On the hunt for Pumpkin

 :( sad face. Dia uno of the search for pumpkin has failed me!! Weeeeeeeelllll... that's not entirely true. Whole Foods did carry organic pumpkin puree but it was almost £4 and it looked like baby food to me. Uhm no thanks! The search continues..

I came back with random loot.

I bought the cream cheese before I found the pumpkin. BAD IDEA. I wanted to make this so my intentions were all good.http://www.bethenny.com/2010/10/14/marbled-pumpkin-cheesecake/
It looked so yummy too.

At least I got some lemons for my water!

Lemons in my water, lemons on my fish, lemons to rid my hands of the fishy smell, lemons to clean surfaces, lemons to make lemonade, lemons to achieve that silly sour face. I LOVE LEMONS! Okay. I think I'll stop now.

Post errand snack

or should I have said meal? I felt it was rightly deserved since I hauled my bootay all over town in search of that dang pumpkin!

CLOSE UP!!

Yum. Check out all those chips.

Dinner:

Would you like some salad with that ranch?

More salmon seasoned w. salt, pepper, EVOO, and cayenne pepper. Asparagus w. sweet chili sauce drizzled on top and brown rice.

Dessert: 

Nothing makes speaking/learning a language easier than a glass of wine :)

Regent's Park

I decided I wasn't in the mood for a gym today so I went running in search of Regent's Park. A little frustrating trying to find it due to my poor directional skills. I finally had an AHA moment when I found it. Let the running begin!

Regent's park is so much prettier than this but for some reason when I start running, I don't like stopping to take pictures. It's too distracting to my running groove. Lots of people out and about today. I saw some people kicking around a football. I love watching athletes in their element. Gives me extra motivation to run harder.

I could have gone longer but it's so darn cold outside! Still happy I got outside today tho.

Post run ab workout

I find abs the hardest to do on my own. Would prefer to skip it all together but I know how important having a strong core is to just about any exercise I do. Today's 10 minute segment was "Pilates abs"

If at first you don't succeed...

..try again with MILK!

No matter how long I stirred this darn thing, I couldn't get rid of the floating chunks. It tasted slightly better than yesterday but I'm still not a fan!!

Lunch:

spinach sauteed in garlic, salt, pepper, and sesame oil

I'm running out of creative lunch pictures since I seem to be eating the same thing everyday.

Time to make a grocery run to Whole Foods. I'm in search of some pumpkin for a recipe I want to try. Is it too much to hope for this?!

Is it too early for Christmas music?!

Snack yesterday:

Melba toasts w. laughing cow cheese and some red grapes. I need some better crackers to eat my cheese with cuz these flavorless cardboard like crackers just aren't cutting it!

Seeing that girl on this page reminds me of a time where I used to rip out pages of Victoria Secret models for motivation to get my butt in the gym! :)

Yesterday's reading/study material. I'm trying to do as much research on exercises and different muscle groups before my PT program starts so I don't feel like a complete fish out of water.

Breakfast this morning:

Some more of the same. Wholewheat toast with a fried egg and flaxseed on top. Bananer and crunchy pb.

I heard a snippit of Christmas music online this morning and I got a little too excited. Nothing gives me the warm fuzzies more than this album!!

I must be crazy. It's not even November yet!!

Song of the day: Jamiroquai "Just dance"

Big kid pants

I joined the big boys today in the weight room for a strength training workout. This was the first time I've actually lifted weights on my own with men present (I was using a woman's only floor before). It wasn't as intimidating as I thought it would be. The only flub was I couldn't get a bench to incline at 45 degrees. Also, no one ever told me sitting face foward on an incline would feel so awkward. I stopped doing a certain exercise because I felt like a goofball!! 

Thankfully, I found a gym floor attendant to help me lift the bench. DOH!!

My exercises completed: dumbbell bench press, arnold press, dumbell bent over row, dumbbell pull-over, bar upright row, lat pulldown, bosu kneeling pushup, dumbbell deadlift.

I'm using this new IPOD application called iFitness. I love it so far. There are a ton of exercises for each muscle group and a complete description on how to perform the exercise. You can also watch video demonstrations for certain exercises if you're unsure how to do it. The program lets you create your own workout by combining selected exercises together or if you're a newbie to strength training, you can do one of the prescribed routines. Some examples are: Muscle Building Program, Complete Body Workout, and the Ultimate Arm Workout.

Post workout fuel:

 New chocolate whey!!

When I opened the package, a poof of powder came out and it smelled like hot chocolate mix! Could this be a sign of good things to come?

A scoop of whey and a tablespoon of Life's greens= dirty brown water. hehe.. It tasted about as good as it looks. I'm DEFINITELY waiting til we get a transformer for my Vitamix before drinking one of these again. I miss my smoothies!!

Lunch:

Baked chicken with a side of brown rice, mushrooms and spinach. The red splodge is sweet chilli sauce. I really dig asian sauces. This one in particular is so yummy. It gave the right amount of heat to my chicken. Maybe I should marinate it in the sauce next time. Mmmm....

Tonight's my first salsa lesson after taking about a month & 1/2 off. EEEP!! I'm nervous! Let's hope my feet don't fail me now.

Smudgey

Snack: greek yogurt, almonds, cacao nibs, honey and chocolate sauce drizzeled on top. I decided yesterday I needed more sweetness in my yogurt. The chocolate sauce did the trick!

I got my nails did and whattya know, within minutes of coming home I got them smudgey!! While I was at the salon, I was given a pamphlet about Bio Sculpture Gel. Why they haven't come out with this product years ago is beyond me. Apparently, its a gel polish that dries under a lamp and doesn't chip or smudge for up to 3 weeks (is that a guarantee??)!! Amaaazing!! I can't wait to try it the next time I'm at the salon.

Nothing better on a cold, rainy night than Indian delivery.

Disclaimer: glass may appear dirtier than it really is

even my glass is smudgey! Noooooo!!!

Wine was tasty. Don't ask me why but I smelled tobacco on the nose. It tasted like cherries apparently. I still haven't gotten this snobby sophisticated tasting thing down. And ya'll, I know I'm not the only one on that boat!

Mixed starter with big chunks of marinated steak, chicken, and some sort of sausage. I just noticed that the sausage looks sort of suspect. It was all tasty except for the steak was a little too chewy. The kind of chewiness where when you put it in your mouth, you instantaneously know you want to spit it out.

Mushroom, potatos, green beans, and chickpeas in a delicious red sauce. I don't know much about Indian food. All I know is it's so darn good.

Lamb biriyani. There were generous portions of lamb in the rice. A bit greasy tho for my liking.

Chicken tikka masala. I just had a discussion with T what we like about masala. I like my masala sweet whereas he likes it tangy. This one was sweet. I WIN!!

Pilau rice. I advocate white rice when Indian food is involved.

My plate: Let's not kid ourselves and say this was the only plate I had. I had about two huge platefuls of food. I wasn't as gracious enough to actually use my plate.

This is why God gave us our hands people!! I love dipping my naan bread in the masala.

A quick breakfast of coffee and bannanner and chunky peanut butter. I prefer smooth but the store didn't have any.

Workout agenda this morning: Chest, Shoulders, Back.

Getting excited: Whoop whoop!
http://www.themarshalltown.com/zine/2010/10/20/scream-4-official-teaser-trailer-released/

Break out

Yay! Zumba class was a success. I was a teeensy bit afraid I wouldn't like the instructor's style but thankfully I was worried for nothing! I swear, I've never been taught by a more sassy spanish woman!  There were TONS of girls today and I noticed one guy. Seeing guys at Zumba is a rarity I'm afraid. I had to be careful not to not wave my arm too carelessly or else I would have smacked someone in the face. PARTY FOUL!

After class, I needed a nice long stretching sesh at home.

Please excusez-moi the mess around the house!

I'm not going to lie and say I didn't mix in some salsa practice along with the stretching. I finally have some space to move around my house!! :P

I'm starvin marvin!

Close up!

 

Veggie burger w. spinach, mayo, and ketchup

Side sald of beets, tomatoes, spinach, and ranch dressing. Another simple and clean lunch today. My body is grateful.

So I'm trying to stay positive but there are two things urking me right now. 

1.) I've lost my gym pass. No. I mean missplaced my gym pass. I hope. Grr.. I hate being so disorganized to the point where I can't find anything.

2.) My face is breaking out hardcore. I feel like I'm in 7th grade. Or whatever age I was when I had bad skin. This sucks.

Time for my french lesson. Au revoir!

Return of Zumba

Breakfast:

The verdict is still out on these Biona organic products. Don't get me wrong, I like healthy foods but I don't like it to taste too healthy if you catch my drift. I could get used to these though. After all, I like knowing the ingredients that are put in my body.

I'm a sucker for deals. Since everything is so expensive in London and we're on a budget, I must shop effectively. I saw this 2 for 4 sticker yesterday and immediately grabbed two!

One triangle of:

Light cheese? Yes please!

Final product:

The smoked salmon was a little salty but other than that I enjoyed this varied breakfast. Not everyday I have smoked salmon in the morning. Hoping this will keep me satisfied til later this afternoon.

I'm still sooo sore from a.) body pump on Saturday b.) a whole lotta kicking and punching from body combat yesterday. I can tell my body is not used to such total body workouts because I'm taking a lot longer to recover than usual. Regardless, I can't wait to go to Zumba this afternoon. I need some Zumba in my life!! Latin music-check, high intensity- check, dancing- check. <3 <3