Last December, my fitness routine involved lots of Saturday morning long runs around the snowy streets of Boston in preparation for the Arizona Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon.

This December, my fitness routine involves pushing a big-ass metal sled as fast as I can for 50 yards in an industrial park at night in the pouring rain.

Obviously, things have changed quite a bit on the fitness front. But, hey, whatever keeps me active and motivated, right?

Here’s last night’s CrossFit workout:

Weighted Chin-ups 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1

*If you are not able to perform a chin-up (underhand grip) with weight perform 5 sets of 5 reps dead hang chin-ups with bodyweight. If you are not able to perform bodyweight chin-ups that use the necessary band and perform 5 sets of 5 reps dead hang chin-ups.

WOD:

Prowler Push 5 x 100 meters

*Rest 2 minutes between sets

I wasn’t able to do the Weighted Chin-ups, so I did 5 sets of 5 reps with the help of a band (it looked like this). Well, technically, I did two sets of 5 chin-ups + 3 sets of 3 chin-ups, but I got them all in there! My goal is to do 5 sets of 5 next time!

Dinner

After CrossFit, I quickly showered and then made dinner for Mal and me: homemade pizza with leftover Bolognese sauce, chopped green bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, and shredded cheese on a whole wheat pizza crust from Whole Foods. Let me tell you, this pizza was piled high with toppings! Love it!

I started with a big slice and then went back for a smaller one.

I washed dinner down with a glass of eggnog.

Breakfast

We had a bunch of leftover onions, green bell peppers, and mushrooms, so I incorporated them into a massive omelet that I split with Mal this morning. I used three eggs + a huge scoop of Chobani 2% Greek yogurt (like Chef Jason did at the Chobani Kitchen Event), which “fluffed up” the omelet so much. It was ridiculous. The omelet was so big, Mal and I were cracking up about it!

On the side, I had a piece of whole wheat toast with butter and a glass of iced coffee with vanilla soy milk.

Feel Great Weight

Thinking about giving fudge, cookies, or a box of chocolates as a holiday gift? Think differently this year, and give something healthy to your family and friends. Here are five options to help keep your loved ones active and healthy: 5 Healthy Holiday Gifts.

Speaking of Feel Great Weight, make sure you follow @feelgreatweight on Twitter. I tweet from the account everyday!

Question of the Day

How has your life changed since last December? What’s different now?

P.S. Remember those cool Halo Headphones from the other day? They’re on sale today through OpenSky!

I bet you’re wondering what’s up with me republishing all of my wedding anniversary recap posts. Well, here’s the reason:

What’s the heck is that, you ask? It’s a report that my host ran to figure out what’s going on with my bandwidth issues. (I’m paying a fortune in overage costs!) As you can see, there are quite a few (there’s actually close to 2,000) photos demanding bandwidth. Just to give you an idea how massive those photos are, the images that I upload to CNC nowadays are between 200-400 KB, so 7.7 M is HUGE! And then there’s an additional 2,000 photos! No wonder my poor little blog is struggling.

The big culprit was the photos in my wedding anniversary recap posts. In my early days of blogging, before I knew that I should resize my photos, I uploaded the images from my wedding photographer to my blog—and they’ve been dragging down CNC ever since. Instead of deleting those posts, I copied and pasted the text and resized the photos before publishing the posts again. I actually need to reduce (or delete) all of the photos, so it’s going to be quite the undertaking over the next several weeks.

With that said, here are a few ways to resize your photos!

Windows Live Photo Gallery

For those of you who use Windows Live Photo Gallery (FYI: it’s a free download), you can easily resize your photos (individually or in batches) by selecting the photo(s) you want to reduce and clicking the “Resize” button under the Edit tab. It’s as easy as that.

Image Resizer for Windows

If you don’t use Windows Live Photo Gallery, you can download Image Resizer for Windows, which also makes it really easy to resize images.

The Image Resizer integrates right into Windows, so you can just right click on a photo and then select “Resize Picture.” A box will pop up that asks you what size to you want to resize the photo to. Typically, you’ll want to choose small or medium, but you can also set a custom resolution.

iPhoto

Oh, how I miss iPhoto. You Mac users have it so good. Anyway, here’s a great tutorial from CNET that explains how to resize an image in iPhoto. It’s wicked easy (because Apple makes everything easy).

Lunch

Today’s lunch was my new favorite salad with balsamic vinegar drizzled on top.

And a toasted whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter and chia seeds on top.

Snack

Now, I’m snacking on a banana with a scoop of peanut butter, an Adora disk, and a cup of coffee with eggnog.

Happy Friday, friends! Don’t forget to reduce your photos!

Yesterday afternoon, I drove to the Milton Hill Sport & Spa for a 60-minute, post-marathon massage. I cannot explain how much I was looking forward to it.

Of course, I had a coupon!

Unfortunately, when I arrived for my massage, the front desk had no record of my appointment. Major wah. The guy at the front desk felt so bad, he rescheduled my massage for today and tacked on an extra 30 minutes for the inconvenience. Now, that’s what I call customer service! And the massage was great! It was totally worth the wait!

After my massage, I headed home to get Pimple Face Murphy to take him to his annual check-up at the vet. When Mal and I noticed that Murphy had an appointment coming up, we decided to wait to take him to get his weirdo pimple checked out. It turns out it’s probably just a huge zit. The vet gave us steroid cream and told us to watch it for the next couple of weeks. My dog is so gross.

After the vet, I headed to Starbucks to get some studying done for the NASM exam.

While there, I enjoyed an eggnog misto (steamed eggnog + coffee).

Or should I say eggnot misto?

The barista actually spelled it this way two different times, so perhaps she really thinks it’s “eggnot”? Haha.

Lunch

I didn’t have a chance to make lunch until nearly 4:00 PM (and, weirdly, I wasn’t all that hungry), so I threw together a cheese quesadilla with leftovers from last night’s tacos, a side salad with roasted Brussels sprouts, and a couple of chocolate chip cookies.

I’m meeting friends for pub trivia tonight, so I’ll probably eat dinner (and drink beer) at the bar.

SHAPE Magazine Giveaway

Remember my Be Thankful Challenge from this morning? Well, here’s your chance to win a year subscription to SHAPE magazine!

To enter: Just leave a comment on this post about your favorite way to relax. I’ll randomly pick a winner tomorrow afternoon.

Good luck!

This morning, I snuck out of bed and cooked Mal a special pancake breakfast. Christmas is just a few days away, so I thought it would be fun to add a festive touch to the meal. Plus, I just like doing nice things for my hubby!

I whipped up a batch of my favorite pancakes and substituted the soy milk with eggnog, which was a very delicious decision.

I also served iced coffee with a splash of eggnog (we’re crazy for eggnog in this house!) and played some holiday music in the background.

It was a nice, little Sunday morning.

But, before Mal could even butter his pancakes, our meal was interrupted by fairly loud snorting and chewing noises coming from the guest bedroom.

It sounded like a typical pug interruption.

The Sock Monster strikes again!!

So busted.

We’re having a little housewarming party here today. Lots to do!

When I opened the refrigerator door this morning, I made a sad discovery: we were out of iced coffee.

I’m usually on top of the iced coffee thing. As soon as we start to get low, I brew a fresh pot—usually about 1-2 times a week. Even though Mal and I always plow through the iced coffee, we rarely ever run out. I’m like an Iced Coffee Watchdog. I guess I was off of my game.

But, the lack of iced coffee in our house wasn’t the end of the world. It was actually a blessing in disguise because I got to make hot eggnog coffee this morning.

Oh, yes.

I did.

Eggnog-flavored coffee with a splash of eggnog is heavenly!

To eat, I toasted an English muffin and added peanut butter and banana slices.

Can’t go wrong with this meal!

Ok, hopefully, this doesn’t come off too sales-y. I just think getting enough calcium and vitamin D is important, especially for women.

So, the folks at Caltrate contacted me to sample their new Vanilla Crème Soft Chews. I’m already a huge fan of the Adora Disks as a way to get my daily dose of calcium and vitamin D (and satisfy my sweet tooth), but I’m always open to trying to new things. Plus, Vanillla Crème sounded mighty delicious.

As you probably know, most people struggle to get the recommended daily amounts of calcium and vitamin D from their diet alone. In fact, 80% of women don’t get enough calcium or vitamin D from food alone. Plus, the winter months often mean less sunlight (especially in the northeast), which can make reaching those daily doses even more challenging. And with 1 in 4 women currently at risk for osteoporosis, maintaining bone health is super important.

Ok, I’m off my soapbox. I just think it’s really important. (FYI: Eggnog has 15% of your daily recommended value of calcium! )

If you’re curious, the Vanilla Creme Soft Chews are really delicious. They taste a lot like vanilla frosting, especially the last few chews. Of course, this makes them easy to gobble right up– but at least I’m getting my calcium and vitamin D for the day!

Cookie Friday

It’s Cookie Friday!! I hope you didn’t forget! Check out “my” Peppermint Bark Cookies over on Eating Bird Food. Brittany is featuring 12 Days of Cookies!

Questions of the Day

Do you like eggnog? Do you get enough calcium and vitamin D in your life?

Hi, Mal!! Whatcha doing on the roof?

My husband was en fuego with the home improvement projects today. He got so much done!! His “Honey Do List” is looking really good!

First, Mal tackled the gutters.

Which made a mess of our yard.

And totally confused the pug. Murphy even started whimpering at one point! I guess he was really worried about “Dad.”

Then, Mal accomplished a bunch of indoor tasks. I had no idea he was so handy!

I’m not very skilled when it comes to home improvement projects, so Mal sent me to Lowe’s to buy “cool” things like flood lights and a Shop-Vac. I also purchased a couple of new floor lamps, so that part of the trip was fun!

Dinner

I only made one recipe from Rocco’s 5 Minute Flavor (as part of my Cookbook Challenge), so, tonight, I whipped up another dish from his book: Gnocchi with Toasted Garlic, Walnuts & Bitter Greens. But, as usual, I did my own thing and substituted a few ingredients and changed some measurements, so here’s my version of the recipe!

Tortellini with Toasted Garlic, Walnuts & Collard Greens

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 (9 oz) package of refrigerated tortellini
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup walnut halves, slightly crushed
• 3 cups collard greens, chopped
• 1/4 grated Parmesan

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to the package instructions. Drain.

While pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan until hot. Add the garlic and walnuts and cook until the garlic is golden brown and the nuts are aromatic, about 3 minutes.

Then, add the greens to the pan and season with salt and pepper.

Cook, stirring frequently, until the greens are wilted.

Add the tortellini to the pan and toss to coat. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and serve immediately.

Another great recipe from Rocco!

I really like that this meal came together so quickly. From start to finish, it took about 15 minutes and it was soooo simple. I love these kinds of recipes!

For dessert, I enjoyed a glass of eggnog and a dark chocolate Adora disk.

Thank goodness eggnog is only a once-a-year treat because I just want to keep drinking it! But, sadly, too much makes my stomach very unhappy. One small glass is all it can handle.

I’m chilling with M & m tonight. After the day we had, we’re in the mood to relax.

Thanksgiving 2010 is off to a great start!

Last night, Mal and I met up with a bunch of our friends for a mini-reunion/birthday party. It’s a tradition for all of us to get together the night before Thanksgiving and catch up. Here’s my recap of Thanksgiving Eve 2009 and my 10-Year High School Reunion in 2008. It’s always a fun time!

At last night’s Thanksgiving Eve gathering, I drank a million Winter Warmer beers.

And ate a zillion Pig in a Blanket, which tortured my stomach for the rest of the night. I should have known better!

I also munched on some other appetizers and a birthday cupcake.

Friends!

This morning, I woke up a tad dehydrated, but ready to run! Now that I recommitted to my marathon training, I’m not letting myself skip any workouts. I ran 6 miles in 53:06, which was an average pace of 8:51 and fast for me!

After my run, I made breakfast. I had a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and banana slices and a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee with eggnog in it. I <3 eggnog!

Let the festivities begin! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Hi, bloggies! I hope you are all having a lovely Saturday morning!

This morning’s oats: Banana-Eggnog topped with trail mix. 

I agree, the combo of banana-eggnog sounds a little strange, but it wasn’t at all. The banana dominated the eggnog flavor, but they both added sweetness and an extremely creamy texture to my oats. 

After eating my oats, I made myself a cup of coffee with a splash of eggnog. I’m drinking it while I blog. 

10 Year High School Reunion

Well, guys, my 10 Year High School Reunion was SO FUN! It was so much better than I expected it to be! I was on the fence about it all day yesterday– I was even nervous on the drive to the bar, but once I started talking to my old friends, everything was great!

The reunion was held at The Claddagh Pub in Lawrence, MA. The bar was really cool– it had lots of space to move around, a working fireplace, dance floor, and live music. 

Our high school mascot was the tiger! What was your high school mascot? 

And our colors were blue and gold. 10 years… where did the time go? 

I needed some “liquid courage” to face my old classmates, so I started the evening with a Claddagh Pub Brew, which basically tasted like Miller Light. 

For the reunion, our class reserved a private room at the pub and supplied all sorts of food for us. Mal and I hadn’t eaten dinner, so we dug right in. My plate included salad, marinated artichoke hearts and mushrooms, pasta with broccoli, and a meatball. 

Beers 2 and 3 were Blue Moons; a blueberry beer followed.

1998 classmates!

More classmates! I’m pretty sure the 3 of us had every single class together in high school! 

So, all in all, a wonderful 10 Year Reunion! I’m so glad that I went!

Lots of Saturday things on the agenda today! Be back later!