Me and Goji = Me and YUMMY

So I wanted to jump on the 'make my own cereal' bandwagon that I've seen on blog land. First, I love cereal and really wanted my cereal that I was going to eat to pack a little bit more punch than just some super shriveled up dehydrated berries. I am trying to be a little bit more healthy, and I thought this cereal looked like just the answer. Also we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so I really have been trying to eat something every morning. Me&Goji is just what I was looking for!

Love their packaging, and though it's in a tube, I feel like you get more cereal from the tube form than from boxes. I also feel like their packaging allows the cereal to stay fresh for longer, which is always very helpful.

One of the things I liked the most is that the flakes are big and the fruit and other options that you can choose from to include in your cereal are large and I felt like they were actually real fruit in my cereal. I got cranberries, coconut, blueberries and bran flakes. The fruit was delicious, and I felt like it was too good to be in cereal. The bran flakes didn't have much taste, but then again, what do you expect, they are bran flakes.

Here is a picture of the fruit, I tried to get a picture to show everyone how big the fruit actually is. The cereal is sitting on the lid of the tube. The chunky fruit makes SO much of a difference in a cereal. I didn't realize how much more flavor it adds and how much better it makes your cereal.

This is another picture of the tube and the cereal that I took out of the tube but this would be roughly what would be poured out with each pour. They don't skimp on any part of the cereal or fruit which is another great factor of Me&Goji.

So overall, I really liked the taste and flavor of the cereal. I also felt like their website had many more options than some of the other websites out there. They have tons of different types of berries and even gluten-free options which is also really cool. Of course, it's more pricey than a regular cereal found in the store and you have to pay for shipping but at the same time, it's so much more healthy and delicious as well. Definitely check out their site and play around, trying it once won't hurt, and it also makes a great granola mix as well where you don't even have to eat it as a cereal.

The robust flavors and health factors alone make it delicious and I hope you all give Me&Goji a try!

My infected toenail is slowly dying so I am anticipating it's departure soon. I am going to get in a few miles tonight, but I can't do much working out with my toe like this because it shoves up against my shoe and just gets pushed back more into my skin which is painful. I also need to get some new shoes! Hooray! That will be done this weekend. Tomorrow I will be posting my plan for the 1/2, so stay tuned. On a completely unrelated but just as important note, what in the world was the Bachelorette last night? Crazy men, I tell you. Now scoot on over to Me&Goji and try to stay away from the chocolate covered goji berries. :)

xoxo

And the Winner is!

Well according to the actual poll, Marvin won, except that is the name that I liked the least. Hermes came in second and then Thor and then Claude. So to decide the name yesterday while running I decided to call it all of the names and see which one it would 'locate the satellite on'. Well for some reason the little guy was having difficulties locating the satellites yesterday but finally landed on then when I was calling out Claude. By the way this whole shenanigan was Mr. R's idea. He said you need to call it so that it will know and come to it's master. Yup, we took it way too far. So now he is named Claude, since that is what the satellites responded too.

We ran four miles together and then I did my sit ups and push ups and we watched Biggest Loser. I didn't know I was running all these 'halfamarathons' as they were called on the show, I thought they were 'half marathons'. What do you guys think? I am glad the alliance is finally broken up. Watched my dose of American Idol too, I know, I stayed up super late! :) Does the show really have to continue on when Danny Gokey is on there? I mean, I'm not totally personally sold on him but why does there need to be a show when no one else compares to him?

I also don't think I explained myself well enough when I talked about how the Garmin hits on my wrist bone. It really has nothing to do with the strap and it doesn't need to be tighter, but I guess the shape of my wrist is too flat for Claude and it hits when running because it doesn't wrap around my wrist as it should. I did read that some of you wear it upside down and I tried this yesterday and it seemed to work well and didn't look like I had some huge watch on my wrist either, double bonus. I am going to try the sweatband out as well just to see if that works any better.

As for green beer?

This was my first official green beer. Yea doesn't look so green does it... Looks more like just a dirty gross beer, but don't worry it was the nectar of Coors Light.

Then during lunch we saw some other people getting SUPER green beers so we had to give it another try!

Now that is some green beer! Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Saint Patrick's Day. Tonight I'm going to the gym and going to do some core work, cross-training, and maybe jog for 2 miles on the treadmill. Hopefully tomorrow morning I can get out of my warm, comfortable bed at 5:30 am and get in eight miles before work. We'll see in tomorrow morning's post, maybe I will find a gym freak of the week to share....

Some of you asked questions and complemented my nails in my post yesterday. Well they are fake, just without the white tip, and just the OPI black nailpolish, Black Onyx. Thanks for thinking they looked so great though. I have the awful habit of biting my nails so I got 'overlays' put on to try to help them not look so gnarly.

Also today I'm going to be filling out my March Madness Bracket! Any hints on that one? I know you all have your opinions! :)

xoxo

Welcome to Cribs

So basically it was my roommates graduation party this past weekend which means our fridge is stocked. Last night we realized though, we only have a fridge full of liquids, no real foods. Weird.

This is our fridge. I knew you would enjoy it. It looks like something off cribs. Yes, we are a little paranoid and line everything up like that even if there isn't much in the fridge. Yes, we have a ton of red bull and even red bull sugar free (I like). Yes, we have two rows of Heineken, and three rows of Pacificos, and three rows of Coronas. Also please realize that my roommate doesn't even drink beer. Cheers to me. Cheers to Mr. R. Also notice the bag of limes for all the Mexican beer in the bottom left drawer and the pitas in the bottom right. I have a small obsession eating pita bread with hummus together, actually I eat it every night. Yes, there are two tubs of guacamole on the top shelf. Party time. Notice also that we don't have milk, or regular bread. But don't worry, I won't starve! There is some mac and cheese waiting to be eaten on the top shelf though under that tinfoil. YUM!

Now, here is the door of the fridge. Yup, we have some eggs, some soy milk and more beer, and sparks, and wine and champagne. Oh wait, there's one little G2 up there! Gosh. Maybe investing in some food would be a good idea.

As for my trip to Hawaii, I'm super excited and I've been to the island many times before so I know it well. I already have ideas of what to do, and maybe these plans will include conquering my fear of snorkeling. I just don't like when those fish get so close to me! I found all my deals on Orbitz, and I price compared and they had the best deals. There were some deals for around $600 that you could fly, get a hotel and a car for 4 nights on Oahu. Luckily my dad is letting me use his timeshare in Princeville,Kauai and I'm really excited because Kauai is my favorite island out of the Islands. Plus, I want some sun! I feel so pale!

Last night at the gym I kicked serious butt. I love going to the gym when it's a bunch of high schoolers and meatballish jocks. It's very entertaining. Anyways, I haven't been this sore in a while. I ran a quick 5k, then did hardcore weights that really worked my arms and my back. I really love the cable cross machine, though it looks intimidating, it works your entire body. Then in honor of the trip to Hawaii, I did 200 sit ups on the machine. I have decided I'm going to do 200 sit ups a day until Hawaii. It's so much easier on the machine though! Doing those at home will be a challenge. Tonight I'll get in five miles after dinner at my grandma and grandpas. My huge blister on my toe is slowly healing and that's why I decided to cross train last night. Also giving my knee a break and cross training instead of running so much has been really helpful. It's a simple reminder to listen to your body when it's sore. Taking a day or two off from pounding the pavement can be so helpful in nursing an injury and cross training can really help keep your fitness up.

Another last little random thing, if you have twitter and want to follow me talking about complete nonsensical things travel HERE

xoxo

Hello Kitty Toast

I love photo Fridays and today I had some planned photos to share with you until I had my Hello Kitty Toast this morning.

My roommate brought this great offering to the place when we moved in. It's the Hello Kitty Toaster. I thought for sure this thing was going to be awesome. It's suppose to make Hello Kitty pictures on your toast, like the one below.

I waited and waited to get my toast to pop up for breakfast this morning. I was excited to see the picture on my cinnamon raisin toast. This is what popped up.

Wow, talk about disappointing. Those are just two white blobs, nothing even resembling her cute bow or whiskers or eyes or anything. Hello Kitty, you've let me down. I almost thought it was too good to be true and now we know it is. Sadly, I will just have white blobs on my toast now.

Thanks for all the good luck wishes for this weekend. I'm starting to get nervous but I know it's a good nervous. I just am going to put in a nice easy 4-6 miler tomorrow to get loosened up in the morning and then finish cleaning and painting my desk, which I will also have pictures of next week. Gosh, next week is going to be exciting for all you guys with my giveaway, race report, and pictures of my desk!

Good luck to all those racing this weekend, even if your not racing at Surf City! I'm excited to meet/see many of you at the race though so look for me! The weather should be perfect as long as the Santa Ana's don't kick up and it is going to be a great day for running. Tonight I'm going to finish making my shirt and painting and am looking forward to leisurely hanging out alone. :)

Have a great weekend!

And the final review of the Hello Kitty Toaster = Hell No!

xoxo

PS One of my best co-workers EVER sent me this link Did Google Kill This Deer? WHAT?!

Photo Friday.......

In honor of photo Friday, I've decided to put up some sick pictures from the football game last night, and some of one of my favorite blogger who is in the running for winning a blog award.

My cousin and I after the great win that the Lancers pulled off. It was a nail biter down to the last 2 second 47 yard field goal!

The BF and I... Go athletic trainers! :) (Oh and from now on I'm not going to call him BF, but I think I'm going to go with Mr. R. Little FYI)

And now for this guy.. His name is Steve, and he is HILARIOUS! His blog highlights my day, and right now he is in the running for EverymanTri.com's Best Sport Endurance Blog of 2008, and I think you should vote for him, because he is SO FUNNY. You can vote here, for Steve in a Speedo, or visit his blog here. Here's how I know he's funny.

Oh possibly because he ran a whole race, and more than one for the record, DRESSED LIKE THIS! Yes, he's the grim reaper behind those little boys!!

Oh wait, then he also dressed like A TOMATO for an entire race!

If those aren't funny enough, he's really fast too! So yes, that's my plug for him to win the endurance blog of 2008. I just think running in a costume is hilarious. So again, You can vote here for Steve in a Speedo. I can't imagine EVER running in a costume.. and he's done it numerous times. More races in costumes Steve!!!

Today I'm a little more sore than I was yesterday, Amp'd abs got to me for sure. Those push ups made my arms into non-working noodles. Tomorrow I'll get in a run, and hopefully Mr. R will ride beside me on the bike. Then it's more entertaining. :) Sunday will be my day off and I'm going to enjoy it and feast on Taco Bell. With all these posts about Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm so hungry for good homemade food! Well everyone, have a great weekend, I'm going to the Oakley outlet sale because Mr. R is obsessed with all their gear... Me, not so much. Hopefully my hat will come soon and I'll put up a review of how AMAZING it is! :)

xoxo

Traffic?

So since today I do not get the day off work, and neither do I tomorrow, there wasn't much traffic this morning en route to my job. Let me just tell you, to drive a measly 18 miles to work from my house, I must get on the 405 to the 55, to the 5, to the 57, to the 91. Yup, that is my route in the mornings. This morning as I traveled, I was like man, I seriously drive a lot of freeways to get to work. Pretty crazy.

On another note, this weekend I had a great long run of about 6 miles, and also did some cross training. Two very funny things happened that I will share for your laughing pleasure. I wore only a sports bra and shorts while jogging on Saturday because at 8 am it was already like 78 degrees out and I knew I would be a sweaty animal if I wore more clothes, but normally I hate not wearing a shirt. I figured, who would be out on this Saturday morning.

Sidenote: I live in a very small town, but it's surrounded by big towns, so it's not like the 'small town' you may think of when you think small town.

I'm out on my large loop, running on the sidewalk next to the main road and things are going good. I ran through the park and there are a bazillion little families watching soccer games. I'm running down some more streets to cross over, to the other side of town to run through a little greenbelt in between some housing neighborhoods. This is where I ran into a wall. Yes, I have a tendency to run super close to the wall, perhaps because I am fearful of cars, but I got to close and totally skinned my right arm up against the concrete wall. This has now left me with some scabs and bruises along my whole right arm. Seriously. I ran into the wall.

So anyways, I get to the greenbelt and think I see some hubbub at the other end. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING ever happens in my small town, so I was wondering if it was a carnival or what was going on. I continue down the little winding path, and to my disbelief there is a small carnival thing being set up, oh and a PARADE is going to be happening on the street I was planning on running. People are lined up on the sidewalk, therefore my path was taken. So yes, I had to run down the parade route, in the street, in my purple sports bra, with all these parade watchers looking at me, like I was some crazy triple headed monster. Either because:

a. My sports bra was purple
b. My face was disgustingly red
c. I was a sweaty beast
d. I looked amazing and they wanted to be like me.
I like to think it was D, but I know it was a combination of A-C.

Needless to say, I was excited to get home and off the parade route.

So this is a recipe I'll be making this week, I'll let you know how it turns out, but it looks delish!


Low Calorie Beef Stroganoff
1pound of ground lean hamburger
1/2 pound of mushrooms, sliced
1 onion
1 pint of low-cal yogurt, plain
1 can of beef consommé soup
Flour to absorb fat

Sauté chopped onion and mushrooms in butter. In separate pan brown hamburger with a little garlic powder. Add all the above ingredients together. Put in enough flour to absorb fat. Add beef consommé plus a little water. Cook at simmer for 10 minute, stirring occasionally. Take off heat, fork in yogurt. Serve over noodles or rice.

Though I don't know how the yogurt mixes in, we shall see how the final product turns out. This one sounds a little different though. :)

Also I love this shirt from Vickerey. The site is a little pricey for me, but I still really like their stuff and some of their final sale stuff, like this shirt is really cute and a great deal!

It's the Klommer Crew from Hind and it's seamless technology reduces chafing and provides enhanced comfort. Fun colors of Frosty (glacier blue) and Lifevest (warm Orange) give it a lively feel, and it's different, which I like. The quickdry Drylete fabric transfers moisture away from skin and offers all-around great performance. It looks super stretchy and fun, and it's on sale for $29, when normally it's $60. You can find it here, but hurry, it's final sale!

Hope everyone had a great weekend, and is keeping up with their running! I have so many people I know doing the Couch to 5k plan, and have heard only such great things about it! This week I'll be hitting up the gym again and putting in about 25 miles. I love the crisp weather to run in during the morning hours... and I ran in the new target jacket I talked about here and it was the BEST purchase ever. So great with the mesh back and I love it! :)

I also wanted to thank everyone who was so encouraging and nice with the comments you guys left on my last post. I know that is a big part in my life, and I'm glad that you were inspired or touched by it. It's made me who I am today and I am so thankful to the blogging/running community as well for being such supporters. :)

xoxo

Weapons of Mass Destruction

So a while ago I purchased a book titled "Eat this, Not That" by David Zinczenko. If you haven't heard of this book, you must be living under a rock!



Many of you may not be fast food junkies like myself, but I do love to indulge in making a run for the border at Taco Bell, and having it my way at Burger King quite often. I'm also loving it at McDonalds, and feeding the beast at Del Taco frequently. Alas, I have a love for the grease, the cheese, and all those calories. I used to think that just getting a chicken sandwich was a better option, or not getting fries at certain places, but this book has honestly helped so much in deciding what to order. Eating at fast food is obviously not the healthiest choice, but by reading this book it helps you realized that maybe ordering the chicken sandwich over the cheeseburger isn't always the best idea.

It also has many other 'events' that you may encounter and do not know what to eat like Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter. Also it has a Supermarket section, comparing things you would buy in the grocery store that claim to be 'nutritional' or 'healthy'.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" that are included at specific restaurants. They are the worst choice you could possibly make at a given restaurant, and include the calorie count and grams from fat next to a picture of a small bomb.

I keep this book in my car and whenever I am out and about, having to eat on the go, I can flip through it and find a healthier solution, instead of packing on the calories. I would have never guessed wraps were so bad for you. There is also an application like the book available for the iPhone called Restaurant Nutrition. It's user friendly, free, and is also helpful. If you don't have the book, I would recommend you getting it. It's available on http://www.amazon.com/



Another great find that is on sale right now at http://www.footlocker.com/ is this Nike Women's Long Sleeve Top. It's perfect for those upcoming fall training runs and has breathable mesh inserts. Very light weight and fashionable it's on my to-buy list for sure. It's V-neck also helps for ventilation, and makes it more versatile. Normally 39.99, it's only 19.99 and comes in black and white, purple and white, and baby blue and white in sizes XS,S,M, and L.

More to come. xoxo

Oh the bear necessities...

The simple bear necessities, forget about your worry and your strife, Yeeeeaaaa Man! I love the Jungle book and can just see Mogali singing that with Baloo. Anyways, sometimes the necessities of life are also those that are necessary to have a safe, productive and fun run. Here are some of my latest things that I think are cool, fun, or just plain cute.




Overton Fitness is selling this handy dandy little belt that is kind of like a new age fanny pack, with much better color selection I might add. Um, hot pink Spibelt anyone? By the way, Spibelt stands for Small Personal Items belt. Way to draw the right attention to yourself while running. The fabric looks super durable as well. This classy little pack is designed and claims not to bounce when you run, which is amazing, since us girls already have enough bouncing to worry about, don't we? What I love about it is that it holds more than just a key or an ipod, but you can also carry your phone, camera, up to 5 GU packets, and it's expandable as well. Talk about packing it all in, Overton fitness thought about all the necessities. This just seems too goo to be true, and I'm hoping to get one as soon as possible because they are inexpensive at only 20 dollars for a non-reflective spibelt and 30 for reflective spiblet. http://www.overtonfitness.com/spibelt.php

Stay tuned for a review of the spibelt.. does it stand up to it's not bouncing claim?



Another thing I love, and you would too, once you got past the wincing pain, is the foam roller. I finally bought one after using a dirty, old, sweaty one at the gym on occasion. Having one to call my own has allowed me to really develop my stretching habits, and helped me to become more flexible, especially loosening up my calfs and hamstrings after a long run. This tool is vastly underused, and is actually simple to use, you might just look a tad bit awkward using it the first few times, but hey awkward is what running is, right? You can find tons of pictures online on how to use it, but I usually use mine mostly for the hamstrings and calfs but rolling my body over it, kind of like a beached whale. Check it out at http://www.performbetter.com/ (hurry, right now they are having a end of season summer sale right now too! )



Though I normally go to Starbucks for a delicious cup of soy Chai to get me through my day, I have recently been chugging down their new Banana Chocolate Blend Vivanno Drink. It's freshly prepared with a whole banana, bittersweet cocoa, 2% milk and Starbuck's own whey protein & fiber powder, and is blended with a little ice. On the way to work in the morning after a workout is just delightful, and there are 21 grams of protein in it and 270 calories. It's a much more cute than sucking down some Muscle Milk (which by the way is the worst packaging ever, you can tell they are marketing to the male population)... or lugging that 42 oz. tub of protein off the top of the fridge. Learn more about the Vivanno drinks and flavors at http://www.starbucks.com/retail/nutrition_info.asp
Ask for it without whip cream, that adds a hefty amount of calories. :)

Lastly, I have two new songs that I am madly in love with. They are what I have been listening too lately to get me pumped up to run.

First off there is Rhianna's Disturbia. I don't know why I love this song, but I do, and it gets me started off on the right pace, and gets me in the mood to run.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6zdhHLvT7k (Watch video at your own risk.)

Also, with summer coming to a close, there is a Jerry Mungo song that I like to listen to while running, even though it doesn't really pump me up too much it always puts a smile on my face. It's such a cute, bubbly song and it always makes me bob my head out on a run. I feel like I should be doing hopscotch while listening to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc9wIzi96_E (Watch video at your own risk.)

xoxo