Visiting Reindeer and Other Christmas Festivities

Date: December 26, 2013

Author: astottler

I hope that everyone had a fabulous holiday!

I feel like it’s been such a long time since I last blogged! I’m going to try to keep this mostly to pictures so I don’t bore you too much!

On Monday night I made gingerbread with this super delicious and healthy recipe! Zucchini? Count me in! It gave the bread the perfect moistness.

On Christmas Eve, I woke up early to go to Crossfit-it was a quick one and I was out nice and early so we could head up to San Francisco.

We went to the California Academy of Sciences to see the Christmas exhibit I’ve heard about on the radio every year.

Reindeer!

There was also an indoor snow exhibit-yes in California, we go to Museums for snow.

Inside the Museum was an amazing hidden restaurant called the Moss Room. I decided to get a salad, butternut squash soup with maple creme fraiche, as well as a side of brussels sprouts. Because you better believe anytime I see them on the menu, that’s what I’m getting!

For dinner, we went to Benihana’s, as we do every Christmas Eve. For those that are not familiar, Benihana’s is a Japanese restaurant where the chefs cook in front of you on the table.

AMAZING fried rice, ginger salad, and shrimp.

Since my sister’s boyfriend (and I!) loves blueberries, we made blueberry crisp, while whipping up Christmas morning breakfast and watching Elf. Since everybody loves Elf, I decided we needed to watch it again. It was adorable, and a great Christmas Eve movie.

And then stockings were hung. Guess who has the “Naughty” stocking? That would be my little trouble maker of a cat, Lilly. Let’s just say she’s earned the title.

However, not sure if the cookies ever made it to Santa, thanks to our little elf who came after dark…

‘

We actually stayed up past midnight on Christmas Eve watching baby videos, since my sister had her boyfriend over. We watched more videos on Christmas, and let me just say-I missed my calling! I was clearly a natural ballerina. At least for a 4 year old. Now I kind of really want to take a ballet class! It’s the only type of dance I could even potentially do because it’s the only one that allows or even requires rigidity!

On Christmas morning, I wrapped up some last minute presents for my family. I made them canvas pictures-I’ll do a separate post on that DIY project.

For breakfast, we made a gruyere, mushroom, and tomato breakfast casserole which was assembled the night before.

We also had some expensive blueberry coffeecake that had been frozen. It was good but probably would have been better fresh! Plus melon balls and a side of Christmas tree.

And chocolate orange. Because Christmas is one of those days when candy for breakfast is totally acceptable. Hey-it was in my stocking!

I have to share with you guys some pictures of the cat I’m cat-sitting. He’s the sweetest, hugest, fluffiest orange kitty. He purrs the entire time I’m there, and has the most beautiful fur.

And then, it was off to Grandma’s house!

My Grandma outdid herself yet again with the food. She made 3 entrees-chicken (above), pork chops, and eggplant parmesan.

Stuffed mushrooms, chocolate cake, blueberry pie, and my Grandma’s dog Molly.

Rumpldy Thump-mashed potatoes, broccoli, and cheese sauce.

Christmas was really nice. It was pretty low key this year, so there isn’t to much of an after-Christmas lull. Plus, today we were back in San Francisco!

This morning, I went to Crossfit, then yoga. I did a mile on the treadmill in between-I ran a mile and then wanted to incline walk for a few minutes, but my achilles tendons weren’t having it. I don’t know why I’m having such bad tendonitis now-I haven’t had problems in over 10 years, plus I reduced my mileage a lot recently! Any advice for how to treat it would be welcome.

Anyways, my family went to San Francisco for lunch and to see a musical.

The noodles were deliciously garlic-y and I’m sure my family loved me the rest of the day.

We saw the Book of Mormon, which was really good! It sells out so quickly, and we got tickets this year as soon as they were available.

We had a great couple of days-hope you all did as well!

How was your holiday? What did you do?

MIMM-Celebrating the Holidays

Date: December 23, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Happy Monday! Thanks to Katie for hosting this MARVELOUS link up every week!

I have a lot to tell you guys about! But first-who’s enjoying the holidays?? I know I am!

Saturday morning began with a nice long run. I did 10 miles- I can’t remember the last time I did a long run! It was nice to run back by the bay.

It was surprising to see the hill I run by that was brown all summer be green!

The first half of the run was much faster than the second-at the halfway point, my achilles tendon starting hurting quite a bit. Plus, it’s been a while since I’ve done any long distance running! I also tried salted caramel gu for the first time! It was so good! I would definitely recommend it-but it was not great for me personally-I’m not sure if it’s because my allergies have been bad lately, but I absolutely could not eat it without a coughing fit. I think I have issues with thinner goos-my normal chocolate is pretty thick and maybe not so sugary?

Another issue I had with my run was getting too hungry. I had a slightly smaller than usual pre-run breakfast, plus I didn’t get out of the house as quickly as I had hoped, so I totally ran out of gas by the end of the run.

My post run meal was a beautiful salad with avocado and whole wheat macaroni and cheese.

Later that evening, my best friends from high school came over for our annual cookie decorating tradition.

I made a basic sugar cookie recipe, but this time I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for while flour. The flavor was a tiny bit different but I didn’t mind, and I definitely felt less gross after eating them.

I think we did an especially nice job decorating this year-maybe because I spent so long on my annual #1 turkey, and my friends are much more artistic than me.

One thing I want to touch on is balance. I know I’ve talked about it so much already, but I want to go a little more in depth. First of all, despite posting pictures of tons of delicious desserts, I promise I’m still eating my veggies! They just never seem to make it to the blog this time of year! Second-if you want to eat mass quantities of cookies and still feel great, long runs are awesome-my body just burned through those cookies and I woke up feeling great the next morning!

There are so many articles constantly in your face about “avoiding the holiday weight gain” and “stay healthy over the holidays.” As someone who normally gains a ton of weight between Christmas and New Year’s, I have my own set of tips for you, because for me, this year has been different. Want to avoid the holiday fluff? The best way is to just not worry about it! Don’t deprive yourself, and eat what you want to. That’s what I’m doing this year, and I haven’t gained an ounce. Why? Because if you constantly are worried about gaining weight, food will carry so much stress. I will freely admit I had a couple of sugar induced meltdowns last year-and I could barely enjoy the season! But now that I’m not trying to restrain myself from sweets? I’m finding myself eating fewer, getting more enjoyment out of them, and feeling awesome.

And you know what? When you stop trying so hard-you put less weight on your food choices. At least for me-I’ve been able to enjoy the holidays much more. I ate a ton of cookies with my friends. But I didn’t feel bad. I enjoyed the cookies and had a great times with amazing people-I wasn’t blindly eating them out of some built up craving. I enjoyed every single bite.

And while you’re at it, try to focus on the most important things-family, cats, friends, traditions. I think many people would be surprised to find that food gets a lot less significant.

But let’s get back to friends. Check out what one of my friends gave me!

Twins!

For breakfast in the morning, my mom made blueberry scones, which I paired with scrambled eggs and tea.

We took the train up to the city, and must have all been a little tired because we missed our stop by two stops-luckily it was easy to get back on!

Either way, we all were ready for some caffeine upon arriving in San Francisco.

Visiting the shelter cats at Macy’s was a must. There were 3 that looked like Charlie!

And of course we needed a picture by the tree.

The only bad thing about running 10 miles before spending a day walking around the city and a mall? My feet hated me, and were hurting SO much. It was not good.

Lunch was a giant salad with chicken, avocado, and bleu cheese.

And a late afternoon pick me up, split between the three of us.

Since the sundae was more or less at dinner time, I only had a small serving of chili when I returned home. My mom even threw some kale in the chili-so proud of her!

In other news, the Crossfit WOD this morning was 12 days of Christmas-a different exercise for each day, and then the workout goes through as the song goes. It was brutal and much harder than I was expecting-a lot more cardio too! I didn’t end up finishing under the time cap of 32 minutes!

Then, I went straight down to my school gym to ~~torture~~ take my sister and her boyfriend through a weights workout. I may have mentioned this before, but my sister wants me to teach weight training to the school quidditch team in exchange for fresh green juice, so today I tested out the workout. I’m glad I tested it out because we had to make some modifications, but it was so much fun! It made me realize how knowledgable I’ve become about weight lifting. They are going to be sore tomorrow! And her boyfriend is crazy athletic-when they ran a marathon together, he wasn’t even sore the next day! So if 26.1 miles won’t do it but I can, that’s an accomplishment!

And they did deliver on their promise:

Have a great holiday everyone!

What is most important to you this time of year?

How to Avoid Common Workout Mistakes

Date: December 22, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

Hey guys! I’m excited to have a guest post today on a topic I think a lot of people can benefit from hearing about! Enjoy!

How to Avoid Common Workout Mistakes

Exercise is more than just a way to shed some fat or prepare for an upcoming marathon. Exercise benefits your physical appearance and overall health.

However, there are certain things about exercise that everyone should remember. If not done properly, exercise can backfire. Below are some common mistakes people make when they work out.

Mistake#1: Focusing on a Single Muscle Group or Body Area

Do you dream of having washboard abs and eliminating that beer belly? While these goals are specific, concentrating on your abs by doing 100 crunches may be counterproductive. Regardless of what muscle group you’re targeting, you need to lose fat in order to obtain muscle definition. Spot-specific exercises like crunches and sit-ups are not enough to improve your fat metabolism.

You should incorporate high-intensity interval exercises and core exercises in your routine. These exercises help burn fat, improve muscle definition all over your body, and promote aerobic fitness.

A well-rounded exercise program includes not only core training and high-intensity exercises, but also strength training, aerobics, and active stretching.

Mistake #2: Limiting Sleep for the Sake of Your Workout

Although experts recommend working out first thing in the morning, sacrificing sleep for it is not the answer. It is crucial not to lose sleep, as this is your body’s way of recharging itself. Loss of sleep can impair your weight management efforts and raise your risk for various health problems.

Some people think that they can allot more time for exercise by cutting down on sleep. However, if you integrate high-intensity exercises into your routine, you don’t have to exercise for hours at a time.

According to studies, people who do high-intensity exercises reap more benefits than those who focus on slow, long-distance forms of physical activity.

Mistake #3: Exerting Too Much or Too Little Effort in Strength Training

When strength training, some people go to the extreme. Some push themselves too hard, while others use weights that are too light. To benefit from strength training, make sure that your body is challenged, but just enough for your current level of fitness.

It will make no difference whether your weights are heavy or not. As long as you achieve muscle failure and fatigue after a few repetitions, your routine is effective.

Also remember that you need to increase the intensity of your workout to keep your body challenged.

Mistake #4: Over-Exercising

Sometimes, the “no pain, no gain” mentality and exercising too intensely or frequently can backfire. Part of a well-rounded exercise routine is recovery – you need to allow your body to recuperate. Also, you should not do high-intensity exercises more than twice a week.

One thing that many individuals keep forgetting is when you increase intensity, you can decrease frequency. Give yourself sufficient time to recover. Pushing yourself too hard can lead to injury.

Other Ways to Stay Healthy and Attractive

Good health is achieved from the inside out. Aside from exercising, there are other ways to promote optimal health and physical appearance, such as:

Avoid toxins –The key is to keep toxins out, as they speed up the aging process. Processed foods, refined carbohydrates, sugar, and grains are sources of these toxins.
Avoid alcohol and smoking – These vices are other sources of toxins and free radical damage.
Get some sun – Not only does sun exposure help optimize your vitamin D levels, but it also gives your skin a natural tan.
Ditch drugs for natural alternatives – Instead of using drugs to support your health, try using natural supplements instead. Some experts recommend taking saw palmetto with pumpkin seed or lycopene.

About the Author

Adrienne R. writes health and fitness articles. At present, she is researching how multivitamin benefits one’s health. She uses online sources, such as the Mercola natural health newsletter, to get up-to-date information about health and fitness.

Giveaway Winner!

Date: December 20, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

I’m going to go through today in reverse order so I don’t leave you all in suspense over my giveaway winner!

But first I have to set the mood. I’m old fashioned so I picked the winner out of a hat. A hat I specifically brought back from school for this purpose (don’t ask why I have a hat like this…), so as I wrote down all the entries, I blasted Christmas music. Tis the season!

I was going to bring the hat down by the tree for picture purposes, but then I ended up with something even better. I decided to take a picture with Charlie and the hat…and he decided he wanted to pick the giveaway winner!

And then for good measure, he decided to sit on the hat.

ANYWAYS-now that you’ve sat through enough cat pictures, here’s the winner!

Miranda, please email me your address at astottler @gmail.com! 🙂

Confession-when I decided to do this giveaway, I was kind of scared no one would enter…and I’d be forced to eat all the delicious food by myself. I guess there would be worse things! So thank you to everyone who entered!

(Random note-my Christmas playlist just got the the Spanish Christmas music. NOW it’s Christmastime!)

So what did I do today besides listen to Christmas music and choose a giveaway winner?

To be honest, not a whole lot. I went for a 3 mile hilly run…4 hours after I meant to do it. I guess I need to schedule better! I’m definitely in better running shape than over the summer when I did this-but I also haven’t done hills in a while so this kicked my butt.

I also went to my home Crossfit this evening. I love it-it’s totally decked out for the holidays.

After looking at today’s WODs-I was super tempted to go to my Crossfit at school (since I live pretty close) as well as my home Crossfit because both workouts looked awesome! But I am not crazy. Or stupid. Speaking of which-I’m at the point with my fitness where I think I can do pretty much anything. Which is great and definitely potentially stupid. Such as going to 2 Crossfits in one day-I’m definitely glad I didn’t because just the one killed me! Lots of front squats-my wrists are rubber. And my shoulders were burning just after the warm up! My running in Crossfit has definitely improved since the summer as well-I’ve gained so much fitness this past fall, and coming back has made that even more apparent!

Dinner was on my own since my parents were out at a cocktail party. I wanted something festive (think eggnog), but I also wanted to use all the kale I bought. Enter-kale eggnog protein smoothie!

If you’re curious, here’s what I threw in the blender:

1/4 c light eggnog (my family always buys this kind because we’re not fans of the thickness of normal)

3/4 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

3/4 frozen banana

a couple of large handfuls of kale

vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg

ice

For dessert, I tried some of the candy my aunt sent us. Chocolate covered potato chips and chocolate, potato chip, and caramel candy.

All I have to say about chocolate covered potato chips is don’t ever try them-they are insanely delicious and addicting, and if you eat a million you most likely will feel like death. I enjoyed just 1 and a couple of baby pieces, but it still had my running to the fridge for veggies!

Have a great day everyone!

My Little Adorable Wake-up Call

Date: December 20, 2013

Author: astottler

Categories: Uncategorized

I must admit, I haven’t been the greatest about posting. Or at least it seems! With Christmas less than a week away, there seems to be so much to do! I think I’m actually more or less done with Christmas shopping. I CANNOT wait to share with you guys what I’m doing for people, but it will have to wait until after the recipients who read my blog have opened their presents!

I never recapped my last day (ok, morning) in Solvang!

Here are a few of the last pastries of the trip (or of the next few months-WHEW we ate a lot of pastries!)

Blueberry boat.

Cappuccino at an adorable bakery.

A much more delicious version of a poptart.

On our way out of town, we stopped to see mini horses. I really want one. Not quite as much as an ostrich, but still!

It was a long drive home, but a delicious and interesting dinner made up for it. I tried Ethiopian food for the first time! (For others in the area, it was called Walia).

I honestly couldn’t tell you what anything was. We got somethings with chicken, some things with other meat, and veggie combos. But really, everything I tried was excellent. What is really cool also is how the food is served. There were no utensils-the table got served all the dishes on a giant platter.

(Excuse the awkward hand in the picture).

This was served with Injera, which is sort of like a spongy bread made with teff. It has a vaguely sourdough flavor, which was great to cut the spice.

You use the Injera as a utensil and kind of just go at it. Being the totally neat person that I am, somehow I ended up totally soiling 3 napkins, and still ending up with food all over my hands, while the rest of my family had barely used one napkin. I don’t get it!

And then Thursday. That was an interesting day, thanks to a 4:30 am wakeup, courtesy of this little guy:

He’s sort of in the habit of coming into my room in the middle of the night-loudly. For some reason, at 4:30am, he desperately needs attention, and won’t stop meowing and purring, which would be great and all if I actually wanted to be awake then…

I went to my home gym for a spin class with one of my favorite teachers, and then desperately needed to go to yoga because I’m so tight, but yoga was an awkward amount of time from the end of spin-not really enough to leave…so I killed time by doing some abs and a treadmill workout. I started with an 8:00 mile, and then did 10 2:00 intervals at about a 7:30 pace, with 2:00 of walking in between. It was a good one-my legs were done by the end. I’ve been really loving running lately-ever since my 5k, I’m starting to feel faster in my every day runs. I think part of my problem was being overly ambitious in my 5k-I wanted to break 24:00, when I should have been racing to break 25:00-next race I will definitely not go out so fast!

After yoga, I over caffeinated myself with a curiously strong cappuccino.

After some quick grocery and Christmas shopping, it was lunchtime! I picked up some turkey apricot soup at Whole Foods, plus some carrots and guacamole.

Whole Foods’s eggnog selection was quite dissapointing-they didn’t have either of the two types I was hoping for. I got a baby jar instead-it was good but very vanilla flavored.

My afternoon was spent cursing my printer and working on Christmas things. Then, I threw a bunch of things together for dinner, and the flavors worked really well together!

The basica idea was sweet potato nachos-all the toppings, but with sweet potatoes in place of chips. The result reminded me more of deconstructed veggie tacos, or a Mexican style vegetarian chili.

Topping the sliced sweet potatoes was this mixture-my idea was for this to be black beans, but I’m also trying to incorporate more veggies into my life, so I added some kale, and half a can of diced tomatoes and jalapenos, plus salt, pepper, and taco seasoning. (Of you’re wondering about the things in there that look like carrots and cabbage, the only kale I found came in a ‘salad mix.’)

Then, I topped everything off with guacamole (of course), fresh salsa, and cheddar cheese.

And believe me, much more guacamole was added after the fact. I’m just a little obsessed. I’m seriously considering making a 2014 calendar consisting only of avocados. Too far?

And with that, I leave you. Hope everyone has a great day-and remember, I’ll do the drawing for my 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway tonight at 9:00pm PST.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever woken up to?

Given I’m cat-deprived, I can’t complain about Charlie too much. I used to have this alarm clock that had nature sounds, and for some reason it was set to blast the sound of rain as my alarm, so it sounded like extremely loud static. Not pleasant.