What wouldn't Meat Loaf do for love?

I don't know. And that's exactly the same answer to the why I haven't been blogging question. But just for fun, let's just assume it hasn’t been January since I last posted…mmk?

Oh hey there! Good to see ya! Unfortunately I can’t take responsibility for my return. In fact, yours truly has been in high demand to start back up on the blogging (and by high demand I mean my brother telling me he needed new reading material – shout out to you Jeff). So consider this my comeback and my return like that of Whitney Houston, Britney Spears or…Betty White.

When prodded to start this sucker back up I asked for suggestions on what to write about and Jeff’s wasn’t half bad – an update on my resolutions. So here goes.

Update (or lack thereof):

1. To blog more often - well, clearly we all know how that's going. Suffice it to say I haven't been keeping up with that. So far I'm failing.
2. To stop cussing so much - actually I think I have cut back on this. Probably not due to putting forth solid effort - I think I've just stopped talking so much
3. To run a half marathon - currently training for that so mark that one down as in progress!
4. Buy a good camera and take more pictures - so far, haven't done this. But, I am planning on getting a new camera for our honeymoon in June, so soon this one will be done
5. Finish decorating my house - I've made baby steps, but nowhere close to finishing. Finishing would require money, which I've obviously got to spend on a camera
6. Exercise more with Cam - with the marathon training comes more exercise with the pup, so you can check that one off the list! (proof below)
   

This was not even 5 minutes after walking in the door after a run. Aw Bubby :)

The running is going good so far. It's a patient process for someone who has little of it, and I constantly find myself having to get over the fact that this is not an overnight thing. I get frustrated a lot with the small progress that I make, while Aaron, running a clear mile ahead of me makes the same in two days. But I'll chalk that up to the difference between men and women and science stuff. I'm up to averaging 2ish miles on a daily run, 3 being the longest so far. Hopefully soon that will change to higher numbers. My training program doesn't officially start until July, so until then I'll be trying to speed up my pace and build up my lungs.

On the food front, I've been cooking lots of goodies lately that I'll hopefully get around to sharing. Such goodies include but are not limited to: homemade taquitos, herb quinoa, flank steak pitas, fish en papillote, pureed cauliflower, homemade protein bars, chicken with pilaf and house made Dijon cream sauce, red sauce, etc. It will be hard to put these into recipes though because I'm one of those non-measuring cooks. I measure when I bake, b/c I don't mess with science. So putting my "eh, whatever looks like a tablespoon" like-quantities down will be a challenge, but I'll take it!

On my run tonight I'll be thinking of more topics to blog about, but you could do me a solid and maybe suggest some things you'd like to hear about, and I'll dedicate said blog in your name!

xoxo

The Year of the Blogger

Forgive me Blogger for I have sinned...it's been 5 months since my last posting.

Good thing blogger isn't handing out penances because I'm pretty sure mine would be to post something everyday and I mean, clearly we all know that's not going to happen. YOU GUYS - 5 months? I think this qualifies me as one of the worst bloggers of all time. Probably not, most likely I'm being dramatic but it's only because I feel so terrible. BUT, it's a new year and let's get it started off right with......resolutions!!

I actually did make a few resolutions and I have to say, they might be the most legit resolutions I've ever made AND the most likely to happen. Drumroll....

1. To blog more often
2. To stop cussing so much (notice I said "so much." I can't quit all together. I just can't.)
3. To run a half marathon
4. To buy a good camera and take more pictures
5. To finish decorating my house
6. To exercise more with Cam

You want me to explain these a bit? Yes? Ok, since you asked.

1. Well, obviously I'd like to blog more often because this isn't the Living Hellthy quarterly. Posts need to happen more and the quality needs to be bumped up. And bump it up I shall.

2. I noticed that I cuss/swear quite a bit. If we ever had an office swear jar, you would def be able to thank me for filling it up. So I'm going to try and cut back on that and only use these words when absolutely necessary. Like when I'm in traffic.

3. I know what you're thinking - but Cassie, you HATE running. This is true. I'm not particularly a fan of running for leisure. But as aware of that as I am, I haven't really thought about how much it's going to suck to run all the time, I actually haven't thought about that at all. I just keep thinking about how I need to get fitted for tennis shoes and get a training program started. BTW - I'm so bad at running, that I have to train, for the training program. Let the training for the training begin!

4. I'm actually really glad I thought of this one. I have a digital camera, but it doesn't work, mainly due to the fact that I didn't take care of it. So, it's my fault. But I'd like to get a nice camera and start documenting parts of my life. Even when I had a camera I rarely took pictures and it's because I was too lazy to do anything with them. So, I'm going to change that and be that person that's constantly taking pictures at events and that perhaps some people mistake my camera case for a purse (*cough* Lisa *cough*). Kidding :).

5. The house took a huge step in the right direction with us finally buying a new couch. It's been awesome, it's a nice couch and exactly what I wanted. I mean, we. Exactly what we wanted. Then it's on to bedroom furniture, of which we're currently searching for, and then bookshelves. I think we have an unusually large, odd piece of the living room adjacent to the dining area that I don't know what to do with - so I think I'd like to put some cool book shelves there (suggestions are welcome!). Once all of the furniture pieces are bought we'll move onto what I think is going to be very difficult - accenting/decor. I get anxiety just thinking about it.

6. Poor pup gets cooped up in the house/yard too much. Aaron and I aren't good pet parents when it comes to Cam's exercise needs, so we need to change that. Pup doesn't know it yet, but he'll also be training for a half marathon soon. :)

2011 is the year of the rabbit and it will also be the year of the blogger. And the photographer, runner, decorator, and non-foul language user. I'm optimistic this will be a good year. 2010 treated me very well, lots of good things happened and I have much to be grateful for. Here's to 2011 being a good year for everyone - as my niece Nora says before she sips her juice - Cheers!

Things I'm currently loving:

• Pita chips
• Boardwalk Empire
• Diorshow mascara
  
• Refreshing my iPod music library
• DIY projects

xo,
Cassie

Nothing like a good purge

One thing you'll never catch me on is an episode of "Hoarders." I am the furthest thing from a pack rat, and when I acquire a healthy amount of....crap, I do a purge and get rid of it. Today, I purged my clothes. I noticed that I was running out of room for new(er) clothes and accessories (and by that I mean shoes) and I figured it was damn near impossible because I have 7 drawers and a pretty big closet, how could I have run out of room for everything already? Well, it wasn't because I had accumulated too much stuff, it's because I had kept too much stuff. I have shirts that I wore in high school - do I wear them now? No. Why do I have them? Who the hell knows.

So I made it my life's mission today to get rid of anything I could - whether it was clothes, shoes, purses, random things like a shoe rack I don't use, scarves...anything I do not wear or want anymore was going. Let me give you a rundown of what's going on right this very moment: I currently have 4 piles - one is for the trash (I apparently have an affinity for wearing stuff with holes in it), one is for Goodwill (it's a pretty big pile), one is for keepers, and one is a goal pile. "Cassie, what's a goal pile?" Glad you asked.

The goal pile is for the clothes that I wore, at some point in my life, and don't anymore. Reasons could be that it doesn't fit, doesn't fit quite right, or shamefully, still has the the tags on it. This is starting to become quite a big pile. Ok, I have to have a rehab moment and admit to a problem- I am willing to admit that I am a "someday I'll wear that" shopper. Not all the time, but seeing the heaping pile of "someday I'll wear them" clothes, I'm starting to think it's a bigger problem than I originally thought. I have a huge issue with this. If you know me well, then you also know that as a shopper, I am a HUGE advocate of not buying something unless I can get many, many years out of it. If I'm gonna buy a kitchen table, I want to be able to have that kitchen table for 15 years. That's why I have a simple style and love black - it's always in (and slimming).

So naturally, my issue is that I have purchased these clothes, and for the majority of the pile, haven't even worn one time. It's starting to look like a gigantic waste of money, and that doesn't settle with me very well. What also doesn't settle with me very well, is the other part of the pile that consists of clothes I did wear at one time in my life, and don't (or can't) wear anymore. It's pretty f***ing sad, actually. They're nice clothes and are practically brand new. Aside from the fact that I spent money on these, I'm more disturbed by the fact that physically, I was able to wear them. For instance, I am clinging to a pair of old volleyball spandex (literally, in my top dresser drawer, haunting me) that I used to wear....in public. I mean, I used to run around in these things. I look at them now and I think "holy shit, I never knew how good I had it then." When I was in high school I thought I was enormous. Now, I was an athlete and was in pretty good shape, but sit me down at my lunch table and I was def the biggest girl there. When the 2010 version of Cassie looks at pictures of the 2002-2005 version of Cassie, I always think "why did I ever think I was that big, that was nothing." I would KILL to be that way now. Maybe it's a product of getting older and wiser (yes, I'm wiser) or maybe it's just seeing things how they really are but now, I would def apologize to my high school self for being so hard on her and shame my now self for not being hard enough.

Ok, getting back on track to the wardrobe - this pile of sad, lonely, barely worn clothes has given me a little affirmation of "I'm gonna fit into those f***ing clothes if it's the last thing I do." I'm no dummy, I know that I've been training since December and don't look all that different. I know that. I mean, I'm probably in better shape that I was in December and I know that I have muscle tone, but I don't have any outward proof that Bobby is a real person, who I know and pay to make me skinny, haha. So ya know, just gotta get back on the horse and stop letting things like working late and traveling to Illinois every weekend get in my way. And I am fully aware that my wedding is in just a little over 3 months (trust me, the nightmares are eminent) and ya know whether I'm 600 pounds or 100 pounds, I'll get married either way. As long as I can get through those church doors it'll happen. And I have faith that I will - they're double doors. :) Haha, seriously though I'm just being realistic, as creative as I am, I'm also very logical and practical and I just don't need to put that kind of pressure on myself while all of these other things are going on.

I just have to say, that planning a wedding is stressful. No matter how you approach the process, it is stressful. I have adopted the philosophy that I just want everything to be as simple as possible because it's already such an over-complicated day, that worrying about minute details, is pointless. Don't get me wrong, I totally get caught up in the favors and the gifts and the decorations, etc. I geek the f**k out over that stuff. I pick my battles about what to be particular on, but when it comes to making a decision, whatever is the easiest, is what I'm going with. And ya know what? Whether the centerpieces are wrapped in purple ribbon or not wrapped at all, everyone will still have a good time because we have good taste in music and like to drink. :)

I continued separating my clothes into the piles and here's what we got (don't mind the dog, he likes to lay around in clothes...even if they're still in the laundry basket).



Goal pile (not including all of the jeans)


Can you tell which one is the bagged up Goodwill stuff and the throw-away clothes? Yea, they're equally as big...and those are extra large lawn bags filled to the top. *sigh*.....


(the one on the left is the throw away)

The truth about where I've been...

My reasons for not blogging in nearly 3 months:

• I was in Ghana volunteering at an orphanage
• I've been in Chicago filming Transformers 3
  
• I was vacationing off the coast of Tahiti, bathing in tanning oil & sipping frozen daiquiris
• I also cured cancer

So, as you can see I've been really busy and far too occupied to blog. I mean, what? You think an action film can be done overnight? Psh, be realistic.

OK fine, here are my real reasons for not blogging:

• I got a new job and have kept really busy with it
  
• Wedding planning
  
• I painted my kitchen
• I went to 5 weddings
• Friends/family visited Kansas City
• We got a new vehicle
  
• I went to the Lake and got a pretty nasty sunburn

Insert trips to the gym sparingly and you've got a pretty good picture of the last 3 months of my life. Pretty lame compared to my above list. I like to think of the past few weeks as a gestational period for new material. :) But seriously, life got really busy and unfortunately blogging took a backseat - as did my health, kind of. I haven't been to the gym very much lately because random crap came up like work, or being a one-car family for a while, and it had to fall to the side for a bit. I hate to say it, but in my list of priorities, the gym isn't number one or two.

But, I'm getting married in a little over 3 months (110 days - thanks theknot.com) and I've got to get my ass in gear - both planning and physically. Things have slightly slowed and the first thing to come back is gym time (forget sanity) and frankly, I'm not sure how to come back from a 3 month hiatus on the blog so..this is all I got. But I'll keep you posted on my days back at the gym, I have a feeling they're going to be wonderful. :)

It has been a while though...and here's my last 3 months in a nutshell:

• Asking me if you're going to be invited to the wedding, in person, is very uncomfortable - why do people do this?
• A free, mechanical bull to small town girls is like a moth to a flame
• I went to 5 weddings and wore a new dress to only 1 of them
• Registering for wedding gifts is really overwhelming and Aaron and I both shut down after like, 30 minutes
• Sometimes I get elevator sick riding all the way up to the 15th floor to work
• Shopping for a new vehicle was definitely one of those turning points in our relationship. It was a battle, but we made it.
  
• I only ate wedding cake one time. The other was a wedding cupcake. There's a difference.
  
• I did the cupid shuffle 4 times
  
• I've mastered the art of packing light
• I managed to get a tan line from a Memorial Day baseball game that is still on my arm
• Cam ate 2 light bulbs and lived to tell about it
  
• Aaron fixed the lawn mower all by himself. He says it's the greatest accomplishment of his life.
• I've accumulated a decent collection of wine bottles (empty wine bottles..)
  
• We got a new kitchen table
  
• I saw McGruber
  
• The Real Housewives of New Jersey. 'Nuff said.
  

Exciting stuff, right? I know this blog post will probably be the most thrilling read of your summer. I should know, I lived it. But I'm back and ready to blog the bejesus out of this thing. Even if I get the offer to be in the new Scream movie, I'll turn it down. Just for you. :)

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies

Finally, a recipe! On a whim, I decided I wanted to bake some cookies. I was in the mood for something sweet so I decided I wanted to try my hand at some cookie baking, but I wanted to keep them healthy. Now...I will say...these are some pretty robust cookies. They aren't for the eater who loves a pre-cut, doughy, Nestle Tollhouse cookie (that's for you Purina employees). They are hearty and the texture reflects that. But they're healthy and accompanied by a scoop of frozen yogurt (as I ate them), they're pretty good. One reason I chose to try this recipe is because all the mixing can be done by hand (because I don't own an electric mixer...yet). Here's the recipe and some photos. *Forgive the poor quality of the photo, I had to use my phone.


Ingredients:
1 cup of packed brown sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup sifted cake flour
2 tablespoons canola oil (I actually used sunflower oil, and they came out just fine)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or raisins)
2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Move your oven rack to the middle and preheat it to 350 degrees.

Whisk the sugar, applesauce, egg white, oil, vanilla in a bowl until smooth and stir in the chocolate chips. *The original recipe called for raisins, but I had planned on bringing these to work and not everyone likes raisins, so I substituted chocolate instead. If I were making them for myself I would have used raisins. And if you don't have cake flour or don't want to buy it, you can substitute regular all purpose flour or even use rice flour if you want. *If you want to make them Gluten-free, then use gluten free flour.

Stir together the oats, cake flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet and mix together.

The batter will be rather thick, but that's to be expected. The recipe uses healthier alternatives for the wet ingredients so there's no "creaming process" of the butter, eggs and sugar like a lot of cookie recipes.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or spray it with cooking spray and drop the cookies onto the cookie sheet, 1-1/12 inches apart (a tablespoon's size of batter should do). Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on the top. *I usually cook the first batch of any cookie the full amount of time, this way I can judge if I want to cut back on the time a little. And it cuts down on opening the oven so often to check them. I baked the rest of the batches about 12 minutes, to make them less cakey. The consistency of the cookie will be different, unlike that of most cookies, but they taste good.

Once they're done baking, take them out, cool on a wire rack, serve and enjoy!

Hope you liked the recipe, try them out if you like or make your own version of them! Happy eating!

Fact: Bears eat Beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

What a fun fact up there huh? I bet you really wanted to know that too. Or you're thinking "wtf is that about?" Well, if you're as big of a fan of The Office as I am, then you'd know that's where it came from (the American version, although the British version is outstanding also). It has relevance I promise, I didn't just throw a random quote in there. Although that could be fun...

I'm going to give a rundown of facts about myself, because apparently I'm that self absorbed or think that all of you care to know this information. I'll do my best to make these some "not-so-average facts." Honestly though, I just really wanted to talk about something other than shoulder presses at the gym or how much I hate cooked carrots. *Side note: I'm gonna put my foot down and say that cooked carrots might be one of the worst cooked vegetables ever invented. Challenge me.

FACT:
1. I hate snakes. They make me physically ill.

2. My favorite food is lasagna. I love it. More than Garfield.

3. I like to consider ice cream my Achilles's heal - no matter what hellthy mindset I'm in, offer me ice cream and I'll fold like a napkin.

4. For a very long time I thought that the Ethan Allen furniture store was named Ethe and Allen.

5. Also when I was younger I thought that the people working the drive-thru at McDonald's were actually inside the menu "box." I was always shocked at how they fit in there. Not a bright child.

6. I've never seen Dances with Wolves. (although...who has really?)

7. My favorite dessert is yellow cake with chocolate icing. Unless there's ice cream...then I'm forced to eat both.

8. At one time in my life I owned the single for TLC's "No Scrubs." Hey...it won a Grammy.

9. I was my grade school and area Knights of Columbus' spelling bee champion. Biggest trophy I've ever won.

10. For a grade school talent show, I performed a lip synced version of Ace of Base's "I Saw the Sign" with a fully equipped air band.

11. When I was in college, my drunk food of choice was often sugar free pudding cups.

12. I'm not a "middle piece of square pizza" kind of girl. I prefer the edges. Same goes for brownies. Or any food cut into rectangular shapes.

13. I make the world's best french fries. FACT.

14. I want to perfect the art of sugar cookie baking.

15. My favorite character on The Office is Stanley.

16. I have no desire to run a half marathon, full marathon, or anything with the word marathon in it.

17. I enjoy a good cardigan.

18. My confirmation name is Cecilia. Patron Saint of musicians and poets.

19. My favorite alcoholic drink is a gin and tonic. Just one of the many traits I inherited from my mother.

20. My least favorite meal growing up was round steak. *cue vomiting sounds into a trash can*

Now, wasn't that fun?! I'm sure it was. Soon I'll be trying to get some recipes up here and be on the lookout for a future post about some "best practices" when it comes to eating well.

BTW, I bought a dress a few months ago that I recently wore to a reception, and I had planned on wearing it to one this weekend also. Until I had this conversation with Aaron (I may have paraphrased a bit for brevity):

Aaron: "What dress are you wearing this weekend."
Cassie: "I was planning on wearing the one I just wore last weekend, why?"
Aaron: "I think you should wear a different dress."
Cassie: "Well then I'll have to buy one. What's wrong with the other one, does it look bad?"
Aaron: "No...I just think you're too skinny for it now, you should get something better."

God love him. :)

My Workout

I know it's been awhile since I've been on here, but although I've been a tad absent from here, I sure haven't been absent from the gym. I get into moods with the gym and right now I'm in the mood where I absolutely love going and I don't too tired. I mean, I work hard and I get sweaty (boy do I get sweaty...) but I'm not ready to fall over afterward like I used to. Bobby still kicks my ass training and I am ready to die after I workout with him, but this post is really about what I do to workout on the days I'm not training.

My workouts vary quite a bit. I don't like to do the same thing too much because I get bored and then the workouts feel really long. It also depends on my mood. Like when I'm feeling kind of lazy or just not feeling the whole workout thing, I usually just walk. BUT even when I walk I always walk at a pretty steep incline. I usually start the incline out at about 1 or 2 with the speed at 3.0 (minimum) to warm up - I'll do this for about 3 minutes. Then for the next few minutes or so I increase the speed and incline. I don't walk at a speed any faster than 3.4 (because eventually it becomes hard to keep up). But by the time I get to 10 minutes I'm walking at 3.4 speed at anywhere from a 7-10 incline. It's like walking up a very steep hill. And I'll do this for 15 or 20 minutes (but it depends on how I'm feeling that day). Then I might hop on the elliptical or stair master for 10 minutes and call it a day.

That's one way I'll get a workout in. If I'm feeling extra good then I'll run for 30 minutes (the whole 30 minutes -that gets kinda hard for me haha, I get winded!) But...if I'm feeling really spunky, then I'll do some interval training. Which, I have to say, is starting to become my favorite way to work out. My workouts go by so fast and I feel really good when I'm done. I'm not very attractive when I'm done haha, but I feel good!

So I start out on the treadmill for 15 minutes and I start with a warm-up. 3.0 -3.2 speed for 3-5 minutes, incline at 1-2. Sometimes I use the whole 5 minutes, especially if I'm reading a magazine b/c then the timer is covered up. So here's how the treadmill breaks down (just want to clarify for any of these workouts, I don't know if it's how their supposed to go, I just found what works for me and do that):

3-5 minute warm up, 1-2 incline
3 minutes 4.0-4.2 speed, 2.5 incline
2 minutes 4.5 speed, incline at 3
2 minutes 5.0 speed, incline at 2.5
2 minute 5.5 speed, incline at 3
1 minute 6.0 speed, incline at 2.0 (it gets really hard to get through this when the incline is really high)
1 minute 4.5 speed, incline 2.0
1 minute 4.0 speed, incline 0

So after that I hop on the bike for 10 minutes. Here's how it breaks down:

1 minute, level 5, 78-88 rpms (keep it between this range)
1 minute, level 6-8 (I do 7), 105-110 rpms
*alternate between this for the next 6 minutes. Once you're at 8 minutes, do 2 minutes at level 5 for 78-88 rpms

After the bike I get on the elliptical for 10 or 15 minutes. I don't really get into messing with the resistance on this too much, just because I never felt like it, haha. So I just set the resistance at 7 and sprint every other minute for 10 or 15 minutes.

Then I'm done! I'm pretty tired after all of that and but I still feel really good. I find that the interval type training does me pretty good because it keeps me on my toes. I won't always keep the treadmill, bike, elliptical order, I'll switch things up, alternate the times, etc. But I try and keep the speeds and stuff consistent.

So yea, there are my workouts! I only do this stuff on the days I'm not training so generally that's Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (sometimes Friday if I feel like going, but the gym closes kind of early). Training with Bobby only sometimes involves cardio so I try and make the most of the days where that's all I do.

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather! If found a trail I want to start running outside but I'm not much for running on pavement so we'll see how that pans out. :)