Publix Apology

Yesterday's Wal-Mart adventure was not nearly as pleasurable as I hoped it would be.  As a result I penned this letter to Publix...

Dear Publix,
Thank you for being so wonderful!  I apologize for going to Wal-Mart yesterday.  Please forgive me.  I won't cheat on you again!  Here are some of the reasons I love you...

• you have double-seated carts for my twin toddlers

• you have organic options that aren't rotten

• you have a wide variety of healthy options 

• you have far fewer creepy people shopping in your store 

• you have extremely helpful workers

• your aisles are clean

• when your workers are restocking shelves, they get out of my way so I can get through

• your employees give my boys balloons and cookies

• you help me find everything I need

• you help me load my car when I am done shopping

...I could go on and on.  Let's just say I learned my lesson and it's not worth the couple of dollars I saved to put myself through the torture of shopping at Wal-Mart.  I really enjoy shopping at Publix and will happily use my coupons and shop your wonderful sales to keep my sanity while sticking to my budget.  

Sincerely,
Rachel

I'm debating wether or not to actually send it...

The boys and I indulged in some avocado chocolate mousse after our Wal-Mart experience.  We earned it!  They loved it and were so cute eating it!  We're still mastering our spoon skills...

We called it an early night and I had high hopes for making it to the gym for the third day in a row this morning but the boys had a different idea and decided to wake up before 6.  I guess I'll just try to get to the gym tomorrow.  We were still able to get a workout in, despite our change of plans.  They had some juice and I had some coffee, then we hit the road with the jogging stroller for an easy 3.5 mile run which was originally scheduled for tomorrow on my training plan.  Part of my plan is to be able to bump and roll.  So far so good!  I had planned to get some strength training and plyometrics in today at the gym but I used my back-up plan,  the Skinny Jeans Workout from Fitness Magazine, since I was stuck at home.  It was a nice change of pace and I liked trying out the new moves.  I especially liked the monkey push-ups, which were challenging in a good way.

While I was getting my workout on, my husband was cleaning up the mess in our yard, thanks to Tropical Storm Isaac.  While he was out there, he picked the last of our pineapples.  Look how cute this little one is.  Its smaller than my jar candle.  I can't wait to cut into it.  Pineapple is like candy to me.  YUM!

Speaking of snacks, I wanted to share with you one of the snacks I've been loving lately.  I was getting kind of tired of my daily smoothies and wanted to find a substitute to change things us without sacrificing that daily dose of nutrition.  I came up with a protein pudding, which is basically just my smoothie in a more concentrated form.  Today, I made it using a Vega One packet,  (It was delicious by the way.  I am so happy to be finding delicious vegan protein options like Vega One and SunWarrior.)  1/2 tablespoon Naturally More peanut butter, (another delicious find), 5 drops of vanilla stevia, and just a splash of unsweetened almond milk.  I stirred it all together very thoroughly and ended up with a delicious, thick pudding.  I put it in the
fridge for about an hour and enjoyed it--cold, healthy, and satisfying.

The boys have been very busy today.  There's never a dull moment around here which keeps life from getting boring.  The highlights were Colton showing Mason how to clap the monkeys hands together while riding on his horse (talk about multi-tasking) and Colton having a hard time getting the pieces lined up on the puzzle.  Notice his frustration in the middle bottom photo.  Classic!  Mason has a new fascination with riding things by laying across the seat...interesting, huh?  They never cease to entertain and amaze me.  

Rainy Sunday

After a wonderful date night but probably one too many glasses of wine, a diner-style breakfast was just what the doctor ordered, so I whipped up some fried eggs, hashbrowns, and a little sauteed spinach, to help me feel a little bit better about my meal.  With lots of hot sauce and some ketchup, it hit the spot! Oh, and lots and lots of coffee and water...

After a great church service, with a convicting message on pride using James chapter 4, we returned home to play with the kiddos on this rainy day thanks to Tropical Storm Isaac.  YUCK!  After play time was nap time for the boys and that meant time to tackle a workout I have wanted to try since I read it on the Peanut Butter Fingers blog and then saw it again on Facebook via FitFluential.  I get some great workouts from their posts.  This workout was AWESOME! I highly recommend you check out all her workouts.  I like her style!

It was super fun to workout with my husband.  We haven't done that in a while but we decided we'll dedicate the boys' Sunday nap time to Kick Our Butts time.  Sundays are cross-training days on my half-marathon training plan and this type of workout is exactly what I'm looking for.  My husband thought it was great too.  

Our recovery smoothie was as tasty as ice cream in my opinion, but much healthier...

 I combined the following in our Ninja blender:

• SunWarrior vanilla protein powder
• BIG handful spinach
• A couple mixed berries
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 scoop PB2
• 1 spoonful cocoa powder
• Pinch of xanthan gum
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• A big pour of unsweetened almond milk

It's the ultimate cure for an ice cream hankering...and it contains spinach!  Meal 2 of the day including spinach.  Woohoo!

When the boys woke up, we hoofed it up to Vero for the Twins Club meeting.  The weather scared most of the families away but we were able to chat with 2 other families who have twins.  Ours were the only boys in the group but they sure did love the cars at the mall.  We had a hard time getting them to leave.

While in Vero, we were able to hit up the outlet mall.  We love scoping out the deals at Carters (got some super cute jammies, halloween shirts, play shirts and the liquid powder I love) and found some Crocs for ourselves and a friend at the Crocs outlet.  Our boys love theirs so we decided it was time to get some for ourselves.  Check out the ones my husband picked out...He looks very manly in them :-)  

I had the best intentions of cooking up my spinach and swiss chard stuffed turkey meatloaf, which I prepared earlier in the day, when we got home from our outing but our stomachs had different ideas when we starting getting rumbling stomachs in Vero.  With fussy boys who had no interest in fine dining, we settled on some sandwiches from Nature's Table Bistro.  I was surprised by how tasty they were considering they came from the mall food court.  Guess we'll have to try for spinach in every meal tomorrow...

Before I forget, last night I picked up Shape Magazine latest issue and here's some facts from it that caught my attention... I thought you might appreciate their research as well.  

My takeaway was...

• When you compare cost of serving size, not per calorie, you'll see nutritious foods don't cost as much after all.  
• Agave nectar might as well be sugar...in my understanding of the article.  I've been reading more and more about it as such a good marketing ploy rather than being as healthy as we've been led to believe so I'm eliminating it from our house as well.  We already cut out sugar and use raw honey instead.  It's yummy.  I encourage you to try it. I wish I wouldn't have wasted so much money on agave.
• I'm going to be cooking in my cast iron skillet more often.  It's safer than teflon and can boost iron, something my boys and I both need.

There was also an intriguing article about Jillian Michaels.  Boy has she relaxed now that she's a mom!  Check out the issue if you get a chance. I used to get really annoyed by her but I might be coming around a little bit now.

Stay dry Floridians!  Find a way to move.  You won't regret it.