It is seriously cold out today so I decided to take my running indoors. I run about 30 miles a week and more often than not all of that is outside. I loathe the treadmill, we do not get along at all.  I got to the gym today and whipped out a really quick mile on the treadmill (8:22!) and then went to an Absolutely Abs class that wasn’t very impressive, the teacher wasn’t very clear and gave no explanations to what we were doing.  But 15 mins of abs is 15 mins of abs, I just did my own thing for most of the class.  Afterwards I was faced with getting back on the treadmill and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I looked upstairs, UA has a track that runs around the second floor and decided to see if I could play hamster for a few laps.  10 laps equals a mile and I managed to do 30!  I made a game out of it. The 1st and 5th lap of every 10 I ran balls to the walls, all out, every 10th lap I did something special, the first mile I ran the 10th lap backwards, I did the 20th lap skipping and the 30th lap I did walking lunges.  All of a sudden I had completed 3 miles in 28 mins, which considering I lunged one of those laps and ran another backwards is pretty stellar.  I felt totally whipped when I was done and think I will make Tuesday Track workouts a weekly staple. 

I picked up Harper from daycare and the lady told me she thought Harper was wet. I didn’t have any diapers on me so I headed out to the car and changed her in the seat.  Well once I got her down and the diaper off I realized too late that she wasn’t wet, she had an ass explosion.  There was orange oatmeal poop everywhere and of course I hadn’t put a blanket down, and of course it had come out of her diaper and was up her back.  I got my dipe wipes out and only had like 3 left.  Ack. So by the time I was done I had used all the wipes and the outfit she had on was covered in poop and there were poopy oatmeal flakes getting on my car seats.  Good times.  I finally got her into her reserve outfit (which was a size too small!) and was on my way home. I looked down only to realize that I had poop all over my hand.  I had no napkins so I just drove home with it hanging out on my fingers.  Good times.  Note to self: restock diaper bag.  When we got home Harper went straight into the bath!

Speaking of poop, lets talk fiber shall we! The nice people over at GNU foods sent me over some complimentary GNU bars to try out.  I was able to try each flavor. I think most people who are conscious of their diets are always looking for ways to sneak in more fiber and these bars totally fit the bill.

I had actually had the Cranberry Orange flavor before and really liked it. Out of the various flavors they sent me I think that I can easily say the Lemon Ginger is my favorite. It is the perfect combo of ginger and lemon, two of my favorite tastes. I really liked the banana walnut one too. The chocolate flavors were okay, but not my favorite.  I will definately be stocking up on the orange, lemon and banana ones.  You can order a 5 flavor sampler on their site for only $9.95. Not bad.   According to their site, one of their bars is equivalent to 4 glasses of metamucil, gee whiz!  Here are some more facts from their website:

Would you like to try one?  I have some left to giveaway to you guys.  Leave me a comment of what flavor you want and I’ll use random.org to pick 2 winners on Friday morning. 

Tonight I made these for the husband.   I had seen them on the shelf for awhile and they were on sale, so I figured why not.


I made mine with 1 egg and 2 egg whites, instead of 2 eggs and applesauce instead of veggie oil.

I ordered these great silicone cupcake thingermerbobs because I saw them on Stef’s More to Life Than Lettuce blog and thought they looked neat and they are!

Yum to the um, very good.

I was very pleasantly surprised.  These muffins are moist and light and so good I want to eat them all. But I won’t.  I don’t want to be shatting my pants tomorrow from all the extra fiber, thank you very much!

I got brave in the kitchen today and also made some Kale chips. Who knew!  Seriously, whoever thought this up is a genius.

I chopped the kale up into pieces, sprayed it with Pam Olive oil and sprinkled with Garlic Salt.  Then I stuck in the oven at 400 degrees for about 8 mins. I took them out when the edges got brown and a crispy.  I hear these are easy to overcook.  I just can’t get over the texture, it is so chip like. I will be making these again and again and again.

I read 2 articles today that really caught my eye.  The first my sister sent me and I just thought it was so cute:

I do in Aisle 2, Couple Marries at Whole Foods
I mean how sweet is that? This couple meets at the grocery and then gets married there. I love a good love story and I love a good grocery store, so put them together and it makes for a great story! 

New York Strong Man Joe Rollino killed by car at 104
Would you look at this guy, he is 103 in that picture! He once lifted 3200 lbs, he started performing as a strong man in the 1920.  He got struck and killed by a car.  “A decorated World War II veteran and lifelong vegetarian, he could still bend coins between his fingers.”  What caught my ear when I heard about this during the news on Howard Stern was that he was a lifelong vegetarian.  People didn’t use to be vegetarians when he was a kid. So I just found that really interesting.  Now if he isn’t an advertisement for healthy living, I don’t know what is.

The fine folks over at Nature’s Gate were kind enough to send me over some complementary products  to try and some for a lucky reader! I always see their products at Whole Foods and have been interested to try them.  I am a huge fan of Lavender, so they sent me their Lavender and Aloe Shampoo & Conditioner to try. I must admit I have always been wary to try an organic, all natural hair product.  I have very thick, unruly hair and usually use shampoos chocked full of fake stuff  and voodoo to straighten and tame my mane.  This shampoo/conditioner is made from Organic Aloe, Lavender Oil and Juniper Berry Extract and  combined with Panthenol (Vitamin B5) to infuse hair with moisture and nutrients. It detangles and helps restore beauty and bounce. My hair felt so light and fluffy and my flyaways were totally tamed. Plus I smelled absolutely wonderful! I couldn’t quit sniffing my hair.  What I really like about their products is that they grow their essences on an organic farm in CA and they are watered naturally by snow runoff from the Sierra Nevadas!

And now for a giveaway!  Nature Gate also sent me a gift pack of Ginger Tea body wash and lotion for 1 lucky winner. 


Nature’s Gate has partnered with WaterAid America to support the use of rainwater to help families and children in Asia and Africa have long term access to safe, clean water. They encourage you to get involved and help  reach their goals and deliver clean, safe water to children and families. Proceeds from these gift sets go to help this effort.

Here are some interesting facts about water I got from their website:

Facts About Water

Fonzie and I had a crazy 3 mile run in some serious snow this afternoon.  It was up to my knees in some parts so my running looked more like high stepping. Tomorrow I will be hurtin for sure.  I definitely wanted something easy for dinner.  I picked up something new at Whole Foods the other day and decided to give them a whirl tonight.

I’m trying really, really hard to only buy meat from organic farmers who let their animals eat grass and roam. After seeing the mandatory dark “growhouses” that Tyson uses for their chickens, I think this is important for everyone to do.  Of course being a vegetarian is even better, but for those of us who aren’t, we have to be more responsible with what we buy. So, anyway, this company allows their animals to grow at their own pace in the open air.  And these meatballs are FABOOSH!  Yum.  You can really taste the fennel and they are totally juicy and taste like they are horrible for you (in a good way!). I loved them and will buy them again and will be checking out their other products next time I am at Whole Paycheck.

Today while snowed in and when Harper was sleeping I chose this workout from my wonderul UVerse Cable on demand menu. I decided to workout like a star….ladeefrickindaaa.


I love Jackie’s reality show – Workout on the Oxygen network.  I had never done one of her workouts before, but this DVD rocks. I give it 5/5 dumbells.  She breaks the workout into segments, detailed below.  Each segment is them made up of 3 excercises that you do one longer set of and then do them all smashed together at the end for the POWER BURN.  And yes it does burn.  I imagine if you did this 3 times a wek you would be ripped.  Her abs scare me a little though. It looks like she is wearing an ectoskeleton.  I’ll take her arms any day though.

Quads: Sissy squat, UFC, alternating front lunges
Hamstrings: Dead lift, bridge extension, reverse plank
Glutes: Squat w/weights, ski lunge, alternating squat kick
Chest:  Chest press, reverse fly, alternate press
Back: Wide row, renegades, dumbell pull over
Arms: Close grip hammer curl, straight arm kick back, arnold press
Upper abs: Straight leg crunch, legs up crunch, tall it up
Lower abs: Reverse crunch, tummy tuck, single leg jack
Obliques:  Sumo side to side, windshield wipers, side plank dips

What I liked best is that all the moves were simple and was impressed that there were a lot of moves I’ve never done before like the renegades and UFC.  I am no workout dvd virgin, I’ve done millions over the years, so its nice to see something new.  The only complaint I had was that she moved a little quick through some of the moves like the deadlifts, so I had a hard time using good form and I would have liked more arms.. I know I am going to be sore tomorrow. The ab workout especially was killer. I wanted to go to an ab class at the gym tomorrow, but am not sure I will be able to. I am going to be using some of her ab moves like the sumo side to side and tall sit up more often in my home ab workouts. 


Prior to the workout I managed to clean my entire first floor!  Even mopped the floors. Having a clean house may be one of the things that makes me happiest.  Too bad with 2 dogs, a cat, a kid and a husband who puts clothes anywhere but the hamper, cleanliness is short lived.  Cleaning a house with an 8 month old is no easy task. People ask me all the time how I ever get anything done, I find it works best if you let your kid do things that would make your mother in law very mad, like watch tv:

chew on inappropriate things

And torment her brothers



Since its so cold out today I figured Mushi needs a hat to go potty, looks good, non? 
I’ll be back tonight with my Monday Quick N Easy meal. I am thinking black beans and rice.  Yum!

Amazing Grass, blech, amazing ass I say.  Okay maybe the people at Amazing Grass wouldn’t appreciate me calling their product ass, but unfortunately that is just common vernacular in OnTheGo household for something gross. I was not fond of todays Green Monster drink.  Since this was a Pom Mango flavor, I omitted the PB and chocolate soy milk today and just blended up plain soy milk, amazing meal, frozen berries and 1/2 a banana.  Nothing about this shake tasted of pom or mango to me, it was just gritty and very powdery tasting, although it had enough milk in it.  But hey Amazing Grass is insanely popular and I will give their other flavors a try, but I have to be honest in my reviews and this product will not be on my grocery list any time soon.

Here in sunny Cleveland it has pretty much been snowing nonstop since Friday. I went out to run on Sat and the roads were really dangerous. Yesterday we left the house once to run some errands, but it was cold and miserable and no weather for a baby.  So with even more snow on the roads today, I decided I better skip the gym. If it was just me, I’d get out there and go, but I feel like a bad mom dragging my 8 month old out in sub freezing temps and a foot of snow so mamma can lift weights; when I am perfectly capable of doing that at home. I am going to try out a Jackie Warner DVD I have heard good things about.  So, I told Harper we’d be staying in and having a pajamay jam day. She was stoked. She loves staying in jammies all day.

However shortly after this picture she proceed to upchuck her breakfast and she is now out of her jammies. I’m still in mine though!

Here is a picture taken from my front window.  Apparently its blue here in Cleveland today.

Why do I live here!  I just had to fall in love with a boy from Cleveland, couldn’t fall in love with a boy from Cali.  Oh well, he’s totally worth it.

Mushi and Fonzie love the snow though.  I think I will take Fonzie for a short run later today.  I messed up this picture, but thought it looked neat.

Make sure you check out my review of 18 Rabbits below, good stuff.  And tomorrow I will have a giveaway for some snifferific lotion from Nature’s Gate!

The fine folks over at 18 Rabbits sent me a package of their yummy bars.

And let me tell you they are D.E.L.I.S.H.  Delish!  I have tried all of them and would be hard pressed to pick a favorite flavor.  They just launched a new flavor and it’s on top of the list in my book – Belle Banana’s Foster. It is a granola bar with carmalized bananas and dates in it!  And it truly tastes decadent, like the dessert.  I kept thinking something about it reminded me of nutella and sure enough there were hazelnuts in the ingredient list. The 18 rabbit bars are just the right combo of chewy and crunchy and they are wheat and dairy free, as well as low sodium and they are free of refined sugar and trans fat.  What more could you ask for?  The  Belle bar has 210 calories, 8g of fat, 4g of protein and 32g of carbs.I give the new flavor a 5/5 yums.  I think my other favorite flavor is the Cherry Chocolate, o m g.  You can find these bars at Pete’s Coffee and some Whole Foods, if your local WF doesn’t have them, you can request them.  I am going to request them at mine for sure.

Oh and in case you were wondering, I actually tried these and wrote this a few weeks ago, I didn’t break my no sugar cleanse…yet

This snowy Sunday started off with yet another Green Monster experiment. Today’s subject:


There’s so much stuff in this packet, I can’t even begin to list it:

Sorry for the dark pictures today.  I made the smoothie the same way I have been, soy milk, spinach, frozen berries, chocolate protein powder and all natural PB.  Today’s shake was good, but still not as good as the 1st packet I tried which happened to be by Vibrant Health as well.  So, I prefer their Field of Greens packet. It’s my favorite so far.

My shakes are never green, are yours?


It was all snowy and nasty out this morning so unfortunately I did not make it to the gym for the amazing Sunday power yoga class. I will have to settle for a DVD today once Harper naps. I will be back later to review the DVD. I love on demand tv, so many exercise DVDs at my fingers. 

A lot of people head inside to the treadmill once the temperature drops even a little bit. Not me!  I live in Cleveland and I would go insane if I didn’t get outside.  Today I might have bit off a little more than I could chew!  The plan was to meet at 9am to run the half marathon course that we have a race on in a few weeks, but it is 45 mins from my house on a good day.  I left with an hour and it took me almost 30 mins to even get to the highway, which usually takes me 15 mins.  So my friend Sara and I decided on a last minute locale swap and stuck closer to home.  I still had to drive on the highway and it was barely plowed. It was scary. I was glad to get out of my car.  We planned on 9-13 miles, but ended up with 6.  6 very tough miles. 

But it was beautiful out

If you dress appropriately there is really no reason not to get outside.  I was barely cold. I wore a tank top/bra top as my base layer, then a long sleeve wicking shirt on top of that and topped it off with a hind sports dry shirt with a hood and gloves built in, then I wore my wind resistant vest.  On the bottom I just had on some ski pants and wool socks. Most importantly I was wearing my trail shoes which are waterproof. Sara gave me my Xmas present, yak trax!  So, I christened those today too.

Happy to be done!  You know I love you guys b/c I post pics of myself with out makeup on.  Big step in our committed relationship. I think it took me about 3 months to let Gary see me without mascara on!  I think we are going steady now.  Afterwards I was HONNNGRRRY, so I had to stop at Panera and get a Frontega chicken sandwich, nothing healthy about it, but it is delicious. Grrr.

Before I left for my run this morning I mixed up a green drink. I tried this packet today:



That PB is just nuts, no added sugar and unsweetend soy milk, in case you were wondering!  So far so good on my no sugar cleanse.  Here is the finished product in my cute $2 Target cup:

Today’s drink wasn’t very good. I did everything the same except for the packet of mix in, so I think I’m not a fan, at least not compared to the last one I tried.

Yesterday on New Years we had 2 parties to go to. One up the street was a neighborhood brunch and then one at Gary’s aunt’s house for the OSU/OR game.  Fun was had by all.  Harper was into the snow.

And playing with her cousin

Okay and now for the winners of the Boomi bar giveaway courtesy of random.org!  #12 & # 30

* Don’t forget to go enter my yummy Boomi bar giveaway below!

Yesterday at Whole Foods I picked up a bunch of greeny samples for smoothies. I want to make sure I get as many veggies in these morning smoothies as possible. Today I tried:

This has alfalfa, barley, oat grass, wheat grass, parsley powder, collard powder, kale powder, broccoli powder, spinach powder and then I added in spinach, berries, banana, chocolate soy milk and a 1/2 scoop of protein powder and then some PB at the end, so it ended up chunky

Everything tastes better in a beer glass


Today’s concoction was much more vitaminy and veggie tasting than yesterdays since it just had spinach in it. But i liked it and I want that veggish taste.  So I will give this packet of mix in an A, but hey I haven’t tried any of the others yet, so stay tuned.

We’ve discovered that Harper likes Popsicles.  I mean really likes popsicles.