sattaday

in addition to solids 2 or 3 times a day, Dego is still requesting the breast 3 times (or more) a day as well.  so yep, breastfeeding is still in full swing over here.  my trainer reminded me that nursing is just like mini workout sessions, which is such an awesome analogy.  breastfeeding has become so routine i have to stop and wonder WHY i'm so hungry in between meals sometimes!  eating more food to keep up with his demands and to keep my supply strong has never been a problem though; i certainly don't mind, haha!  s/n: i should make Chiso park his bike in the garage from now on, wow. sometimes you don't see things in the background until after you take (and post) a pic. whoops. anyway,  i trained a 6 Pack USA client of ours after heading out that day, then hit my gym for some HIIT.

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i've done these two moves separately before, but never together. i'm definitely incorporating this one into my TCX (Total Conditioning Extreme) class!

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sooooo, my brother was supposed to hop back on a plane headed to Afghanistan this past saturday (to finish up the last of his contract) but he chose not to. WOO friggin' HOO. it is finished!

we had a small family lunch the day before he was supposed to leave with Sonny's younger brother and wife (who is having her first mini me! it's a girl!)!  i admire his decision to stay and i'm elated he will be around to watch his 2nd nephew take his first steps.

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we had a birthday party to attend saturday evening!  no surprise there!  they have become our new normal.  i sat in the back seat a lot with my first-born for obvious reasons, but i admit, i have bouts of second child syndrome with Dego every now and then.  hadn't been back there in a while, so it was fun hanging out with him on the way to see The Rat.

even did a mini vlog:

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we made eeeeet!

pizza, cake, games, tokens, tickets, kids running around screaming, playing, crying... you know the drill!  Happy 3rd Birthday, Bria!  Sonny went to high school with Bria's father, Mike, and coincidentally, i went to elementary and middle school with his wife, Tashone,  on the opposite side of town. small world. 

City Centre Gap was having a fantabulous 40% off sale this weekend, so i found this cute grey dress on the final sale rack! i know it's too big but i couldn't pass up the 20 buck price.  my IG friend Alisa suggested i belt it. i agree. i suck at accessorizing.  i have been asked about my sandles a lot too- they are like 3 or 4 years old and from Urban Outfitters.  one of my fave pairs!  can't wear them without a fresh pedi though. Dego's fit is from Baby Gap; there's a camera icon on the front that says 'smile' underneath it. 4 bucks! #HammyMcHamster

Chiso doesn't eat the crusts of his pizza slices (did this child really come from me?!) so i took care of them for him lol.  other than that, no pizza and cake for this girl.  i was speaking to a 6 Pack USA client of ours recently about celebrating the small, daily victories during our ongoing fitness journeys.  she said she went to a get together recently that had WINGS (her fave), cake, and all kinds of good ol' party food, but she stuck to her guns and did not deviate from her meal plan.  she said she didn't even drink the water there lol!!!! BRAVO, Reshema! i get it though. i've been there. i usually eat way more than i plan to in social settings cause usually there is such an abundance of food.  but whenever i pass (cause we always have a choice, right?) or at least exercise some moderation instead of going crazy, i walk outta there feeling like a BOSS. a disciplined boss. and my tummy always appreciates it later. no bloating, no sugar cravings.  we stopped by Whole Foods on the way home and i hit up the hot bar for my dinner. lean grilled herbed chicken, roasted bell peppers, artichokes, and lima beans agreed waaaaay more with my tummy than that pizza and cake would have. take it one day at a time, y'all, and those small victories DO count! may they propel you to keep going and making healthier choices.

le

because i do. Chevron Houston Marathon EXPO

we moved right on along to carrots today in the homemade baby food chronicles!

i switch new foods every 4 days or so to give any allergic reactions time to reveal themselves. we'll see what happens. i just eyeballed and simmered raw carrots + cinnamon + water until tender then puree in the Ninja. carrots are naturally sweet like sweet potatoes so they don't need any extra sugar! they also:

• slow down aging
• reduce blood pressure
• reduce risk of stroke
• helps prevent cancer
• facilitates digestion
• boosts immune system
• improve eyesight

my eyesight has been terrible for as long as i can remember.  i've worn glasses since elementary school and only need them to see far distances and to drive.  i pray the boys get Sonny's eyesight cause i am pretty much legally blind!  i hope they get his teeth too cause i went through braces, a head-gear, a retainer...the whole 9.  i'd love to get Invisialign as they are shifting again from not wearing my retainer years ago. i was so happy to be DONE with all that stuff i didn't care. but now i do. that's how it goes!

so far so good!

i've been doing solo dates once a week with Chiso for a while now and today i took him downtown to the GRB for the Chevron Houston Marathon EXPO!  i registered for the 5k while i was there and ran right into my Sorority sister and fitness expert, Crystal!  she was there to do the same thing.

only she was using the 5k for her warmup for the marathon on sunday! superwoman status!  I will be running along side her in a marathon one day, mark my words!  i have yet to do my very first full marathon, but my goal is to do a half mar sometime this year.

i can't wait until this guy can keep up and run alongside me.  i plan to put him in his first 1k this year and i am SO excited to watch him run across his first finish line.

we walked around and visited the booths for a little while,  ate Cliff Bar samples, and eventually made our way to the 'I RUN HOU BECAUSE....' wall.  i gave Chiso the marker and he started drawing shapes :D.  then i asked him, 'why do you like to run, Chiso?' and he simply looked at me and replied 'because i do.'

i didn't even ask him to explain! this time.

pose for the frame! neat idea!

then we went to Whole Foods for lunch.  we discussed his new friends in the child care center at our gym and also sports he would like to try this year.  3 is still tougher than 2 in my opinion but it has its highlights like all ages i'm sure!  i'm loving our discussions these days.  pepperoni pizza for Chi,

spring mix salad with pomegranate vinaigrette,

and a few scoops of the hot bar items for me which included: chicken fajitas w/ peppers & onions, hoke (white fish), cilantro-lime rice, and a scoop of spinach/mushroom enchiladas- they looked too good not to try!  the enchilada pan was pretty much empty and i saw why. YUM.

i got my race stuff ready as soon as i got home!  the ABB 5k shirts matched my shoes this year, how cool is that?  bib #55808 is ready to RUN! that said,

and blogging of course!  have a relaxing friday night, friends!

Q: what special things do you do for one-on-one time with your kiddos?

le

what itch? 7 year anni wkend

 aaaahhh!! so many pictures! well thank God for pic collage apps or this blog post would be 2 miles worth of scrolling.  we had a low-key, relaxing time in Lakeway (right outside of Austin) at the Lakeway Resort & Spa this past weekend for our 7th wedding anni. time for a new mattress.

this sweaty selfie was taken after my last workout before our anni weekend began.  i had only managed to unbraid half of the what seemed like 1 million braids in my head at that point, so i threw on a head scarf and got some upper body and cardio done regardless.

 not gonna lie, i worked out with the anticipation of some good food in my near future! intensity is everything and i turned it UP. here's my stair slaver workout: (video coming soon)

after i posted this pic of my go-to traveling snacks on Instagram i remembered it would tip Sonny off about our trip, whoops.  it's my year to plan and i hadn't told him a thing about leaving to go anywhere. oh wells.

i hardly ever leave for trips without:

• fresh fruit (nectarines this time)
• bottled water
• turkey jerky (high protein snack)
• Quest Bars ( i like Double Chocolate Chunk and Sonny likes Cookies & Cream the best)
• gum to combat mindless munching! that gets me in so much trouble
• roasted, unsalted nuts
• granulated stevia (for my coffee, tea, and oatmeal when eating at restaurants still operating in the stone age)
• Beats headphones + Spotify
• fitness or foodie mags

off we went!  breakfast, snacks, and breast pump in tow.  i actually sat in the passenger seat first but soon as my butt hit that seat Sonny reminded me that it was my year to host.  yeah, yeah.  i actually had another stop planned along the way, but the weather ruined it! i did NOT even check nor consider the weather when i was planning everything, seriously. i just knew it would be clear, hot, and sunny as usual. no. so i'll save that stop for a later date.

we're here!  however, our room wasn't ready since we arrived earlier than expected.  we were hungry again though so we hit up the resort's breakfast buffet per the front desk attendant's suggestion.  boy was he right!  everything, and i mean everything was as delicious as it looked. so.many.options.  we love a good omelette bar and both got egg white omelets loaded with veggies.  no surprise there.  Sonny is prepping for a few upcoming shows and did his best to stick to his meal plan.

bacon, sausage, pancakes, french toast, migas, fruit... sensory OVERLOAD.

next, a couples massage i have been anticipating since i booked the appointment. we were already full and lethargic from breakfast and the massage was the icing on the cake for Sonny. at one point he was over there drooling.

the view overlooking the pool from the spa. the gym was right across from the spa and you knoooow we checked that out next.

impressive! you can get an excellent full body workout done in there, oh yeah. hotel gyms are high on our amenity list and this one gets 5 stars from us. they had my beloved arc trainer, treadmills, a full rack of dumbbells, and a bunch of machines including a Smith machine. lovely.

our room was ready by this time so we headed to check it out and take the most incredible, uninterrupted nap, EVER.  boooo to the weather though.

it didn't start clearing up until the day we left, but we will certainly be back with the kiddos so they can have the time of their lives out there on that slide!

 next up, an early dinner before the big Mayweather fight.  so this was my first time seeing my hair straightened (my beautician wrapped it at my appointment friday and i kept it that way) and i was blown away.

 may not seem like much to anybody else but man my hair has come a long way as far as length and texture! i decided not to get another perm but i knew that as soon as the tiniest drop of moisture hit my head, it would never be the same!  after wearing my braids for a year (shout out to my gorgeous, mobile (yes, she will come to you), braid lady, Ogechi) with 3 short breaks in between, they really are the best fit for my sweaty, on the move lifestyle. they'll be back very soon, but i enjoyed being girly and flipping my hair around town all weekend, lol.

one of my regular Lifetime class members, Sally,  lives in Austin and really hooked me up with the scoop on where to go in ATX.  she suggested we stay downtown close to 6th street with the youngins' but after i told her how Sonny just wants to actually relax on his vacations she said to stick with the hill country, (i.e., Lakeway).  we hit up Oasis and saw a little bit of the sunset.  through the fog.

after perusing the menu for forever i finally decided on salmon with sweet potato cakes, grilled veggies w/ a side salad, and Sonny went with a grilled shrimp salad. i ate most of those chips.

then, we stopped by the landmark Whole Foods Market in downtown Austin for snacks and gelato! so many nostalgic memories here for me. you can read about one of them in the IG post i made that day <3

gosh i love this store.

especially this aisle.

unpictured are the plantain chips and chocolate covered raisins i killed before the fight even started.

was it just me or was the Mayweather fight...boring?? anyway, the next morning we were both up super early as usual and headed to the gym before breakfast. who forgot their workout shoes? :'(  so unlike me!  i went anyway but i don't advise working out in flip-flops around weights, guys. in addition to the shoe fiasco, i had one of THE dumbest workouts ever.  complete waste of time. i was so worried about my hair puffing up i didn't want to move. and i love to move. i think i did the arc trainer for like 8 minutes super slow, then some dumbbell curls, lunges, and squats holding the dumbbells. didn't sweat a drop. ridiculous. i love my hair like this so much but unless i flat-iron it every single morning (and i definitely won't) then i just can't rock the straight look with my lifestyle. THE struggle.

we got cleaned up, explored the resort a little more, then headed to hit up the omelette bar again.

7 years in the marriage game! hard to believe i've known this dude for almost 14 years. we had plans to go out on the lake that fell through, so we hit the Lakeway Galleria Outlet Mall to look around and get some lunch and fro-yo.

found a new fave flavor i've never had before-- taro. yum! i discovered it at Red Mango back in houston too.

pistachio & taro fro-yo randomness.  worth every bit of dairy bloat.

while walking through the galleria, i did a double-take after seeing the word Chiso!  close enough. what a rare sighting.  from there we went back to the room to pack up because #Texans. yeah, they were apart of last years Miami trip too.  so was the Mayweather fight now that i think about it!

i requested a fridge to our room to freeze and store the milk i was pumping.  gotta get it out, and gotta get it done.  we headed to watch the Texans game at Sally's beautiful home in the hill country before heading home to our boys.

our actual anni this year is on monday, september 15th, and instead of going out to dinner, we went to the gym and sipped on anniversary protein shakes.

wouldn't have had it any other way.

happy 7th anni, Mr. Egwuatu!

thanks for reading:)

le

game changers

anybody else used to buy those tiny wheatgrass shots from Jamba juice?  i did it more than a handful of times.  seeing this wheatgrass powder at Sprouts Farmers Market reminded me of my frivolous spending days.

i cracked the bag open for the first time yesterday and made some  maple wheatgrass pancakes with it!  turned out good enough to share. so i will.

maple wheatgrass pancakes:

the stuff: ?

• 1/2 cup oat bran ?
• 2-3 heaping tbsp wheat grass powder ?
• 1 tsp maple extract ?
• 1 tsp vanilla ?
• 2 egg whites ?
• 1/2 tsp baking powder ?
• 4 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or more if batter is too thick)
• 1-2 packets stevia ?
• 2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce

do this:

combine real good and cook up like cakes in your no-stick cooking spray coated, medium heated skillet!  3-4 minutes each side.  top however you like - i chose pecan pieces and Walden Farms zero calorie pancake syrup.

stats:

197 cals, 4g fat, 160mg sodium, 39g carbs, 8g fiber, 5g sugar, 16g protein. ???????????????

i took a FULL rest day yesterday and did some grocery shopping .  Walmart was planned.  Whole Foods was not.

after sacking 43 lbs of sweet potatoes in Wally World, my eyes caught ahold of a big end cap of these One Step French Fry Cutters.  *jaw drops*  and then i saw the price directly below them: $9.88.  *jaw drops lower*.  i threw the cutter as well as all the skepticism 'as seen on tv' products come with in my buggy and kept truckin'.

i'd say it worked pretty well, wouldn't you!? great investment.  i like to chop my veggies by hand, but you can use this thing to chop up a bunch of other stuff too (garlic, shallots, etc).  here's an IMPORTANT TIP though: nuke your potatoes for 1.5 minutes or so (really depending on size) AND cut them in half so it will fit in the gadget (think hamburger style, not hot dog).  and be super careful not to  over cook them! it will create a huge mess.  don't ask me how i know. ugh.

i tried it out on my Spicy Smoky Sweet Potato fries from my ebook!

so about Whole Foods... it never fails. i always come out with extra stuff and a biggER bill. i went to get some Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour which i could not even find (nor could the store associate) so i got some from the bulk bins. and on the way out i found these two gems:

vegan, gluten-free, organic Sprinklez by Let's Do Organic (cause they DO exist apparently), and vegan (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free) Chocolate Chip cookie dough by Eat Pastry.  why did i even bring this up in my house :shock:

 i entered a crazy fluffernutter (marshmallow fluff) challenge on IG last night at the last-minute using what i had and made a big fluffernutter pazookie pie!

since the dough is egg-free i'm definitely eating the rest raw.  go get somma that DOUGH.

 ok back to my cookie dough :)

le

run ON! Bayou City Classic 10k '13

pre-race breakfast was 2 egg whites and a big bowl of expanding oats (1/2 cup rolled oats cooked in 1 cup water and 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk) topped with frozen blueberries, banana chunks and cinnamon!  i normally don't eat THAT much before a long run, but i woke up so hungry that i had to put something in my system that would stick.

walking to the start line  with no rain this time!  last year it rained the entire race AND during the post-race party, boooo.

 traditional feet pic :lol:

52-53 min and some change later,

DONEZO! the route was a tad bit different this year and there were hills, hill, and mo hills, whew.  that Allen Parkway is a beast.

oh how i wish i could have taken pics of all the inspirational and funny things i saw:

1. i had just made it to the halfway point when a woman on a bike heading the opposite way yelled out 'it's fit foodie!!!' are you kidding me!? if you could have SEEN my face light the heck UP as i cheesed, waved, and yelled hello back! i could not see you very well at ALL but THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY YEAR, LADY!!  XOXO!

2.  spectator sign: 'don't stop! ain't nobody got time fo dat!'

3.  people often run in teams or 'centipedes' and are linked together by a rope of some sort so that they can finish together. teamwork at its finest!   i passed a team with a gentleman running alongside his IV.  i did a double take for sure!  yes, the stand with the wheels, the fluid bag, the WHOLE NINE.  he was out there doing his thing.  if he can....

4. one thing i did NOT witness was someone biting the dust, hard.  happens every year.  people, you gotta watch where you are going, especially running in the streets of downtown Houston. *knocks on wood*

ran into a college buddy of mine just before hitting up the post-race party.  amazing run, Warren!

first things first, had to get my t-shirt before the line got too crazy. this was nothin.

i tucked it away in my bag cause i needed two free hands for all the samples i was about to acquire!! here we go:

could it be?  yep, Blue Bell ice cream sandwiches and fruit pops.

stopped by the Clif Bar sample station,

peanut butter chocolate something!

the My Fit Foods associate called this mixture 'Morning Glory'.  it's brown rice, eggs, lean ground turkey, and cheese all mixed together. it was good and something i'd throw together at home for sure.

fresh fruit (bananas and oranges), cereal bars, and scones were provided by Whole Foods,

and Fuel Kitchen supplied the breakfast tacos this year, not HEB.  they were delicious though- i had eggs and chorizo in mine.  a friend has been raving about the Philadelphia location to me and i can finally go experience the food for myself, sweet! great turn out again this year!  always a pleasure and honor to participate in helping preserve Houston's bayous, trees, and the environment :)

goodie bag, food, coupons, t-shirt. it's a wrap. time for a nap.

there were tons more sponsors there, check out the ones i didn't mention.

4 years running and counting!

Q: have you eaten at Fuel Kitchen & Health Bar? is there one in your city?

le