Lemon and Sage Salmon

Mmmm… Salmon. Yesterday I previewed a lemon sage salmon and it. was. so. good!

I’ve been trying to simplify our menu-planning efforts by making meals that are repeatable, if not predictable. For example, fish once/week, vegetarian meal, something with beef, something with chicken, something with pork. That gets us through the work week, and then the weekends are usually scavenging whatever is left.

Monday I made unstuffed peppers and that recipe was *really* good. I could’ve skipped the cheese, but why would I? It also came together really easily.. ground beef, bell peppers, seasonings, (cook), pasta sauce, beef stock, pasta, (cook), cheese, stir, serve.

Here’s the recipe, if you can call it that…The salmon was moist and delicious when we had it for dinner last night. I bought a 1.5lb fillet from our local grocer and sliced up 4 portions at home. From there, I drizzled it with olive oil, seasoned with lemon peel, sage, salt, and pepper. Bake at 375 F for 20ish minutes, squeeze fresh lemon over top and serve.

We had ours with frozen veggies and a slice of buttered bread. It might as well be dessert because the Peppridge Farm Whole Grain Oatmeal Bread was delicious. I could probably eat an entire loaf if I weren’t disciplined enough.

The cool thing about this fish (and something I didn’t appreciate until today) is that it actually reheated pretty well. I squeezed fresh lemon on top then zapped it in the microwave for 45 seconds. It didn’t get dried out at all and I actually enjoyed having left overs at work today. Do you like fish? What’s your favorite cut and method of preparation?

MegsFitness on Nerd Fitness – Battle Logs!

I’ve blogged in the past about how much happier and more content I feel when I am following the core strengths of health and wellness – including eating well, sleeping well, exercising, and making time for personal goals.  So, it stands to reason that now, more than ever, I need to get back into the patterns of healthy eating, getting enough (and higher quality) rest, exercising, and making time for personal goals. 

This blog has become more of a personal journal for me, which will definitely incorporate health and wellness, but it’s always been about more than that.  For me, it’s been about recognizing the fact that my journey — whether it’s to weight loss, muscle gain, social changes, or family life — is going to be completely different from someone else’s journey, even if we share many of the same characteristics.  To that end, I still have every intention of maintaining this blog and getting back into writing about things that are fun, interesting, or relative to my personal narrative.  

My day-to-day fitness narrative is going to be captured at Nerd Fitness.  It’s a community of fitness-minded individuals and I really feel like that’s the sort of encouragement I could use at the moment.  What that means for the MegsFitness blog is that I’ll be cross-posting my weekly summaries here, so that at least part of this journal can resonate with the “-Fitness” part of the name 😀

I’m ready to get back to good.  I’m ready to lose weight, gain muscle, find my confidence, and conquer the world.  If you’re interested in joining The Rebellion, my “battle log” is found here: http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/52946-amis-last-first-post/

[Begin Crosspost]:

Name: Aminarra, aka “MegsFitness”

Occupation: Corporate Fleet Management Resolution

Previous Fitness Experience: 2 years on SparkPeople, 3 years with Weight Loss Warriors, 3 attempts at Weight Watchers, 1 attempt at Herbalife; 4 years high school strength training, 1 obstacle 5k, 10+ regular 5k Races, greatest weight loss 42lbs.

Current Level of Fitness: Sedentary.  It’s been 2 years since I’ve worked out consistently due to a severe back injury after the Warrior Dash.

“End Game” Goal: Working out 4+x/week, Settling at a healthy weight, ideally ~180, but more importantly having functional strength and physical health.

Short-term Goal: Begin working out 1-3x/week, at a beginner level to become re-acclimated to the fitness world. Begin reintegrating Paleo Lifestyle into eating plan  

Plan of Action:  Use Nerd Fitness to launch new fitness goals; integrate fitness guild with gamer guild for inspiration.  Generate weekly goals in the areas of nutrition, exercise, and personal.  Update status on goals at least weekly.

Outside of NF: 
https://megsfitness.wordpress.com/
http://www.vexxgaming.com/

I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweetheart.

So, at the moment, I’m keeping my stomach settled by sheer will power.  Must’ve eaten somewhat that didn’t agree with me 😦 ugh.. 

Prior to that, though, I’ve been having a fine day.  I finally threw out the old vacuum cleaner in favor of the shiny new one we bought.  I took down a couple bags of recycling and a bag of rubbish while I was at it.  While cleaning today, I also came up with a bag and a box full of stuff for the donation bin.  I think I’ll take it on over to the DAV on the morrow and let them have a go at it. 

Mm.  I’ve just realized there are a few terms slipping into my vocabulary that probably don’t belong there.  Somewhat. Rubbish. Morrow.  Have a go.  That’s probably a sign I’ve been watching too much Dr. Who.  I LOVE David Tennant and can’t bear to think of another doctor after him, but friends say that this Matthew character grows on you.  I dunno.. something about his hair and that bowtie sets me at odds and makes me think he’s a just a bit off.  Dunno.

I thought I’d be gaming more but there simply hasn’t been time.  I am designing the programs for the wedding and for a few moments there, considered skimming vector art from google images and just blotting out the istock logo.  Now, before you start a big row over this, know that I, too, am an artist and respect people’s work, so all it took was a brief confession to my bestie to put a stop to that.  “Not only is that illegal, it’s unethical, too!”  Aand, how right she is.. 

So, instead, I’m crafting Dollz from free-to-use bases.  Does anyone remember Dollz?  They were big in the early 2000’s?  I used to be way into them and so I guess by incorporating them into my programs, they’ll be even more personal and reflective of our past.  

I’ve been working on them all weekend and so now I’ve got 4/5 of my bridesmaids done, plus my flower-girl.  Here, you can see the finished dollz along the top and the bases that they started from below: 

The real fun starts when I try to make the Groomsmen using the same base… oi. Credit for these bases (in case you’d like to try your hand at making your own) goes to Mariii’s Dolls House. 

The more I work on them, the more I think I’ll like it.  It’s so much more personalized than the silly silhouettes.  I have made each one reflective of the style of the woman it’s representing, and I was able to illustrate the bridesmaid’s dresses as well as the dress my little flower girl is going to wear.  I think that turns the programs into keepsakes for the people featured on them 🙂 

Jeff and I have gone over the ceremony, the program, etc.  He figured out groomsman gifts today and we got a lot of the requirements wrapped up for the tux rentals.  Tomorrow, I’ve got to call the tux shop because we paid for shoes and left them at the store.  We’re just a touch scatter-brained, I suppose. We are comfortable with each other, though–we’re not arguing one bit over wedding details–not like on the shows.  Yes, it’s stressful trying to get everything done, but at the end of the day–it’s just a party.  It’s just a grand celebration so that we can shout to the rooftops that we love each other, and then dance around with our friends and family. ❤ It’s not worth fighting over. 

 

Details, details…

Jeff’s mom and dad are visiting from Canada and it’s just a great feeling. I don’t think Jeff realized how much he missed them until they got here. Out was a lot of fun to show Sarah all of the things that have come together since we saw each other last. She got goose bumps and almost cried when I showed her my dress.. Then Taz tried to eat my veil and there was no time for tears. Sneaky bugger. Now, I’m on my wary to see my sister to work on some of the details for HER wedding that’s coming up on September 1st. She loves everything that I’ve done for mine and Jeff’s wedding so far, so I hope we can get some lovely details for her, too.

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

The age old adage of ‘fail to plan, plan to fail’ has been used as the mantra for weight management (loss/gain/maintenance) for as long as I’ve been trying to manage my weight.  What I have noticed, however, is that the more I plan, the more I fail.  How terrible is that?  Maybe I just rebel against authority, even if it’s my own.

Take, for example, the K.I.S.S. blog entry wherein I wrote about these easy workouts that I could and would do every single day.  Ever since that entry–I haven’t worked out once.

Yes, the workouts are taped RIGHT TO THE FRONT DOOR.  They are literally in my face whenever I go to leave the apartment and whenever I pass into the kitchen, and yet, I’ve turned a blind eye and ignored them completely.

The fitdecks and resistance bands, too, are gathering dust.

This is a pattern that I have noted more than once about myself.  I start off with the best of intentions and I plan and plan and plan… but that’s as far as my motivation gets me.  I finish up with the last detail of the diabolical weight loss scheme and my motivation goes (with a thick Minnesota accent) “Oof-da! That there is enough work–you betcha!” and my motivation just clocks out.

My latest endeavor is to participate in this 8 week book-learning course (through work, of course) that details healthy eating habits for all (not just people looking to lose weight, but really the right way to eat as a regular ol’ human being).  I like to think I know it all, but the pre-test showed that I’ve got a lot to learn.  I’m hoping that the structure of that class will help to keep my mind on fitness and that having a variety of OPTIONS available to be active and healthy will help me to succeed.

One of the healthy-minded girls that I interact with on Facebook posted a pin from pinterest that showed using post-it notes to set daily goals with daily rewards, so I decided to give it a whirl:

I liked the idea so much, actually, that I put the template in a frame with the post-it notes on top.  In case it’s too difficult to read, the first goal is to “Clean up/off desk at work: wall, surface, files.”  The reward for completing this task is “new batteries for my butterfly”

The second goal is to “Set limits for gaming: pre-requisites, curfew.”  The reward for this task is a new set of batteries for my kitchen scale (CR2032).

The last goal is to “Check out/join community center.”  Because of the area that I’m in, and the agreements that the localities have with each other, I can actually join any of three community centers in my area for about $30/month.  The one I was looking at last night would let both Jeff and I join for $50/month for both of us.  They have access to a 24 yard (I think?) lap pool, sauna, whirlpool, tennis courts, cardio machines, weight machines, free weights, and group classes including aqua zumba–whaaat??  I really want to check that out this weekend.  The reward for checking out the community center is a walk outside with Jeff.  D’awwe 🙂  He’s already agreed to be a part of my reward system hehe.

 

 

The Shoes-ah!

I’m so excited. I knew there was no way I could be tottering around in my towering heels on my wedding day and so I went shopping on Zappos for the first time, looking for a back-up plan.  I was bummin’ around with my mom at the time so I used their mobile site.  It was super easy.  I bought a couple pair of back-up shoes for the wedding and I was really impressed with everything.  Zappos has an agreement of sorts with Amazon and so I was able to use the login credentials from that site. Since I was using my mobile phone to do all of my shopping, that made it super easy.  There’s nothing worse* than trying to configure a secure password that you’ll remember on a PC using a smartphone keyboard.  Ugh. (*there are worse things, but I like being mellow-dramatic).

So yes, the mobile site was great. The shipping (even super fast ‘next-business-day’ shipping) was free and it’s free to send them back, too, which may come in handy… I saw a pair of purple heels that had my name on them – “Meg.”  They were kind of summery, strappy.. I thought, what the hey, they might work!

 

First impressions were good–they were the perfect color, the style was pleasing…but wearing them around the house kind of made me realize that they’re a little cheaply constructed.  The sole was flimsy and the liner was pulling up near the toe bed.  Womp womp 😦  It’s safe to say I was kinda glad I ordered a second pair, and really glad that they have free shipping for returns, ’cause these aren’t going to make the cut.

The blue, oh my goodness.. the blue were beautiful!! Breathtaking, even.. I unwrapped them and inspected them for quality and was pleased with the stitching and the fabric, the construction of the sole and the heel…

I wore them around the apartment for a while and was pleased with the fit and the comfort.  It’s got excellent cushioning for such a low heel.  The only trouble spot is near the big toe.. unfortunately, these rub right near the cuticle in a way I can tell will cause a blister 😦  I’m going to try to find a way to break them in gently so that it’s not a problem.

 

They are even a perfect match to the bridesmaids’ dresses ❤  I’m so thrilled!  I’m going to be showing the blue ones off tomorrow when I get to work to see if mom likes them.  Even if she doesn’t, I do, and they’re perfect.  *gush* The shoes-ah!!

Weekly Menu Planning: Week of 10-29-12

Hello readers,

The pictures in my previous post weren’t exactly the best, but the recipe definitely was!  I posted that entry while riding along to the coffee shop with my mom.  We headed out to Caribou to hang out and get some wedding planning stuff done.  The culmination of which amounted to a three-page list and the decision to buy buttermints.  Mmm.. buttermints..

This week’s menu includes a left-over from last week’s menu that never made it into the rotation – Bourbon Chicken.  The recipe itself calls for skillet cooking, but it also says it can be done in a crockpot, so we’ll see how that goes.  Our menu this week also features:

Stir Fry (pork)

Pork Chops w/ Potatoes and mixed Veg.

Eight-Layer Casserole

Shrimp w/ mushrooms, spinach, bell pepper and spicy alfredo

Broccoli & chicken casserole

So, we’ll be doing lots of baking this week and not so much slave-over-the-stove type cooking.  One of the things that I did to help with my weekly menu planning and the facilitation of actually cooking these recipes, is I made a new board on Pinterest and I just repin menu items from my “Foodies!” board to my “Weekly menu planning” board.  If you’re a member of Pinterest, you should check it out for all of the recipes that I’m going to be using this week.  If you have your own “Foodies!” style board, or make your own Weekly Menu Planning board, I’d love to check it out 🙂 Just include the link in the comments.