Inching my way towards the real world.
I have been away from this little blog for a while, but for good reason. I have been busy and not busy with random stuff, busy with work and photography!
I finally found a full-time job after all that searching. I feel so blessed that I have and am definitely praising God for this one! All summer, I begged, and pleaded, and cried for him to help me find a job and the moment I stopped demanding one and ask that he guide me along the path to finding one, one came my way! The job, although not in my ideal field–I’m working in accounting (and yes, I do know I have a health degree)–is a job and I am happy for all of the work experience I am gaining with this job. I feel like God has guided me to this job, because I will need to gain from it experience that I can use in the future.
In the Photography world, things have been going very well as well! I was recently asked by a high school aquatance to teach her a few things about photography, in doing so I ended up developing a small ‘making the move to manual’ workshop that I plan on promoting. My mini-sessions have also been filling up as well as my November bookings. While I would ideally like more sessions, I am happy with the increase in business.
Other than that I have been mulling around. I am trying to get used to balancing a full-time job with a social life and time to unwind. Additionally I am trying to balance working out/living a healthy lifestyle while working a desk job. So far I have had no real challenges, so I hope that continues.
Last Sunday I ‘ran’ the long beach 1/2 marathon. It is in quotes because I gave up at mile 7 and pretty much walked the rest of the way (with the exception of 1/2 a mile at mile 9 and mile 12). I just wasn’t feeling a run that day–plus I had stopped training 2 weeks earlier once I got a full-time job. I don’t know why I did as bad as I did (3:20) but I haven’t let it get me down. I ran twice this week 3.1 miles each time and had a time of 38:24 the first day and 36:52 the second, so at least I know my short distance speed isn’t affected. And for those of you thinking that is a snails pace, compared to a ‘real runner,’ for me it is a pace that makes me like going out of a run, rather than dread it.
Okay well, I think that is the jest of my life the past month. I am going to try to update this more regularly. One of my goals is to be become more organized and manage my time, which includes adding time to blog.
In case you were wondering–Yes, Corgi still Corg’in
Guinness is still… well Guinness
It is almost our 6th anniversary!!!
We have nothing planned for our 6th anniversary yet :/. Guess it is true, the longer your together, the less anniversaries matter. We are going to Vegas
Daisy & I at longbeach!
Greg and I at Long Beach
We finally got a chance to head down San Diego, I missed that place!
Greg and I were lucky to sneak in a trip to San Diego before gas prices reached a ridiculous price!
& this is one of my recent sessions… check out more @ Theresabridgetphotography.com
My week in fitness-a recap
What is the most frustrating things in the world? For me it is working out really hard, eating health-balanced meals and having the scale stay the exact same!!! I am completely frustrated with how this past week went. I made I made the conscious choice to put more effort into my lifestyle change. I mean, I have been 1/2 ass working out all summer, but my diet has been anything but great and as a result I have stayed at the same weight all summer, despite training for a 1/2 marathon.
This week, even though I worked out 5 days and burnt a total of 3980 calories, while meticulously counting calories and weighting my food, I lost absolutely nothing! Really I was set up to lose at least 2 pounds, but the scale didn’t budge in the slightest. I can’t even articulate how frustrating it is. I am not going to let it stop me from keeping up with the changes though. I actually think a bit of the problem is I didn’t quite eat enough for how much I worked out… So this week instead of 1250-1350 calories I will be okay if I reach 1450-1500 calories. I a going to keep up with the high level of activity though because, quite honestly I loved it!
So here is my weekly fitness breakdown
Saturday:
I had my scheduled long run. 9 miles. It was actually a pretty bad run, I was slow, sluggish, but I finished and moved on from it.
I burnt 900+ calories 🙂 and I got my long run treat, Joe’s Italian Ice 🙂 Yummmmm!
Sunday
I had a 6 mile hike with crazy hills and then kayaked for 2 hours with my friends. I bought a waterproof disposable camera so I’ll post pictures soon. We also watched the season finale of true blood–did you watch it? SOOOO Good huh?
I burnt about 1200 calories today 🙂
See that monster hill!?!?! It really kills going up it.
That hill is totally worth the view though!
Monday
4 mile training run. Again a little slow, but I chocked it up to so much activity.
Burn about 400 calories today!
Tuesday
REST DAY 🙂
Wednesday
2 mile tempo run and yoga with my friends 🙂 11 minute pace!
Burn about 350 calories today.
My new workout shirt! I love it :)… Even though I didn’t lose weight this week, I feel like I am toning up.
Thursday
4 mile tempo run 11 minute per mile pace! I also did one hour of yoga at 24 hour fitness. Normally 24 hour fitness has a pretty moderate yoga class, I feel it the next day but I can keep up. We had a substitute this time and she kicked it up a notch! I really felt it the next day, but I loved it.
I burn about 600 calories today
Friday
REST DAY 🙂 I love me a rest day!
I played with Corgi a lot today.. so enjoy the images!
Saturday
Saturday was long run day and this week it was 10 miles. I didn’t have a specific goal going into this run, other than to do better than last week. I was hopping that I could keep a 11 minute per mile pace for at least 3 miles (like I do on my lower mile runs) but for some reason I couldn’t. I am not too sure why I felt like I was going at a good pace but when I looked at my Garmin it would read 13:xx per mile pace. It was pretty discouraging. When I feel like I’m flying by I’m actually going slow and when I feel like I’m barely chugging along I am actually keeping a 11 minute pace going. I just hope I can pick up the pace for the Long Beach 1/2 marathon. I have a month to tune things up. The 10 miler was pretty fun and the sites were great. The waves were really choppy and pretty big so that was fun to watch. I ended up seeing two people who broke their boards and watched one really good surfer do some tricks–that helped pass the time! I ended up stopping twice to walk during the run once when I ate my Sports beans (so I wouldn’t choke) and once when I caught up with Greg (he ran a different 8 mile path) I walked with him for about 1/4 of a mile before ‘running’ again. My pace was about 13:35 per mile, which isn’t horrible–for me at least, but I would like it to be in the 12:xx per mile pace by next month. I don’t know how attainable my 2:36:xx 1/2 marathon time is now, but as long as I PR I will be happy. Next week I am doing an 11 mile trail in Newport Beach, I hope a new location will help with my time.
Okay… So I know this is kind of a boring post… but it’s more to keep myself accountable. I would link to my sparkpeople nutrition intake… but I don’t know how to link it 🙂
10-minute Homemade Breakfast Sandwich
10-minute Homemade Breakfast Sandwich
This past week I have made a conscious effort to make more meals at home so that I can monitor the real caloric values that I am eating. I have been good about weighting my food and creating lower calorie alternatives to popular foods. Unfortunately, this is happening the same week that my parents decided to replace our counter tops, so I have been getting microwave creative as well :). Anyway, one of Greg’s favorite breakfast meals is a breakfast sandwich–you know those greasy, fatty kind from fast food places– personally I am not a breakfast fan, but since I know how important it is, I was seeking out recipes that I would love as well. That is when my 10-minute breakfast scramble sandwich came into play! It is fast, low-calorie and super yummy! Really, if this is your breakfast you can’t go wrong! The best part about this sandwich is that is is customizable to your taste (just watch the toppings, remember everything you add, adds calories!). So here is the run down of the breakfast sandwich.
|
Theresa’s Breakfast Sandwich |
|
| Calories | |
| 1 Bagel Thin | 110 |
| Egg Beaters (61g) | 30 |
|
Avocado (.5 oz) |
25 |
| Green Bell Pepper/Red Bell Pepper/ Green Onion | 30 |
| Reduced fat cheese slice | 45 |
| Total Calories | 240 |
Lightly toast the bagel thin and place cheese on it. Finely chop the avocado and bell pepper and green onion. Place egg beaters and veggies into a small square or circular tuber wear container and microwave for 2 minutes. Place egg on sandwich. Eat and enjoy!
I like to eat this sandwich with an apple, banana or other fruit serving on the side. Total calories is around 330 for the whole breakfast.
Thinking of you Treat
I don’t know about you, but personally I love unexpected surprises—the way they just brighten your day is so happy and fun! A few months ago It had been a while since my bestfriend and I had hungout (oh the schedules of getting older!). I decided a nice way to brighten her day (and to let her know I was thinking of her) was to put a little ‘thinking of you note’ on her door with a box of cupcakes. It was a nice little unexpected treat and a special way to let her know I cared.
Here are the cupcakes (Vanilla cupcakes with a white chocolate pudding filling and white chocolate butter cream frosting (I’ll post the recipe don’t worry 😉 )
The set up was simple really. A little note glued to a piece of scrapbook paper and some ribbon along with a few of your friends favorite treat are sure to put a bright spot on any day!
I highly recommend this as a simple way to let anyone know your thinking of them. Remember a little gesture can go a long way!
Photography Tips | Product Photography Set Up
Theresa’s Photography Tips
I am going to try to add some of my photography tips to this blog. My first one is a quick tip on how to set up a simple at home background to improve product photography.
I have a kitchen with very little natural light, I also have very dull tile. Basically what I am trying to say is, it is UGLY! I wanted a cute solution for my food photography. My solution was scrapbook paper! I had two pieces laying out and decided to use them as a background and ever since my food photography has gotten a lot more lively!
The set up is simple.
1. Make sure you have one decent light source (natural light is best, but artificial light works too) If you are using artificial light I would suggest shooting in raw and then correcting for the warmth. Personally, since I don’t have a good source of natural light and I was taking the pictures at night, I use an overhead kitchen light and just correct for warmth.
2. Secondly I use a speedlight (very cheap one that I got on amazon). I bounce the light off the ceiling and it really gives a nice bright, well exposed photo. Now, if you do not have a speedlight you can still get the shot, I would just try to use more natural light.
3. To set up the actual photo, just place together two pieces of scrapbook paper together. Then I place the item (in this case a cupcake) about 2 inches away from the edge (this way the background comes in nice and blurred).
ISO: 100 ; F/2.8 ; 1/200 ; Speedlight set to 5/6 (on my cheap one).
ISO: 100; F 2.8 ; 1/200 Speedlight set to 5/6. The speelight was pointed straight up, (to bounce off the ceiling).
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Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
Here is your first edition of:
Theresa’s Table {Calories Need Not Apply}
For a while now I have been really, really into baking. It has really been cupcakes galore around here! So I decided to share a few of the better recipes with you…. Up first are my Reeses peanut butter cupcakes! These are rich chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate peanut butter fudge filling topped with peanut butter frosting. Let me tell you, the frosting was AMAZING, if I didn’t have cupcakes to frost, I could have just sat and ate it all! Needless to say these cupcakes were a HUGE hit with Greg and my Mom!
|
The Cake |
|
| Ingredient | Amount |
| Flower | 1.5 cups |
| Sugar (White) | 1.5 cups |
| Coco Powder | ¾ cup |
| Instant Chocolate Pudding | ¼ packet |
| Baking Soda | ¼ teaspoon |
| Baking Powder | 1 teaspoon |
| Butter | ½ stick |
| Eggs | 2 |
| Vanilla Extract | 1 teaspoon |
| Milk (I use 2%) | 1 cup |
|
The Filling |
|
| Instant Chocolate Pudding | ¾ packet |
| Milk (2%) | cups |
| Peanut butter | 2 tablespoons |
For the filling I mix everything together and let sit in the fridge. (follow the box for length of time)
|
The Frosting |
|
| Butter | 1 stick |
| Reeses Peanut Butter Chips | 1 bag |
| Confectioners Sugar | 2 cups |
| Heavy Whipping Cream | ¾ cups |
For the frosting, I add the peanut butter chips to a large bowl. Personally with peanut butter chips I put them in the microwave to melt and then stir into a nice smooth mixture. I then mix in equal parts of each and blend with a hand mixer (because I am too poor to afford a kitchen-aid). I tend to add more of a specific ingredient if I feel the frosting needs it. (feel out the frosting if it is watery, add more powdered sugar, if it is too thick, add some whipping cream…ect.). Once the frosting is done I sometimes let it chill (my kitchen can be too hot and make the frosting a bit to soft to properly frost cupcakes).
I bake the cupcakes at 350 for about 12-15 minutes (best bet is to check the cupcakes to see if they are done). Once out of the oven, I take the cupcakes chill them for about 15 minutes and then fill with the pudding mixture. Then I frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with a few mini Resses pieces candies.
{Side note… The setup, is my kitchen table and scrapbook paper!}
If you’re looking for a rich cupcake for Resses fans look no further!
If you try these, be sure to tell me how they turned out! & keep an eye out for some of my other cupcake recipes (Apple pie, butterbeer, and vanilla pudding)
{All photos were taken by me, Theresa Bridget, with a 5D mk iii, canon 100mm L, and a speedlight}
Mi.A
Gosh I swear for those looking froward to my Colorado and Ohio post, they may never happen. I swear I am trying to work on them but I have been so darn busy! I have been looking for a job–and due to the low demand for entry level public health workers in Southern California I have decided to expand my search to other states as well. Expanding my search makes a whole skew of other factors I need to look at while applying (mainly can I afford to live with the pay being offered.) Anyway there have also been a lot of parties, a friend visited from out of town, I have had a few sessions and have been on a total baking/making treats kick! I tell you it has been quite a fun time around my way lately. Too much living, not a whole lot of blogging… All you who can blog and live at the same time–I admire you!
Last week started training for Octobers 1/2 marathon! I am excited, I am following a training plan this time and I really hope that it helps my time, my goal is 2:36:00. Training has been kind of all over the place, last week I was doing awesome with 12:09/mile- 11:48/mile paces but this week I have been sucking! I hope that it is just the added weight training I am doing and once my body assimilates my pace will pick back up.
I have also been on a total salad kick! Summer salads are perfect when it’s too hot for anything else!
C-O-L-O-R-A-D-O
Why yes the Colorado trip was a month an a half ago… Why yes I am just reporting on it now… 🙂 But don’t worry, the pictures are worth the wait…(well pictures from day 2 anyway 😉 See I’m keeping you wanting more.
Anyway the Original Post:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Can I go back to Colorado… Like now? My whole life I have been a California girl. I never imagined myself moving out of California… I mean… It’s freakin’ California…. That opinion is waning now. If you offered me a job in Colorado, I would take it in a heart beat.
Our first day in Colorado started out at Santa Ana Airport at 4:30am. After our flight (which left at 6:45) we arrived in Colorado at 10am. Right away we got our rental car, had lunch and headed to a Big Cat sanctuary. It was pretty cool, they had lots of tigers and even a few white tigers!
After about an hour there, the weather started to turn and it began to rain a little. The clouds looked pretty scary and I had remembered seeing ‘tornado shelter’ in the airport so my mind went to tornados… To be clear, I have no idea what tornado weather is, nor what it looks like so I don’t know why my mind went to tornados, but it did. After the rain picked up, Greg and I decided to call it a night and head to Colorado Springs. On the way to the hotel, I kept dozing off ( I had very little sleep the week leading to Colorado) I was asleep maybe 2 minutes at a time, it sucked! Greg said it was cute to see my head bounce though, it was that startled bounce every time I woke up.
Top: Me @ the Denver airport, they had a cool map!
Middle Me @ Orange County airport at 4:45am and me at the big cat sanctuary
Bottom me and Greg 🙂
On our way to CS we stopped a few times on the side of the high way (at turn outs of course) to take pictures. We just had to, never in my life had I seen a whole state as beautiful!
When we got to Colorado Springs, we checked into our hotel and headed out to dinner. We grabbed a quick bite at Red Robin (I had this yummy chicken bruchetta sandwich and greg had a decent cheeseburger) Isn’t it funny that a burger restaurant like red robin can’t compare to fast food like In-n-out or 5 guys? After dinner we called it a night. Waking up at 4am and a 1 hour time change can make one extremely tired!
These are images from the big cat sanctuary and the side of the road… I mean isn’t it beautiful!
Looking at all of the Colorado pictures makes me so sad… I cut my hair after this trip and I miss my long hair so bad! (Oh, and because I want to go back to Colorado).
Breaking out the ol’ running shoes
What is it about summer that makes me so lazy? I think it is the heat… and not having a job isn’t helping anything either. I miss having a job, it gives me routine, I like routine. I have been applying to full time jobs like crazy. It is funny… growing up they always tell you to go to college, get a degree and you will be set… What a lie that is… Honestly if I could do it over I think I would have went and got an AA in something marketable and gone back for my bachelor degree later. I actually have quite a marketable degree (Health science–think public health, community health, health education, ect) but the problem is all the jobs hiring want 3-5 years of experience. I am most likely going to have to go back for my masters if I was a decent job and time in the future.. Funny I say that… I found this on pinterest the other day… describes my situation perfectly..
Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Theresa on Pinterest
Source: someecards.com via Theresa on Pinterest
Okay that was quite a tangent…
Sunday will mark the start of 1/2 marathon #4 training. I am going for 2:36:00 (that is 19 minutes off my current time). Why 36 you ask? Last year the Long Beach 1/2 marathon was my first 1/2 marathon ever… I didn’t train and my longest walk was 8 miles, I really just wanted to do a 1/2 marathon ( I would NEVER recommend this approach) but anyway, my time was 3:36. Now that I am training and can actually run decently I want to take an hour off my time… My actual goal was 60 pounds off my body and 60 minutes off my time, but I have been slacking on the weight loss… I lost all my gained vacation weight, but I have been ‘stuck’ at 187 pounds (23 pounds down)… Personally I think my body hates summer and refuses to lose weight… or………It might be the red velvet cupcakes with baileys cream cheese frosting or vanilla cupcakes with white chocolate frosting I have been making and accidentally sampling 😉
I was good today… I had a ‘get back into running, run” 60 minute run, with 30 second walk… I am doing this run until Sundays training starts since I haven’t ran in a while ( I have been staying inside with a workout dvd or going to the gym and swiming)
My day in pictures… short 30 minute run + workout video… Yogurt breakfast… Dinner… I made Shark!! (Check out Sprouts, they have it cheap and it was really good… not fishy at all, oh and it also cooks in 15 minutes–amazing!)
I also bought a pool for the puppies since it is starting to get hot…. They are not huge fans…. I had to picking them up and putting them in…. See the picture (yep Sheldon in hiding behind a trashcan…) That’s my boy…
After the pool I dried off Sheldon with a blow dryer (on cool of course) Sheldon actually loves it… Every time I blow dry my hair he walks right under me and lets the air blow on his face.
Oh, yes I know… cutest puppy ever!
Well that’s my boring tangent write for the day…
In Line For the Real World 