This just happened...

I am so excited! I finally bit the bullet and ordered my NASM personal training certification study materials!

Yay!!!!!!!! *insert squeeeeaaallllll here*

Sometime within the next 180 days I will become a certified personal trainer!!!!!

Wish me luck, I could use it being as I already need more hours added to my day ;)

I can't wait to get my materials and start studying. I feel like I'm finally taking the steps I need to in filling this hole and lack of fulfillment in my "day job". Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning on up and quitting my job, lol I'm not crazy... I just feel like its something I need to do for myself. I don't have much time to cook and workout and blog about it like I want to, but this is something to light a little fire under my booty and get moving in the right direction!

Stay tuned!

Baked Cranberry Brie

I made this Baked Cranberry Brie the first time for a little impromptu wine party I had with a few of my girlfriends… I found it on Pinterest! (I LOVE PINTEREST!)

It was so easy to make and everyone absolutely loved it! I’ve made it twice for parties since then. It’s definitely a crowd pleaser!

Toasting the pecans

The maple glaze

MMMMMMM!

The finished product! It would also be really good with a baguette or pita chips!

Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

I started making Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake… gosh, it had to be over 5 years ago. I found the recipe on the Food Network site and everyone has been raving over it and requesting it ever since.
This cake is NOT healthy, by any means, but it’s well worth the splurge!

Sorry, TOTALLY spaced on taking a pic of the end product with Cool Whip before inhaling it!

Two words - Spaghetti Squash

I am loving this stuff! I haven't done anything exceptional with it, usually I just season it up with olive oil, salt and pepper, roast it in the oven for about 30-45 minutes, break up with a fork and/or tongs and viola!

I'm the only one that will eat it in our house, so there's always tons leftover. I like to sauté onions, bell pepper, baby spinach and a chicken sausage and throw it on top... Sometimes I add spaghetti sauce or feta cheese too. So good and good for you.

I've been seeing some recipes for spaghetti squash on Pinterest that I'd like to try as well... Spaghetti squash and zucchini bake... Yes please! That recipe includes pasta sauce and mozzarella! So versatile!

Here are some of my recent "creations"...

Pumpkin Oatmeal

As promised, here's my Pumpkin Oatmeal "recipe"

1/2 C quick cooking oats
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/4tsp cinnamon (that's just a guess... use your best judgement here, I like a lot!)
2 tbsp pumpkin puree
1 C water

Mix ingredients and microwave for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.

Fall in a bowl!

You can even add goodies like chocolate chips, almonds, pecans, etc.

Mexican Pizza

Tonight I wanted to make something delicious, but still healthy! Especially since I didn't work out.

I was stalking Pinterest looking for something good and I stumbled on a "Copy Cat Mexican Pizza", I knew it was something I could easily lighten up, so it was a winner!

Ingredients:
1lb lean ground beef
Taco seasoning (I just threw my own spices in with the meat, way less sodium that way. I used cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt and red pepper flakes)
Whole grain tortillas (I used one for mine)
Vegetarian refried beans (just a thin layer spread over the tortilla)
La Victoria salsa in a jar
Grated cheese
Lettuce (all I had was iceburg, but romaine would have been my first choice!)
Tomato (I was out of fresh tomato)

For fun I threw thinly sliced red bell pepper, red onion and avocado on mine.

Preheat the oven to 425.

Brown the ground beef
Layer the beans, salsa, meat, cheese, onions and peppers on the tortilla and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tortilla is crisp around the edges.
Add lettuce, tomato, avacado and salsa and VIOLA!

A delicious, easy weeknight meal!

Lunch date

Today I had a lunch date... with the treadmill!

I'm not going to lie, I really wasn't feeling the workout bug, the only thing that motivated me was I kept telling myself "You will feel better if you just do it, you never regret a workout!". There's really no arguing with that.

I sucked it up, put on a happy face and headed to the gym. I decided that I would just walk fast hill intervals. It didn't seem as dauting as pushing myself to run. I am telling you, I just was NOT feeling it. Hill intervals ALWAYS kick me in the a$$ and I work up a great sweat so why not? Just because its not a RUN doesn't make it any less of a workout!

I set the treadmill for 30 minutes on level 8 hills. I try to avoid changing settings while I am working out, so I let the treadmill do all the work. The intervals ranged from 1% to about 7% incline and I walked FAST... 4.8mph.

The verdict? I feel like a million bucks and I am glad I went. Now my quick work out is done for the day!