>I robbed the place

>Well it’s out last day in Myrtle Beach. We just finished breakfast and I’m about to enjoy my Starbucks on the couch with the pup and a couple of magazines I picked up yesterday. Gahhh, vacation goes by way too fast. I’m determined to make this trip seem a little longer so as soon as I digest I’m hitting the BEACH for a RUN and gettin’ some Vitamin D!

But first a little recap…

Yesterday I hit the jackpot. Well the outlet jackpot. I scored so much stuff at seriously unbelievably prices. I robbed hit up:

– JCrew
– Banana
– Under Armour
– Nike
– Kitchen store (can’t remember the name)

Biggest score was at Under Armour. I bought 5 tanks, 1 tee, 1 pair shorts, 1 pair pants, and vest for just over $100! Isn’t that incredible?????! Apparently some of my items were “irregulars” meaning they can’t be sold in stores so were shipped to the outlets. For example, my tank “irregularities” included a “misprinted” black logo rather than the desired silver. I’ll take it!

New outfit a la Nike and UA

(love the pants)

 (so serious)

* * *

While vacationing with my fam, The Manfriend and I always like to cook at least one meal from scratch. 

(Sous chef Seth. Say that 5 times fast.)

My parents always insist on paying for us when we dine out (fine, twist my arm) so it’s our little way of saying thanks. Last time we were here we made Sweet potato & black bean turkey chili and all-natural [skinny] strawberry margaritas.

Last night on the menu:

– Honey-soy glazed salmon

– veggie quinoa

– roasted asparagus

– Sweet pear salad

– red vino

Ensalada

Spinach, arugula

diced pear

cherry tomatoes

cucumber

sunflower seeds

Balsamic vinegar and Goddess dressing (1:1 mix of each)

Glazed honey-soy salmon (recipe here)

And the best quinoa I’ve made to date…

Ingredients

1.5 cups quinoa 

4 cups organic chicken broth (can use veggie)

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 orange pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 small/medium sweet potatoes, peeped and cubed

2 T extra virgin olive oil

sea salt, pepper to taste

pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Spray baking pan w/ EVOO. Roast sweet potatoes at 425F until browned and soft throughout (~30 mins, flipping at least once)

2. Cook quinoa in 3 cups broth until tender (medium heat, ~15 mins)

3. Satay onion, peppers, garlic in EVOO until onions are browned. Set aside.

4. Combine all ingredients and add more broth to moisten

5. Add S&P to taste

Was a great meal if I do say so myself 😉

* * *

Alright it’s about that time….Time to hit the beach for a RUN! Talk to you again from Washington, DC!

*Something to do*

Follow me on Twitter. I will need entertainment during our 8 hour ride home 🙂

Nominate your favorite health blogger for the Women’s Health Blog roll. Takes 2 seconds.

>13.1

>Well we made it. Me, my mom, and dad ran our 5th half marathon together, the Dasani half in Myrtle Beach. We left when the sky looked like this…

(Pretend smiles. Leaving at 5:30am on a Saturday is no fun, my friends.)

But the skies quickly turned..

Beauteous.

* * *

I finished in 1:45 (unsure of net time because it took a while to cross the finish line). Despite the beautiful pictures above (which were taken near our home, a la Manfriend), I was very disappointed by the race course. I ran this half three years ago and 90% of the course was along the ocean. This year, zero %. The race was close to the water, but to see it you had to peer between the tall surrounding buildings (and that was if you had good eyesight). Yes, it was flat so a good qualifier for Boston. But I would save your $$ if you’re thinking about flying here, renting a hotel, etc. Will I run it again? Probably. But only because we own a home here (free stay) and it’s a good excuse to take a mini-vacay.

One amazing thing happened however… A WOMAN won the marathon! And there were 7,000 runners!

Mama-dukes coming in for the finish

* * *

After a good race, it’s time for some good eats (a la my sister)..

2 over-easy eggs cooked in EVOO spray

whole grain bagel thin

strawberries, banana

OJ

* * *

I’m off to get some outlet shopping in!

How are you spending your Saturday?

Have you ever been very disappointed by a race course? 

>To splurge or not to splurge

>Hi Y’ALLLLLLLLL!!!!! How are you? I hope you had a fantastic couple of days. I spent the last couple in Myrtle Beach and left for the DC this morning.

I will miss you.

How do you eat when your on vacation? Do you stick to a diet or splurge on food and drinks? Do you exercise every day or not at all?

I used to go all out and really ‘live it up’, having whatever I wanted allll week long. Inevitably however, it always left me with a stomach ache. My bod is pretty used to all of the greans, fiber, veggies, and when I go all-out with pure carbs and sugary drinks – it leaves me in pretty rough shape.

The last few vacations however, I haven’t gone quite overboard. I’ve done the following instead:

– Kept at least 2 meals a day on the healthy-side (more veggies, fruits, whole grains the better)

– Splurged on 1 meal/item per day. Went for local favorites and not dishes I can order any time at home

– Had 1 sugary drink per day (pina colada, strawberry daiquiri, margarita). Sipped wine spritzers or clear liquors/soda/juice instead (light beer if your a beer drinker)

– Drink lots of H20. Have a water in between drinks and especially in hot weather

THIS WEEK I had lots of fruit:

And fruit plates:

Visited a local fruit & veggie stand:

Sipped refreshing white wine spritzers:

1/2 white wine, 1/2 soda water, ice source

Had a Protein & Fruit smoothie for breakfast on many days:

Yes, I packed my SunWarrior 😉

Splurged on Bailey’s on ice:

So. worth. it.

Tasted local food:

And still ate my veggies:

And how did I do???? Well no complaints in the stomach department all week! I woke early this morning for a farewell run on the beach then we headed out for our 6 hr trek to DC. On the way we passed several beautiful farms and extensive fields:

I seriously have so much fun on road trips with Seth (aka Manfriend)! We are such goofballs and like to play random games, belt our lungs out, and just have the most ridiculous conversations. The only downside…I have a bladder the size of a pea! At least it makes for some interesting stops 🙂

Well kids, I’m gonna catch up with Sir DVR and a glass of Shriaz:

I’m not watching Jersey Shore

Some dark chocolate:

And cuddle this guy:

QUESTION: What are your vacation tips???? Do you play by ear?? Go overboard??? Or not care at all 🙂

SOMETHING TO DO: Are you on TWITTER?? Follow me here!

G’NIGHT!!!!!! XX

>R&R &R &R….

>Yes, that is my life these days. Since leaving my PhD program, I’ve been working on my M.S. thesis, applying to nursing jobs, volunteering, cooking (!), and reeeeelaxing.

Yep, I’m in Myrtle Beach.

Manfriend

Kels (sister), Madre, and me

In addition to the beautiful weather, and WARM ocean water (seriously I can’t get over how warm it is), the eats haven’t been to shabby.

There’s been the Lauren-ish ones..

Whole Foods’ Salad MONSTERRR (everything and yo mother in there):

Toasted Bagel Thin w/ organic turkey, laughing cow cheese, pepper:

French toast (whole grain toast, eggs, cinnamon, maca, mesquite, stevia, organic maple syrup):

Toasted bagel thin, scrambled egg whites, laughing cow cheese, s/p:

And the not-so-typical but incredibly delicious VACATION FOOOOD…

Tart FroYo with strawberries and bananas:

Grilled scallops:

Pineapple Mixer(s): Vodka (or rum), soda water, pineapple:

Steamed clams:

Tuna Tar Tar:

Considering all of the R&R and amazing food, I’ve been trying to get some exercise. I planned on an early morning run today but after snoozing until 10am, I decided to TurboJam it up to avoid fainting in the heat:

Tomorrow I’m gonna try my bestest to wake early and get out for an early morning run…


(Here are pics from my last Myrtle Beach beach run in January)

Whelp, time to get some FroYo and throw in a movie. Ahhh, life is good 🙂
XX,
Lauren

PS…Check out this AMAZING PICTURE I took on my Blackberry tonight during dinner..

>Roadtrip!

>Heyyyy!!!

How was your V-day weekend??! Mine was GREAT. The manfriend and I met my parents in Myrtle Beach, SC to run a half marathon and squeeze in some beach time. It was a bittersweet debauchery of a weekend for several reasons:

1) Our train to the airport (and all trains that day) was cancelled
2) Our flight was cancelled (and all fights to SC that day)
3) Our half marathon was cancelled because of “snow”

Seriously, wtf???

Sooo not to let this ruin our weekend we:

1) Took a roadtrip to SC instead
2) Ran our own half marathon on the beach

The roadtrip was actually a lot of fun. Seth and I are such goofballs and the time flew by (at least for me! ha). Aaaaand I always love roadtrip snacking 😉

7-Eleven Coffee. I love it. All of the flavors. Don’t judge.

Fruit plate (also from 7-11). Seriously freakin amazing:

^Watermelon, mango, pineapple

And check out the price!

Valentine chocolates:

Subway salad:

^Note to those lacto-intolerant: Kraft Italian dressing has Parmesan cheese (!) Ruined that one for me (I’m allergic)

MickyD’s apple dippers:

Oh, and I snapped this picture of a gigantic cigarette. I can’t believe how many Billboards, advertisements, etc. we saw promoting smoking!!! So sad!

After arriving, Seth and I went out to dinner for a carb-loaded pasta feast (I had seafood fra diablo, amazing!) with my adorable parents:

Then shortly after finishing dinner we found out the race was cancelled to due “snow”. Essentially, SC got 1.5 inches overnight and although it melted in time for the marathon, the city was scared it would be dangerous to have runners and cars on the road together. Ahhhh, you Southerners are crazy 😉

So, what did we do instead? Had a post-dinner drink (since we weren’t waking up at 5:30am):

^This stuff tastes like strawberry milk. Nuts.

Slept in until 11am, ate breakfast, and ran 13.1 miles on the beach!

Mama dukes and pops just before the run:

Me trying to look tough. Mental preparation, y’all. ha.

The manfriend was so sweet! He ran 6 miles with me in the only extra pair of shoes that would fit him: My dad’s friend’s 80’s-style Wal-mart working kicks. Love you Seth!

And I obviously snapped some pics along the way (because you know I love pics on the run!)

The dangerous snow 😉

13.1 miles of this. Aaaah, I miss it already:

After the run I made everyone a post-race snack (carbs, protein for recovery):

^FF strawberry greek yogurt, 1/2 banana, PB

Later that night the manfriend and I made dinner for the parentals, parental’s friends, and my aunt/uncle. We made sweet potato chili, quinoa, and skinny margaritas (of course).

Madre and I after (a couple) margaritas:

Despite all of the chaos and cancellation it was a great weekend!
How was your weekend??! Fill me in! I feel like I’ve been away for ages

-Lauren

Question:

For all the Single Ladies, does Valentine’s day annoy you??? Or do you plan single gals’ nights/bar crawls like I used to????

For the “taken ladies”, what do you miss most about being single?? I promise I won’t spill your secrets 😉

>For da soul

>Heyyoo,

Happy hump day! This week is flyyying by. I luuurve 4-day weekends 🙂

As I mentioned, the manfriend is moving to DC in two weeks (!) To make room, Kels (sis) and I switched rooms because her’s is ginormous. When decorating my new room, I decided to put up decorations, pictures, etc that fell into one of three categories: 1) Are motivating 2) Are calming or 3) Don’t have to do with scienceland. Actually, number 3 is a requirement 🙂 Don’t get me wrong, I love experimentland more than I should, but after years of living in what looked like a scientific library, I decided to make a change.

>>What do you do to make your room, apartment, etc. generate a mood?

As I mentioned I went for a motivating/calming effect. Yes I know these seem strange as they’re opposites, but they have purpose I swear:

(Sorry for the glare!)

^^This picture totally puts me at ease. I have it directly across from my bed so it’s the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning. It reminds me of our home in Myrtle Beach, SC. Aaaaaah.

Picture my uncle gave to me for Christmas a few years back:

^^It reminds me that this (working to become a doctah) is all part of the “journey”, good or bad. It also reminds me that when the science isn’t working (which in research is most of the time) it’s all a learning experience and is making me a better scientist in the long run.

Here are some items that help drag my lazy butt outta bed to lab or out for a morning run:

^^Runner’s World calendar, free with subscription 😉 Full of scenic landscapes and inspirational quotes.

I wore these during my first marathon:

This is the metal and number from receiving a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon:

>> At home, what do you surround yourself with????

Have a great day! – L