Shaking In My Sneakers

I am freaking out a little.  I did something that I’m not sure I should have and I’m really nervous.  But, part of me is super excited.  Oh, sorry.  I guess I should spill it… I signed up for my first 5K race!  *insert collective screaming*  I know!!!  This is a huge deal for me.  I have wanted to do one for a long time, but wasn’t sure if I could with my hip issue and all.  But, it has calmed down a lot and the doc said if I pre-medicate with some Advil before the run, I should be fine.  I just feel like I have to do it.  I have to show myself that I can, push myself out of my comfort zone and cross this sucker off my bucket list.  So, I did it.  The date is October 17.  I will be totally flipping out the day before, so mark your calendars to come back for the entertainment!  More to come…

Needless to say, I was itching to get to the gym and run on the treadmill.  I fueled up before leaving with half of a banana (is it me, or does this look kinda pervie ?)…

I got to the gym, headed straight to the treadmill and huffed out a 3.1 mile run in no time flat.  Not really.  It took me 50 minutes!  50!  That is sucky, I think.  Will all the other racers be yawning and waiting at the finish line for me???  Aaaah!

It was errands galore after that.  Thankfully, I brought an after-run snack in the car.  Banana Walnut Breakfast Cookies are yummy.  Recipe to come in Jen’s e-cookbook…

I finally made it home for a late lunch.  I made up Salmon Toasts with 2 slices of Trader Joe’s Organic Spelt Bread, a slice of Laughing Cow Light Cheese and smoked salmon.  YUM-O…

And had a nice little side salad with Kraft Light Cucumber Ranch (not as good as the Three Cheese Ranch)…

Since I ate so late, I didn’t feel the need for a snack.  I made it to dinner without incident, even though I made No Pudge Brownies while the daughters were doing homework

I was on my own for dinner, so to speak.  The husband was working late and the daughters were thrilled with mac and cheese.  I was still in a fishy mood, so I dug out some shrimp from the freezer.  I had some zucchini that was calling my name, so I paired them together for  Shrimp and Zucchini with Tomatoes and Feta.  Couldn’t be easier.  I cooked shrimp in a skillet with a teaspoon of evoo and garlic – did you know you can cook shrimp frozen?  No need to thaw.  Just saute in a skillet until done.  When cooking from frozen it makes it easier to not overcook it.  No rubbery shrimp is a good thing!  After shrimp was cooked, I removed them from the skillet and set aside.  Then,  added the zucchini and cooked until golden.  I added the halved grape tomatoes at the end and put the shrimp back to warm through.  Topped it off with reduced fat feta cheese.  It was awesome…

Dinner in 10 minutes!  Try it, it’s so easy!

Before I go, I wanted to say a big thank you to Jenn of Watch My Butt Shrink (don’t ya love that?) for sending me this Honest Scrap Award a few days back…

The rules of this award are to tell 10 things about yourself that people may not know, then pass it on to 10 others.  Insane!  I cannot pick only  10 – I have 100 blogs in my reader and love them all.  I feel every hard working blogger deserves this award, so if you’re reading, consider this passed to you!  Feel free to tell10 things about yourself on your blog.  You can add the link to it in the comments, if you like.  I know I’m bucking the rules, but that’s how I roll ;P

Here’s my 10 things…snore…

1.  My whole life, people have mispronounced my name.  My name is said Ma-ree-sa, but everyone says, Ma-riss-sa.  it’s frustrating!  I’ve tried correcting people, but they still say it wrong.  Now, I just answer to anything as long as it’s not a curse word.

2.  BK (before kids), I had 2 successful and completely different careers.  After college, I became a paralegal for a senior partner in a large law firm.  Three years in, he encouraged me to go to law school.  As I was taking my LSAT’s, I had a change of heart.  I came home from the exam and told my parents I was going to beauty school!  I went on to open and operate a nail and skin care salon for 6 years.

3.  When I was 23, my brother(20) was killed in a car accident.  He was my only sibling.  It devastated me and my family for a long time.  The pain of his death has lessened for me over the years and I am able to think of him with a happy heart now.

4.  I met my husband on a blind date.  He was so silly, but intense and very loving.  I couldn’t help but fall in love.  He had me at hello:)

5.  I got pregnant with our first child (big daughter) 9 months into our marriage.  It was an easy pregnancy and birth.  She was and still is a dream!

6.  When big daughter was 18 months old, I became pregnant again, however, it resulted in a devastating miscarriage.  I had 4 more miscarriages before finally giving birth to little daughter 4 years later.

7.  Twelve hours after little daughter was born, she was transported to a children’s hospital for emergency intestinal surgery.  Recovery was long and hard, requiring a 3 month hospital stay in a surgical NICU.  The husband and I still have mental scars from that time, but we learned the value of family, health and prayer.

8.  I am petrified of public speaking.  Anytime, I’ve had to do it (i.e. oral reports/presentations), I sound like I’m hyperventilating when I talk.  So pathetic!

9.  I am extremely close to my family and in-laws.  They mean the world to me and as crazy as they are, I couldn’t live without them.

10.  My career for the past 11 years has been Child Rearing Specialist (aka stay-at-home mom).  It’s a great job, but pays diddly and frankly, I should have been fired a long time ago.  And believe me, they’ve tried ;P

Have a great day, everyone!

ONE GOOD THING:  I am really learning my body’s signals of hunger and satiety.  I think I’m finally getting this!!!!