It has been just 3 days since I started going back to the gym, and my past 2 days ended up with very hectic, lazy workouts. I had lots of energy to start out on treadmill, but after 20 minutes or so I get so tired and feel so dreaded to do the next (elliptical) workouts. Even though I don’t feel like it, I do the elliptical anyway. I just don’t feel great about it. Ugh…

But today was different. I felt so much energy before, during, and even after I left the gym!
Thanks to MotionTraxx, I was able to finish my elliptical workout with a GREAT feelings

For elliptical training, I’d like to recommend the following MotionTraxx episodes:

• Drop a Jeans Size ’09 – Intervals #1-#3
• You Can Do It: Lose 10Lbs – Intervals #1-#3 (I listened to Interval #1 today )

I haven’t listened to “UPshift” (part 1-3) yet, but they seem like good episodes to listen to while working out on elliptical machine.

Speaking of elliptical exercising, does anybody feel numb on your toes during elliptical workouts?

I DO!!

I feel great working out for 20 minutes on the machine, then I feel numbness on my toe. I  don’t feel right about this. So I did a little bit of research. According to EZineArticles.com, the numb toes while you are on a elliptical machine is caused by circulation. “The low impact nature of an elliptical trainer is the result of your feet never leaving the foot pedals. While great for your knees and other joints, it’s what can cause your feet to lose sensation.“

The article has 2 suggestions for this type of problem:

1. Promote circulation by wiggling your toes every so often during your workout. It also suggests to “simply rock your foot from heel to toe on the foot pedal of the elliptical trainer as you exercise.”
2. Avoid excessively long workouts. Keep it between 30 to 45 minutes.

Click here for more info.

Well, now off to a “husband & wife time”

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010 TO ALL!
I hope you had a great 2009

To start a new year, I decided to do new year resolution. I have listed 10 of them because it is 2010!

Ok, here it goes:

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Fitness Goals:
1. Keep a good diet and workout 3-4 times a week
Last year Hubby and I decided to get gym membership. It was only 45% successful. We started out great, then got tired in the mid-year, then went back for a couple months. We stopped going there during this busy holiday season. This year, we want to keep our membership at the gym and continue working out (run, some strength training, maybe a class or two) without a fail.

To start a perfect new year with this goal, I decided to join a couple of challenges:
Whittle My Middle Challenge 2 with Angela @ Oh She Glows (1/1 – 1/31)
Elliptical Challenge 2010 with Kelly @ She Wears a Red Sox Cap… (1/4 – 1/31)

I hope I’m not overloading myself…
Well, we shall see how it goes

2. Run 210 miles total in 2010
As I noted in my previous post, my in-laws gave me a Nike+ sensor for Christmas! What a great gift, right?
Addition to these January fitness challenges above, I have already (yea, ALREADY) joined “Run 210 miles in 2010” challenge on Nike Running web site. I am hoping to do Whittle My Middle during the day everyday for a month and running and elliptical workouts in the evenings for 3-4 times a week.

3. Run in a 5k Race
Last year I decided to run. This year I want to continue running and try at least one 5k race. I am hoping to do this with Hubby. He was so inspired to run a marathon when we were watching the last season finale of the Biggest Loser. If these people can do it, we should be able to do it…. Right?? Since we both aren’t born runners (or athletes), we will start small… 5k. I haven’t signed up for a race yet, but I will let you know when I do that

4. Lose some holiday weights down (about 10lb)
I hope these workout sessions and challenges will help me lose some holiday weight and those that I already had long long time ago… I have been longing for an hourglass shaped belly for a long long LOOOONG time… *sighs*

Financial Goals:
5. Save Money
Hubby and I have been talking a lot about this lately. MONEY.
We’ve been renting a condo for a couple years now, but we think it is time for us to seriously saving up more money for purchasing a house in 2011 or early 2012. We do have some savings, but this probably won’t do much… WE NEED TO SAVE MORE!!
Groceries – We have been very good at keeping groceries to be budgeted under $100 a week most of the time, but I think we can do this much better. I am not a coupon-user at this moment, but I keep hearing people saving TONS and TONS of money by using them. One day I was in a line behind a girl who had 10-20 coupons. It took the lady at the register to do her job longer than usual, but this girl saved about $60 that day. I think she only paid $18 or less… Yea, I definitely need to get into this coupon-ing thing.
Outings – Hubby and I also like to go out to eat. Last year we went out to eat about 3-4 times a week. That’s a lot. We make Wednesday exceptional, since that’s when we get to see friends and have a good time. IT’s a mid-week treat for us We are thinking about cutting these outings down to 2 times a week including this mid-week treat on Wednesday. I hope this works out.

Personal Goals:
6. Get a Job
I’ve been out of job since last June. Thankfully Hubby has a pretty stable job and we kept pretty good savings in our account. But this time. Really.

I NEED A JOB!!!

I could work as a secretary or assistant. Or even a customer service rep. I don’t care if it’s a full-time or part-time, I need a good paying job. I’ve been sending my resume and application to different companies around Atlanta areas and have been rejected so many times!! Hopefully somebody nice will call me back for an interview.

7. Get a Driver’s License
Seriously. Really.
I do not have a Driver’s License yet. I do have a Learner’s Permit. I have been driving to different places. I just have not driving on the interstate… It scares me.
You know,  multiple lanes, different types of scary drivers (drunk, cellphone talker, fast food eater, so-called “multi-tasker”).
Those people scares me on the road. Hubby’s been a great teacher, but I think I’m scaring him.
But seriously.

GET A DRIVER’S LICENSE!!!!

So I can go to places. WIth this license, I can go anywhere I want WITH OR WITHOUT Hubby

8. Be Patient
What a straight forward goal? Whether I am hunting for a new job or arguing with Hubby, I need to be patient. I think I’m so much better than when I was in college, but I still need to be better. I think a part of the reason why Hubby and I fight is the lack of my patience….. I gotta be better than THAT.

Other Goals:
9. Cook more often
Since we are planning to save more money this year (as I noted under #5), I will need to get my lazy butt off from the couch and start cooking more often. I love to cook and believe I am a good cook, but there are more things to learn on my own:
More variety of dishes - Right now I tend to rotate 5-6 same dishes every couple weeks. I need more variety.
Cook healthy – Less fat, use whole wheats, less sugar, start reading nutritional facts, cook veggie, bake & grill instead of frying, etc etc. All the basic stuff, but I need to remember every time I cook.
Use seasonal ingredients – It is so much cheaper than buying them out of season. I’m thinking about purchasing Seasons App for iPhone. Does anybody know any other good apps for finding seasonal veggies and fruits?

10. Do something good to others
Last year I was inspired by so many people. This year I want to help people be happy. I don’t have to be an inspiration. I realized that I enjoy making people happy and smile. I have been thinking about doing some Operation Beautiful for a while. For those who aren’t familiar with this movement, “the mission of Operation Beautiful is to post anonymous notes in public places for other women to find. The point is that WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL. You are enough… Just the way you are!” I think it is a great way to make others feel happy.

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… There you have it. My New year’s resolution 2010
I wonder how many of these will be kept and accomplished by the end of this year.
I am going to come back to this list at the end of the year for review.

Q: What are your goals for year 2010?

I hope everyone will have the BESTEST NEW YEAR EVER!!

1. My hubby took me to Disney World in Orlando, FL!

I had been looking forward for this vacation for a long long loooong time!!

We celebrated our 3-year anniversary, early Christmas, and my birthday! Yea! I turned 28 at Disney World!!! What could be better?!
This is my favorite duck in the world is saying “Happy Birthday” to me
He is my favorite.
And he always will be… ♥

On the way to Disney, we stopped by Hubby’s Daddy’s place in St. Augustine, FL. It is such a beautiful town.
This time we went to St. Augustine Lighthouse. Hubby was curious since he’s a little fan of Ghost Hunters. Woooooooo~!

We didn’t see any ghosts at the lighthouse, but it took me a HUGE courage to climb up to the top of the tower. Have I mentioned that I am afraid of heights? I think height is more scary than ghosts…
Well, apparently, the Ghost Hunters revisited this lighthouse for more investigation. I don’t believe in ghosts, but  if they are doing this again, I wonder…. Is this lighthouse really haunted?

2. Christmas Celebrations with In-Laws

A week after our vacation, we had a Christmas party with my in-laws. It was very festive and fun, as always I made Bakerella’s chocolate covered red velvet cake balls, Oreo balls (I used mint Oreo kind), and NutterButter balls. These balls were a HIT! Everyone loved it I’m glad, because it was a time consuming and messy!!!
We exchanged gifts after nice dinner. My in-laws gave me lots and lots of gifts! I especially got excited when I opened this one. Now I get to track how much/far I run I cannot wait until I go back to the gym in January.

Throughout these 2 weeks, we got together and did more Christmas celebration together. We have another get-together for breakfast for New Year’s Eve

3. Mall of Georgia is a New Holiday Tradition

Hubby thinks we cannot end the holiday season without going to Mall of Georgia. I guess it is becoming like another tradition for the holidays. I don’t mind coming here. I like to shop, even though we don’t really buy stuff. I guess I should say “window shopping” We just like to come here and look around the stores… Apple store, Starbucks, and some of the women’s clothing stores are our usual stops

Well, that’s about all for now.
I hope you are having a great holidays so far!!!

Have a nice evening~!

Sunday, 11/22/09 – Barack Obama’s Chili Recipe from A Year of SlowCooking. This is supposed to be the OFFICIAL Obama family chili recipe. When I heard about this, I thought “I need to give it a try!”
Monday, 11/23/09 – Moe Monday!
Tuesday, 11/24/09 – Stuffed Onions.
Wednesday, 11/25/09 – Dinner Out w/ Friends. Since it is holiday weekend, we may end up not meeting, but my hubby and I will probably be eating out.
Thursday, 11/26/09 – THANKSGIVING. See below for what I am planning to take for the family festivity this year.
Friday, 11/27/09 – Whatever Day. There may be some leftover. Maybe NOT. I cannot really predict at the moment…

Well, this Thanksgiving, I am planning to take the following:

Butternut Squash Soup w/ Toasted Pumpkin Seeds as a little topping
I don’t know if you realized this already, but I just LOVE butternut squash soup. Since there will be a variety of people (and cute little ones) at the party, I am going to omit red curry. Just a iddy biddy spoonful (like 1/2 tsp) is juuuuust enough for my tongue. I put about 2 tsp of curry when I tried it for the first time. I had a first couple sips and I was sweating.

Dinner rolls or Pull-Apart Butter Buns
I haven’t tried the Pull-Apart Butter Buns recipe from King Arthur Flour web site yet. I just haven’t been able to find Potato Flour or Dry Milk at my local grocery stores. I tried 2 stores but haven’t found either one yet. I guess it is time for me to take a trip to Whole Foods Market and/or Dekalb Farmer’s Market I love both stores! I just wish they are closer to my house. If I cannot make to either store for these ingredients, I am going to try Dinner Rolls recipe that I found on The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Em’s Mac ‘n Cheese
Em’s Mac ‘n Cheese is one of my family favorite recipe. I found this recipe is by Emeril Lagasse on FoodNetwork.com. Ever since I took this dish to one of many family gatherings, the in-laws ask me to bring for the next one. Yeah, we have been typecasted It’s all good Below is the recipe if you are interested:

*————————————————-*
Em’s Mac ‘n Cheese
Recipe by: Emeril Lagasse from FoodNetwork

6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Pound Elbow Macaroni - the original recipe only uses for 1/2 lb of macaroni, but I use 1 lb
6 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
3 Cups  Whole Milk
1 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
Pinch Cayenne
2 1/2 Cups Grated Cheddar Cheese (about 6 oz) - My hubby likes cheesy mac ‘n cheese, so I use about 3 cups total of cheese
1/2 Cup Fine Bread Crumbs
1 Tsp Emeril’s Essence (Original) – Recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish with 1 Tbsp of butter and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Macaroni and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Drain well.

Melt the remaining 5 tablespoons butter in a heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour, and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, being careful not to let the flour brown. Using a whisk, add the milk in a steady stream and cook, whisking constantly, until thick and smooth, 4 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the salt, pepper, cayenne, and 2 cups of the cheese, and stir well. Add the noodles and stir well. Pour into the prepared dish.

In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese with the bread crumbs and Essence. Sprinkle evenly over the macaroni and bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Emeril’s Essence ORIGINAL (Creole Seasoning):

It would be so much easier if you PURCHASE a mixed seasoning, but you could also make it on your own.

2-1/2 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Salt
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp Dried Leaf Oregano
1 Tbsp Dried Thyme

Combine all ingredients throughly and store in an airtight jar or container (Yield: about 2/3 cup)

For more organizing and menu planning tips, please visit I’m an Organizing Junkie.

I have been baking since this morning.
Just because:  

1. I love to bake
2. Baking makes me happy
3. For some reason baking is therapeutic to me
4. Baking makes good smell in my house
5. I love to make my Hubby fat ‘n chubby

Although I will have so many dirty dishes and cleaning to take care of afterward, I don’t care! Just say YAY for a reliable dishwasher!!

Well, this morning I baked White Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies!

I haven’t had this brownie cookies in a while that made me forget how delicious it is. I do need to bake this more often. The downside to this recipe is that it requires 2 sticks of butter…

Ohhhhh dear… It is NOT the healthiest cookie EVER! But it should be okay to eat unhealthy buttery cookie every once in a while… Right???? right?? (waiting for someone to say “yes” or at least nods)
I wish I could take a better picture of this cookie, because it tastes soooooo much better than it looks! It’s kind of like little brownies, so I called it brownie cookies Even more delicious with a glass of milk!

I will post the recipe very soon. I promise!

Then I just baked Blueberry Muffins!
Look! It just came out of the oven!!!!!

This recipe is straight from Simply Recipe. Ever since I had this muffin, I’ve never used anybody else’s. It has some plain yogurt which makes it moist. It also has some lemon zest which makes really good smell as well as lemony taste that I like. The recipe asks for 1-1/4 sticks of butter, but I’ve substituted butter with applesauce, which turned out very well. Applesauce is a very good, healthy substitution for butter. Who knew?! I didn’t
Oh, just so you know, I used *real butter* for this one just because I felt like it

My husband brought this P90X workout DVDs back home a while ago. I finally decided to get my lazy butt off from the couch and try Yoga X. I’ve done yoga on WiiFit, but nothing else. I knew it to be very quiet, relaxing, helps me be more flexible, and have a better posture, but I wasn’t really expecting yoga to be a “workout“ that would make me sweat (unless I’m doing a hot yoga). Well, P90X Yoga will do that to ya

I did some Warrior Poses (I & II), Sun Saltations, lots and LOTS of Downward/Upward Dogs, Runner’s Pose, Crescent Pose, Triangle Pose, etc etc. The total workout time for this one is 1 hour and 30 minutes! THAT’S A LOT OF YOGA!!!
I was only get to do first 30 minutes of the workout, but I was sweating and felt so GREAT! I am thinking about adding Yoga X and Stretch X in my weekly workout when I’m not doing the cardio at the gym.

2 things I should get:
Yoga mat (I don’t like slipping when I’m doing some poses on the floor)
Yoga block (They said it is great for a beginner to improve alignment. I bet that plastic box (or two) of WOW cards could work too. What do you think, Hubby?) – Yep, I have a nerdy hubby

To be continued…
(If I can think of any thing else… )

I plan weekly dinner menu for several reasons:

1. Knowing what to cook in advance = 1 grocery shopping a week! ONLY IF I’m not forgetting to get flour, eggs, milk or any essential ingredients in the recipe. That happens A LOT with me…
2. Knowing what to cook in advance = No more extra groceries to waste at the end of the week = Less spending money
3. Knowing what to cook in advance = No more long discussion and argument over what to eat for dinner with my Hubby = Happy couple It’s not that we were arguing whether we should eat Pasta or Tacos for dinner. It is whether whose turn to pick or frustrating with each other for not knowing what to eat… Lame, I know…
4. No more last minute menu planning.
5. My Hubby cannot tell me that “I chose what we eat last time, now it’s your turn” like he used to… Yea, we used to take turns to come up with dinner plan almost everyday…
6. I love looking at other people’s dinner plans for the week to get some new ideas, thanks to Laura! I used to have only 4 or 5 regular meal that I rotated to cook every week. Now I am learning to cook more different dishes
7. Planning ahead for dinner for a week = Less time to eat out = Saving some money. When we didn’t know what to do for dinner, we just took the easy way: go to a local restaurant or do a takeout. We used to go out to eat almost everyday, but now we limit ourselves to go out to eat about 3 times. Still lots of dining out, but we are showing some improvements, I think.
8. More time to look for some healthy meal ideas, or if not, more time to think about modified versions of recipes.

Well, that said, here’re my dinner menu planning for this week:

Monday, 11/9/09 – Moe Monday @ Moe’s Southwest Grill. 1 burrito + chips + fountain drink = $5.00! Well, I don’t get chips and drink. Every Monday we workout, then go to Moe’s for a burrito. In summertime, I go to Planet Smoothie, but it is now too cold for it… Ugh. Both burrito and smoothie are SO GOOD though

Tuesday, 11/10/09 – Autumn Sausage Casserole – From A Year of Slow Cooking.

Wednesday, 11/11/09 – Wednesday Night Out – Most definitely at Wings & Thing. Every Wednesday a group of friends go out to a restaurant to meet up and talk I think we decided that we are going to Wings & Thing this week. I will probably get a salad with grilled chicken or grilled chicken sandwich. Oh yes, I will probably (definitely??) steal someone’s fried mushroom or fried cauliflowers just a bit… Just a bit… I will try not to eat all of them…. I will definitely regret later…

Thursday, 11/12/09 – Baked Garlic Lemon Fish w/ Brown Rice - From wonderful Gina’s WW Recipes. I have tried a couple of her recipes, and they are so YUMMY~!

Friday, 11/13/09 – Crocpot Salsa Chicken w/ Brown Rice - From A Year of Slow Cooking.

For more menu planning ideas, visit OrgJunkie.com.