Moving!

It's been a crazy couple months.  I received a job offer I couldn't refuse in Minnesota, so that turned Chris and my world upside down quite a bit!  It was a great opportunity for me to do what I love and the area is BEAUTIFUL!  The bluffs and river are scenic and the city of about 30,000 offers enough for us to do but is still small enough to not be too chaotic.  It's great to be able to get everywhere in 5 minutes too!  There are trails around the lake, other hiking trails, a YMCA, running clubs and all sorts of activities that we can do to help maintain a healthy lifestyle!  There's even a triathlon right here in June!  Here's a few photos of the area....enjoy!

Ann

Rehabing my Herniated Disc

Well, I'm about 6 weeks into my herniated disc problem.  The disc is pressing on the nerve root coming out of my spine at L5/S1 that goes to the left side.  My back hip area was hurting pretty good and after 2 rounds of predizone I honestly didn't see much difference.  I have been doing cobra stretches which haven't helped much but I'm told they work to compress the disc back into the spine over time.  Instead of prednizone which caused me some sleepless nights and irratibility I opted for a heavy round of Advil which seemed to work as well, if not a little better than the predizone.  This past Tuesday I went in for an epidural shot of cortizone in my back.  I will tell everyone right here and now that when it comes to needles I am a wuss!  I was a little scared to do this but the doctors gave some IV to sedate me a little and before I knew it I was done!  Over the past couple days my back has felt a little achy like when you do too much yard work but the nerve issue into my butt and leg is almost gone.  I still get a numb feeling in my toe which I'm told is not a good thing.  They want the numbness and pain to be moving up towards my back and out of my leg.  Stay tuned.......

Chris

Bear Cupboard 5K

RACE DAY!  Ann's been very motivated and a couple days ago said...."Let's do this!"  We've been upping our workouts and runs so I thought it would be a good precursor to next weeks triathlon.  We arrived, stretched, warmed up, and were ready to go!  I kissed Ann and waited for the horn.  I took off and had good pacing going.  The first mile I was flying (at least for me!) at around the low to mid 7 min mile range.  Mile 2 took me down to around a 7:45 pace and in the third mile I fell to an 8 min plus pace.  I finished at 7:56 per mile pace for a total time of 24:37.  Sad part was I missd the podium by 27 seconds.  I waited for Ann and was hoping he training was going to pay off.  Time went by......Ifinally saw her and after she crossed she said she tripped on a board on the trestle that goes over the lake and fell brusing ans skinning her knee pretty bad.  I took her to the first aid station and they iced it.  Now it's rehab time for Ann and she hopes she can race next weekend.

Great Leg day!

Getting back into the lifting and yesterday felt great!  I did multiple exercises including close in leg presses, Sumo Leg presses, Lunges, calf press.  Here was my last set of Sumo Leg presses and after multiple sets I worked up to 540 pounds with just the plates, that's 12 total plates!  I was able to do 8 reps!  

Ann

Our first public appearance!

"Loaded" Quesadillas!

Ok, here's one of FAVORITES!

You will need:

Some "healthy" quesadilla tortillas.  Look at the fat, fiber, protein contents.  Anything with high fiber, flax seed, whole wheat, etc can work.  We also REALLY like a product called Joseph Lavish's which is at most Walmarts.

1.  Cut up a couple tomatoes, onions and sweet peppers (yellow, orange and red).  Put in bowls off to the side.
2.  Grill some chicken breasts and use about 5 oz per Quesadilla/Lavish.  Cut up into small bite size pieces.
3.  Baby Spinach
4.  Cummin and Chilli powder
5.  Shredded Kraft Fat Free Cheddar Cheese or Shredded Mozzarella.

In a skillet (we love and use cast iron skillets), spray with cooking spray and put a couple teaspoons of olive oil in the pan. On an electric stove we put the temp to about 5.  Before the pan gets too hot, take your Quesadilla/Lavish and run it over the olive oil, coating the bottom so it will brown.  On one half of the Lavish/Quesadilla, put the cut up Chicken Breast then sprinkle the cummin and chilli powder over it.  Add Tomatoes, onions, peppers, then about a cup of the spinach.  Finish off with about 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese.  Fold the unused half to cover the ingredients.  After a few minutes you will need to turn the quesadilla over to brown the other side and get the cheese to melt.  If some of the ingredients spill out, that's ok.  Once the second side is browned, carefully put it onto a plate.  If any of the ingredients spilled out now would be the time to scoop them out of the pan and put them back into the quesadilla.  Let it sit a couple minutes to firm up and serve!  This is a healthy meal complete with good carbs (whole wheat quesadilla/lavish), protein (chicken) and vegetables.  The fats you get are good fats and from the olive oil, chicken breast and little in the shells if you use something with flax seed for instance.  Everyone we have made this for absolutely loves it!

Ann

Healthy Muffins!