 35 Box jumps, 29 KBS, and 24 Wall balls), as well as a team firefighter wod. One of the firefighters did 5 minutes of burpees in full gear, such mad props to him! No way I could do that. I did however get the chance to help with the Kids Wod and that was a blast! Some of those kids meant serious business and didn’t care about coming in last place so long as they completed. Over all we were able to raise over four thousand dollars to donate to the 100 Club which supports local law enforcement and firefighters. And that’s what I love about the CrossFit community, dozens of people coming together to get their butt kicked in the miserable heat for a good cause. (More pics here.)

Later in the afternoon, hubby and I went out on a date! First stop Jerry’s Built Burgers for dinner! I got a fruit cup, my burger bunless, and the sweet potato crinkle fries! (No way I can resist them, they are like heaven in my mouth) And we rounded off the day with Man of Steel in the mega theatre. Probably my favorite movie so far this year! I’ve always been a huge Superman fan, and I was no disappointed with this one. It had a lot of Christianity references which some people are having problems with according to news media, but I found it awesome! Isn’t the hubby just cute as can be?

Tried a new recipe this weekend as well! What Runs Lori’s Paleasagna. It was delicious! I felt like I could have done a better job seasoning it, and I added spinach to the recipe but it was awesome and I plan on making this again and again! When Dad and Hubby are happy you know its good.

Since I have been asked this a few times this weekend, no I do not follow strict Paleo. I do cook a lot of their recipes, but I believe in (almost) all things in moderation (meat, fruit, dairy, nuts, grains, fats, ect.) I don’t eat a lot of grains except for Ezekiel bread, brown rice, and quinoa which is technically a seed. I don’t eat anything “white” except for cauliflower. I’m just an eat clean (little to no processed foods) kind of girl.

Questions: What is your favorite benchmark or hero wod?
What’s your favorite Paleo recipe or blog?

Eat clean, train mean, and inspire others!

-Jaren

Marvelous in My Monday #7

Marvelous in My Monday is a link up party started by the wonderful Katie over at Healthy Diva Eats. You just post about marvelous things that have happened to you over the week. 

This past week I spent most of my time sick, but things definitely started looking up on Thursday so I do have a few marvelous things to talk about!

1. Tuxes - Yesterday we went to Men's Warehouse and got the fiance, his grooms men, and my man of honor their tuxes for the wedding! I'm so excited! They are charcoal Vera Wang tuxes and the boys will be wearing paisley {the fiance put his foot down and demanded that detail} vests. After the boys left for some "bonding" time my mom and I bought the fiance some wedding gifts and we went shoe shopping at DSW. {SHOES!}

2. Family - Like I mentioned in my last post, my entire family has been under one roof this past weekend and while the house has been crowded it has been so nice! Lots of joking around, time spent with the babies... Feels like vacation or a slumber party! 

3. Mustache - In all my years my father has ALWAYS had a mustache. We constantly dare him to shave it, and he doesn't. So Saturday we dared him again, teasing him that he was all talk and no walk. Sunday morning Dad came into my room to wake Logann and I up since we were bunking together. He kept laughing and acting like he was hiding something, so Logann was like "What are you hiding?!" He said he wasn't hiding anything, and that he thought we would notice that his mustache is gone! I was out of bed so fast! Logann threw the blanket over her head and refused to look! It was pretty funny! But after 25 year I've finally seen all of my father's face! And he is so handsome without it, but it is a serious transition! I still can't believe it when I look at him. I think Candace is going to need therapy though. 

4. Old new clothes - Remember those clothes you packed up or wrote off because you couldn't fit into them anymore? Well I got out some dresses that I never really got to wear yesterday and I was able to wear them! I felt like I had a whole new wardrobe. Its little things like that that makes all the hard work worth it!

Today is going to have some rough moments though. I'm about to report the Camaro flooded to insurance; they may fix it or depending on the wiring total it {unlikely} but it will definitely hurt my resale value in the future. You know those guys you see at car shows that are madly in love with their cars? That is me, except I have boobs. My dream scenario is that it will be labeled water damage and I'll get a new interior. So we will see. 

But tonight I get to have dinner with one of my favorite friends and the fiance so that is the bright side! And since I'm off today I'll also get to fit in a kick butt workout! 

You have good days and bad days; and I always try to find the good in the bad! So chin up!

Eat clean, train hard, and inspire others!

-Kiwi && Me

Back from the Dead

Good evening my dears! I'm terribly sorry for abandoning you for nearly a week, but such is life. After my MIMM post on Monday, I started working on my post for Tuesday which I had planned on finishing Tuesday night.


Tuesday we had a family interview for the fiance's State Trooper process, which I think went pretty well. I learned a lot, and I feel a little better about him potentially taking on that role. But not soon after they left, I got sick sick sick. I immediately went to bed. Wednesday I got up, suffered through work, came promptly home and went back to bed. This was Thursdays process as well, except by Thursday evening I started feeling pretty human again.

I think it was partly due to stress, so Friday I took a pamper day and just focused on me. I got up early, went to the gym for some cardio, got a massage and a hair cut! I was feeling pretty much like a million bucks. Then Logann decided to come home last minute, and Candace's air conditioning broke so all of our whole family is sleeping under one roof. This hasn't happened since 2006. But it is SO MUCH FUN.

Today has been nothing but relaxing; Logann and Candace sewing, shopping, napping... Well I did get in a workout, Total Body Sculpt with Gilad! Tonight we are cooking up Skinny Taste Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle mayo and avocados, sweet potato fries, and home made cole slaw. Dinner on the patio with a few beers and wine, couldn't get any better.

On the subject of my Camaro - this has not been her week. Monday she almost flooded but water did get in the floor boards so she will be headed to get a good steam cleaning. If this doesn't help then I'll be calling insurance to get a new interior. Even though I just forked out to get the windshield replaced. And to top it all off, the poor girl just rolled 50,000 miles... She is getting so old. Kidding, but seriously...


So Survive on $35; apparently during my down time there was a lot of twitter and blog negative back lash to Lindsay's idea. Personally, I think it is GREAT. One of the biggest complaints I hear from people when I talk about my healthy lifestyle is that its too expensive. The fiance sometimes offers to stock his mother's pantry for a week and we follow the same guidelines. We make a list with a small budget, go to the store with a calculator and try to leave with nothing unhealthy except for maybe ice cream. It is a good challenge to teach people that it can be done, I don't believe it was ever her intention to make light of those in low income families. I think it is good to teach people to budget, to be aware of portion sizes and costs, and to be creative! Haters are going to hate; but I think Survive on $35 is great!


So this week, you'll be hearing a lot about Lara Bar; I'll be posting the review and a giveaway that was supposed to be on the blog this week before I got sick. So check back Tuesday!


Question:
What is your favorite wine?
What fun things are going on in your life this weekend?

Eat clean, train hard, & inspire others!
Kiwi && Me

Buttering Me Up

Good evening my lovelies! I hope all of you are enjoying your Saturdays! I just got done enjoying some Skinny Taste Sloppy Joes & quinoa with mexicorn. I got some peppers on my hand while I was cooking and even though I've washed it with Dawn it still burns if I scratch anywhere... Oi vey it burns!


Yesterday marked exactly three months until the wedding but I was totally surprised when I got a text from the fiance telling me to meet him in the lobby of my work where I found these waiting on me... Act like a giddy school girl? Why yes I did!


Then when I got home I was told to get dressed because we were going to dinner! Yes sir! I was not going to object! We ended up at BJ's Brewhouse. I got a 5oz shooter of their low calorie beer and the vegetarian mini pizza while the fiance got a small margarita and mahi mahi tacos! And I had plans for desert, oh dear... how about some froyo? As if he had a choice. There is a local shop called Pink Berry and I love that they have a mini size! I get my chocolate fix and don't have to worry too much about my waist!


It was such a great night but I always feel like I'm being buttered up for something. I guess this is his way from keeping me from wearing my Nikes to the wedding and running out the door. {I kid} Now being the big party animals we are we still managed to be home and in bed by ten. Oh yeah, we are that lame. But I'll take being lame for a much needed 8 hours of sleep! Actually we had originally came home early to get a run in, but my favorite friend, migraine, showed up and killed that.


Crossfit games? Anyone watching them online or on the tv? I am so amazed, those are some amazing individuals! {though watching it makes me feel like a pansy}

Eat clean. train hard, & inspire others!
-Kiwi && Me

Marvelous in My Monday #4

Marvelous in My Monday is a link up party started by the wonderful Katie over at Healthy Diva Eats. You just post about marvelous things that have happened to you over the week. 

What a busy weekend! Aren't weekends supposed to be refreshing? I'm ready to crawl in bed and sleep for a few days! Too much fun for one weekend, and with the Fourth of July right around the corner, looks like this week will be interesting! Lets talk about the many MARVELOUS things went on in my world this past weekend, shall we?

KICK BUTT WORKOUTS: Saturday Morning I woke up early and took both of my sisters to the gym with me! We all live healthy lifestyles and enjoy our own kinds of workouts, but sometimes its just nice to go together! I did 30 minutes of interval training adapted from this post, 10 minutes of rowing, 75 second plank and then walked another 10 minutes on the treadmill while stretching.  

GAVE COFFEE ANOTHER SHOT: After Logann and I dropped Candace off at her house, we stopped by Starbucks for a post workout treat! Iced Skinny Carmel Macchiato. I generally hate any mixture of coffee but it was love at first sip! Maybe reading about all these Starbucks obsessed bloggers has rewired my brain.

RECIPES: I spent most of my Saturday evening making salsa for a pre-birthday dinner snack for my Dad! Also borrowed some of Logann's fabric to take some pretty cool pictures. You can find those recipes here. I got ahead on my blogging, for once, and spent some of my evening blogging in my own little world.

 

SISTERS: Logann came into town from Austin for Dad's birthday and wanted Candace's help in making some pillows. Candace needed some pictures to use for her blog so since I'm the go to camera girl in the family I helped out. Anytime the three of us are involved with a camera it turns into a giggle fest. You can read Candace's weekend post, Sister Sewing 101, here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD: We celebrated Dad's birthday with a home cooked {healthier} southern meal! BBQ'd chicken, cole slaw, asparagus, mashed sweet potatoes, black baked beans, and of course - ice cream and cake! My Dad is addicted to music, he looks like something right out of Lonesome Dove and yet on any given day his iPod will shuffle between old ranch music like R.W. Hampton to Green Day to Muse to French Techno to Miranda Lambert to Ray Lamontagne to Garbage and then to surf music. Complex man. So my gift of iTunes is always a hit with him!

CARS && COFFEE: The first Sunday of every month my local car club gets together for a Cars & Coffee. I started the morning with Jamba Juice then went back for Starbucks. Afterwards we had a surprise birthday party for a camaro friend, so hours of fun with friends was had!




NAIL POLISH ADDICT: When I came home I found this waiting on me courtesy of my mother. Essie Borrowed & Blue! I {LOVE} IT! Think I found my wedding color!

Commercial Break Workout: While watching Extreme Makeover Weight Loss addition, I thought I would do my Biggest Loser tradition with this show too - commercial break workouts. This is the one I came up with last night. I repeated it every commercial break and by the end I was definitely feeling it and struggling!

GIVEAWAYS: Last night I found out I won a give away from Anna at Fit From the Inside out! Check out her blog, she is very sweet! I'll definitely post up when I get my goodies!


YOGA {AGAIN}: I ended Sunday night with some Bob Harper Yoga; like i said, it's growing on me. I put my mat down and put the DVD in. When I turned around I found that the kitties had taken over my mat. I think I need to buy another.

Question:
What marvelous thing happened to you this weekend?
What are your Fourth of July plans?


Eat clean, Train hard, & Inspire others!
-Kiwi and Me

Foodie Penpals #2

Last month I joined a monthly program called Foodie Penpals. Foodie Penpals was started by Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean in September 2011. The group of participants has grown from 30 to way over 600! There are participants in the United States, Canada, and now even over in the UK!

This month I was assigned to send a box to Heather at GirliChef! I sent her homemade cookies, granola bars, and our family's steak rub recipe. Head over to her blog to see how she liked it! {Also her pictures are just amazing!}


My package this month is from Becky! She sent me all kinds of little goodies to try out!





She sent me locally made products as well as some "basics"! I couldn't agree more - chocolate is a must have. Her package included cherry pie filling, organic grits, capers, Lemon Ginger Honey, Pumpkin Butter and Hershey's Dark Chocolate Pieces! She also sent a very lovely card





Though I am saving the cherry pie filling for a rainy day, the rest has been devoured! In my house, good food doesn't last! The pumpkin butter and honey have been used to top ezekiel bread for breakfast! The grits... Well this southern girl LOVES grits! With some turkey bacon - holy cow! Happy as a jay bird! We tossed the capers in some pasta that the fiance made the other night! And I've been mixing the dark chocolate pieces with my almonds for a snack {or to top my icecream}!


Foodie penpals has been great so far - even though its my second month! My Dad and fiance sit there waiting to open to box to see what goodies they can run off with! So its really fun for the whole household! 


Question:
What would you use the contents of my package for?
Are you a foodie penpal? What great things did you get?


Live, Love, and Lift!
-Kiwi and Me