two

That's right - exactly two months from today my family and I will be in Europe!  Where did April go?  This year is flying by.  For those of you who enjoy the breakdown (mom) that's:

• 60 days
• 42 work days
• 8 weekends (2 of which are holidays - Memorial Day & 4th of July)

French Riviera

6 AM WAKE UP CALL

Instead of the 7:20 AM alarm I usually set, I've been forcing myself to get up at 6 so I can fit my workout in before work.  I've been doing this for 2 weeks now and I'm hooked.  There are occasional mornings that eric and I look over at each other when the alarm goes off and immediately agree to hit snooze, but as long as I'm getting in 3 morning workouts a week I'm happy with myself. 

Not only are eric and I sporting the AM workouts but my brother Greg is as well. He woke up last week and did a 6:30 Spin& Row class that sounded awesome. He also did a 3.5 mile run in the park one morning.  I'm going to try to meet him there one day next week so we can get a run in together.  My gym doesn't offer classes that early.  The earliest one they have is 7, and that's too late for me.  Days that I don't feel like going to the gym, Eric and I have been trying out Insanity (I'll do a post on our insane Insanity workouts later on this week, so stay tuned).

I still come up with 100 excuses every morning as to why I should stay in bed and delay my workout for the evening, but hopefully it will get easier the more I do it.  I like the quote  “Motivation is what gets you started. Habits are what keep you going".  I'm hoping this becomes a habit of mine because I think AM workouts are the way to go.  I have a lot more energy through out the day, it's a great way to jump start your metabolism, and I don't have the 'need to workout after work' cloud hanging over my head the entire day.

I encourage everyone to wake up early one morning this week and squeeze a workout in.  30 minutes or 60 minutes, it doesn't matter, just break a sweat and i promise you wont regret it.

** Eric didn't get the memo that there is no need to set a 6AM wake up call on the weekends but his internal alarm clock got his ass up at 6:20 this SATURDAY morning.  Eric if your reading this - Don't wake me up before 8 tomorrow morning.  Please and thank you.

go ashley go!

My sister is running her first half marathon this weekend.  I think she might be the first person in our family to run a race of this distance, and we're all so proud of her.

She is going to do great for the following reasons:

She's strong! Look at those guns..

She's a competitor!  Look at that game face..

She's light footed!  Look at those moves..

She's got a team of supporters.  Look at those handsome groupies!

Most importantly she knows how to have fun!

Have a GREAT time Ash.  Love you!!

we’ve upgraded

Goodbye 19 inch Samsung, it’s been real.

Hello 40 inch Sony, we love you!

Eric and I decided to stay in our apartment for another year and thought a nice upgrade would be a new TV.  We’ve been wanting one for a while now, and when I saw sony was having a sale, I knew the time was right.

We also got a new dresser (from ikea) to put it on.  Eric put that bad boy together and he did a superb job.  I think it was because he did it with his shorts up to his belly button.  It was very entertaining.

                         PROOF                erchil eric

a perfect day with mom

Hi Mom! I'm really bummed I wont be able to spoil you this Mothers Day. I love spending this day with you, but I'm happy Ashley will be there to remind you how much we appreciate and love you.

I've decided to outline what our day together would look like. I think you would agree that it looks oddly familiar. Probably because it's what most of our Sunday’s looked like when I lived at home. Oh the good old days.

9:00 am: coffee coffee coffee

Chances are I would have prepared this coffee for you last night because you were exhausted when you got home from dinner and made a b-line to your bed.   No one is allowed to judge you for drinking the entire pot today, so have at it!

10:00 am: breakfast

Enjoy indulging (not sure if this is an appropriate word choice - can you indulge in something that has little/ no fat, sugar, calories?) in your chobani yogurt!  I would guilt you into having some of the fresh berries I'd have washed and prepared.  And of course granola, I know you like that sweet crunch on top!

12:00 pm: shopping time

Self explanatory.  treat yourself to something nice mom, you deserve it!

2:00 pm: starbucks break

1 Grande 1 Sweet&Low, Non Fat Latte & 1 Grande 1 Splenda, Soy Latte

5:30 pm:  home again, home again, jiggity jig!

Relax at home before I make you din.  SNACK TIME FIRST!  Pita chips/cut up veggies with hummus and wine, yum!

9:30 pm: good night!

Criminal minds will be the background noise to your LOUD snoring! Its okay though, its mothers day, you can snore all you want! 

LOVE YOU MOM, HOPE YOU HAVE A DAY AS WONDERFUL AS THIS ONE!!  

Smoothie machine

That’s right, I’m a smoothie makin machine.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, it doesn’t matter, I’ll whip one up for any meal.  Just like every other person in my family I get in to these ‘phases’.  It to shall pass as soon as I find something else to interest me, but for now smoothie concocting it is.

There are 4 categories that make a good, well rounded, nutrient rich smoothie.

1. BASE - Ice or Frozen Fruit
2. LIQUID - Soy, Almond, or Rice Milk (plain/vanilla/chocolate) or Skim Milk, Water
3. PROTEIN - Soy, Rice, or Hemp Protein (all non-dairy options) or Whey Protein (Eric’s fav)
4. EXTRAS - Xanthium Gum (natural thickener), Yogurt, Spinach, Oats, Peanut Butter (another one of Eric's favs)

My Favorite smoothie so far has been my Euro Smoothie.  I call it this because its tropical and gets me excited for my Mediterranean cruise in July.

• 1 cup of frozen pineapple-I get all of my frozen fruit from trader joes. cheap & good
• 1 cup of fresh strawberries (I leave the stem on, yum..roughage!)
• 1 cup of light soy, almond, or rice milk (whatever we have in the fridge)
• 1 Scoop of protein
• 2 pinches of xanthium gum
• *Optional – A scoop of vanilla yogurt
• BLEND AWAY
• Throw a handful of spinach leaves in and then continue to blend.

And that’s it!  You’ve got your euro smoothie.  I’m weird and poor it into a bowl and eat it with a spoon.  I hope this has inspired you to make a smoothie!  Feel free to share your creations.

nyc seder

Unfortunetly I don't have the budget nor kitchen nor guest list to host a complete/ traditonal passover seder.  So I do what I can and get creative.

Our seder featured a Pan Roasted Chicken Breast with Lemon- Herb Matzo Crust. I substituted chicken for salmon in this rachel ray recipe.  I also pan roasted it and once both sides where browned I shoved the entire pan in the oven.  This was the first time i've used my oven for something other than toast!  And Yes, I realize this is not your typical brisket, but honestly my oven can't fit a brisket, so chicken breast will have to suffice.
I also put together great haggadah's for us.  We made sure to touch on all 4 cups of wine.  Jessica joined Eric and I and brought a flourless chocolate cake from magnolia bakery. yum.   We kept our door closed for Elijah.  After all, this is a NYC seder and you never know who would stumble in.