banana nut bread

as mentioned in my cranberry scones post, i also made a bunch of banana bread for my uncle's funeral service. below is one of the recipes i used. i think i tried at least 3 different ones, some with nuts and some without. how did they all taste? i'm afraid i can't really tell you because i didn't try all three. but what i can say is, banana bread is banana bread. okay, actually, that's no true. some banana bread could be pretty dry out. this one here isn't too bad actually. i love how it stayed nice and moist even overnight (i made it friday, served it saturday morning).

so if you have some brown bananas you'd like to use up, i say go ahead and make some banana bread today. the recipe below is so easy to make and whips up in a flash. the only time consuming thing is waiting for it to finish baking in the oven. but it's kind of like, you set it and forget it (well, not totally, but while it's baking you can do other stuff).

below's the recipe should you want to make some. and if you do, let me know what you think. enjoy and happy baking!


i love my banana bread lightly toasted with a little butter spread on. so good.


banana breads are so easy to make. i love how they really put all those browning bananas to good use.

banana nut bread
adapted from my baking addiction

ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 overripe bananas
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup walnuts

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350°F. lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan – i used olive oil, but you can use butter or any oil of your choice.
2. in a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cake spice. in another large bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium speed, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes. stir in eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas until well blended. using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently stir banana mixture and walnuts into flour mixture – stirring until ingredients are just combined. pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack.

notes:

• you can add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to your batter if you like. i personally don't care for it so i skipped it.
• banana bread is better served after it has had time to sit overnight at room temperature.
• banana bread will keep wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil for up to 3 days.
• this banana bread is amazing toasted with a pat of butter.

cranberry scones

i know i haven't posted too many new entries lately, regardless if it was food related or exercise or whatever. this last week has been really tough. i think i averaged about 4-5 hours of sleep each night. yeah, pretty brutal. i'm not sure how i made it through though, but somehow i managed.

almost two weeks ago one of my uncles passed away. in doing my part or pitching in, i volunteered to bake some goodies for the funeral service this past weekend. my volunteering to make some cookies as snacks to pass out throughout the day during the weekend service turned into baking enough goodies for one morning breakfast (there are 3 mornings, i ended up with one morning). not knowing how many people i would be serving, i just knew there would be a lot of people. i asked my mom how many cakes and other goodies i should make and she said at least 10 breakfast cakes. and so with that number i spent literally the entire friday last week (from 11am to 11pm) baking a bunch of lemon loaves, fruit cakes (apple, strawberry, raspberry, lemon), and banana breads. in all, i think i had about 11 or 12 different cake-like goodies. in addition to all the cakes there were also a bunch of cranberry and raisin scones for the non-sweet eaters, blueberry muffins for the muffin fans and over 100 chocolate chip cookies. i think there was about 125 cookies or more in all. i lost count after so many dozens. in all, there were probably about at least 300-400 pieces of baked goods once all the cakes and loaves were sliced/cut. by friday evening i think my entire family was annoyed at me for being in the kitchen all day and taking up every counter space in the house, plus the dining room table. but i am glad and very pleased to say that m was so impressed with all my goodies that next morning (saturday) when i served all the goodies at the funeral service. he couldn't stop eating the toffee apple cake and rosemary lemon cake i made. he's such a tough critic, i couldn't believe he loved them. i will have to make those two again, take some pics and write a blog about it.

i have to say, that 12-hour baking marathon last friday in addition to the previous two nights of baking for the event was so worth it. it felt really good knowing i could contribute/give something to my uncle who has passed. everyone in my family: mom, dad, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and cousins all wanted to make sure we gave my uncle the best send off we possibly could, especially since he never had a family of his own. he lived a tough life, but i'm sure in a way it was a very happy life. i know everyone loved him and will miss him dearly.

i'm terrible at taking pictures and i was so tired after all the baking i couldn't be bothered to take pictures of most of the goodies. what i did manage to take was the cranberry scones and banana bread. as for the others, i only took a few and those i posted them onto my instagram. below are the pictures and recipes for the cranberry scones if you'd like to make some for your next event or just because. i say these scones were quite the hit and i love how flaky they turned out. yummy! :)


this was only part of the kitchen that was captured on instagram. the dining table was a giant mess as well with baked goodies cooling, cakes waiting to be bake, ingredients and lots of miscellaneous baking items.


i never got to try these blueberry muffins or the strawberry cakes in the background. but from what i gathered on saturday, everyone liked it. i hope to make it again one of these days and actually eat one myself.


my instagram photo of the scones


this is only my second attempt at making scones and i have to say i've fallen in love with these delicious english biscuit-like treat. they are buttery and perfectly flaky when done right. add some butter or jam on them and you've got quite a treat for tea time or any time of day!


noticed all those layers in the scones? omg! so flaky and good.


i can't wait to make this recipe again. i know that from now on when i make scones, i will think of my 12-hour baking marathon for my uncle's funeral; and how special that feeling felt knowing i was part of the celebration of his life.

cranberry scones
adapted from cooking light

ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg white
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 2 teaspoons milk
• 2 teaspoons turbinado or granulated sugar

directions:

1. preheat oven to 425°F.
2. lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. combine flour, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; stir with a whisk.
3. cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.
4. combine 1/2 cup milk, vanilla, and egg white in a bowl. add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist (dough will be soft).
5. turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. sprinkle surface of dough with dried cranberries. with floured hands, knead 4 times or just until the cranberries are incorporated.
6. pat dough into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. cut dough into 12 wedges, cutting into, but not through, dough. note: at this point, i like to chill my shaped dough in the freezer for at least 30 minutes (okay, 15 minutes if you can't really wait the whole 30). see tip notes as to why below.
7. just before baking, brush 2 teaspoons milk over surface of dough; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar. bake at 425°F for 17 minutes or until golden.
8. serve warm, or cool on a wire rack. optional: if you like you can even dip the slightly cooled scones with some icing glaze (i like my glaze w/ a hint of lemon so i add a little bit of lemon juice to mine for a lemon glaze to dip them in) or drizzle the glaze over the scones for an added touch of sweetness. oh so good!

makes 8-12 wedges depending on how you cut your dough. enjoy! :)

tips to making and eating delicious scones:

• freezing scone dough for 30 minutes in the freezer relaxes the gluten in the flour, which makes the scones more tender and allows them to rise higher. it also chills the fat, which will make the scones a bit flakier.
• scones are best served warm. they're delicious as is, but add butter and/or jam (or clotted cream as they do in england), if you like. to reheat room-temperature scones, place on a baking sheet, tent lightly with foil, and warm in a preheated 350°F oven for about 10 minutes.

meyer lemon curd

in my last food blog post, the angel food cake cupcakes with strawberries and cream one, i mentioned that i still had these egg yolks i need to put to use or throw away. well, i'm glad to say i did not throw them away. i actually got around to making some lemon curd with them. meyer lemon curd actually. okay, i guess it doesn't make a whole lot of a difference whether you use the regular lemons or meyer lemons. it'll still turn out pretty tart-y delicious. either that or my tastebuds aren't that great and can't taste the difference.

i think lemon curd is actually one of the easiest things to make and there's just no way one can mess up while making it. i mean, you just throw everything together in a saucepan on medium heat and stir until it comes together. then strain it through a sieve. easy peasy, right?! i think so. not only is it easy to make, it's super versatile. i mean, you can use your curd and spread it on a nice piece of toast in the morning for breakfast (like i did in the pics), use it as a cupcake or macaron filling, as mini tarts or add in some butter and make it a cream tart or even as a twist to your good old classic s'mores. i've actually seen pinterest pins of lemon curd s'mores. they look really tasty and i cannot wait to try it when i get around to having a s'mores craving. actually, come to think of it, i should definitely try it out since i do have a bag of open marshmallows hanging around my pantry. might as well use that up before it goes bad.

below's the recipe for this yummy meyer lemon curd. i grabbed it from one of my MIL's cookbooks. it's an ancient looking one with just all text, but i have to say, some of the recipes in there are delicious. maybe one of these days i'll go through it and pick certain ones out and make them and take (gorgeous) photos of the outcome. i bet they would look scrumptious. hehe ;) yeah, we'll see about that. one of these days, maybe.

okay, so i love my lemon curd pretty sour. the more tart it is, the better. the original recipe actually calls for 6 oz of sugar but i only put in half of it. of course, if you like yours sweet, then maybe add more sugar than i did or go all the way up to the 6 oz. personally, i would just hang out at 2-3 oz. up to you anyway. let me know what you think if you do make this. enjoy! :)


who doesn't love lemon curd? these meyer lemons make the perfect curd for morning toasts, afternoon tea sandwich cookies or yummy cupcake fillings.

meyer lemon curd

ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3-6 oz granulated sugar (about 1/4 cup to 3/4 cup, use the higher amount if you like your lemon curd sweet, less if you're like me and prefer it more on the tart side)
• 1/3 cup meyer lemon juice (it took me 2-1/2 good size meyer lemons, you may need more or less depending on yours)
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 egg white

directions:
combine all ingredients in a saucepan and put it over medium heat. stir the mixture until it reaches a honey-like consistency. turn off the heat and strain the lemon curd using a sieve. store in an airtight container. keep refrigerated.

makes about a cup. enjoy and happy eating! :)

another new month, another set of exercise challenges

i cannot believe april came and went! and with that i successfully finished my 30-day exercise challenge. okay, i will have to admit i did take off more days than i had intended to (maybe 3-4 more rest days than the scheduled). but for the most part, i did do almost everything i had set out to do. i successfully did 250 squats in a row, on both days 29 and 30. the most seconds i could hold an elbow plank for was 90 seconds and 60 seconds for the side planks (i never attempted beyond that – i'm sure on a good day if i wanted to try, i probably could?!). as far the pushups in a row and dips, oh man... those were tough. i only managed 50 (modified) pushups in a row and did 60 dips in a row until my arms gave out. yeah, you can say i had some pretty ambitious goals and i didn't quite meet them. but overall, it's not a disappointment either. i think i did pretty good. who knew i could do 250 squats in a row without resting? yeah, it was tough, but it felt good once i did it. i think it helped that i broke them up into mini increments of 10's or 20's, and adding those up bit by bit helps. i'm just so proud of myself for sticking to something for a whole 30 days! now, the next challenge is doing it longer! six weeks maybe?!

here are a few stats i'm throwing out there:

• miles ran this year as of today: 171 miles
• lifetime steps with fitbit as of this morning (member since feb 24, 2013): 1,30,696 steps
• weight lost since january 1 of this year: 5.6 lb (from 108.6 lb)
• today's weight: 103 lb (lost 4.6 lb since april 1 -- not bad?! i can't believe i was 107.6 at the start of april!!)

this is the new workout i plan to do this month. i need to do something about my mommy tummy. i figure i really should make an effort and try to do the best i can to see if i can at least get rid of some flab. for anyone who's a mommy, you should know what i'm talking about. tummy after baby (or babies in my case) isn't so great. for sure, not the same as pre-baby. and it's creeping up on 2 years after baby #1, so seriously... no more excuses here! the workout below says to do it for 12-weeks and combine it with some cardio, etc, but i'm taking baby steps here. i'm approaching it 4 weeks at a time and with my usual 4x a week running. we'll see where i am at the end of may. i'm excited to get started.

this month's goal: do the workout below 3x a week, for 4 straight week! good luck to me.

i also plan to add in a 6-week arm toning workout too to go with the mommy tummy makeover workout. i don't have the graphic for that workout at the moment, but when i do, i will be sure to update it. so stay tune! :)

*** UPDATE 5/3/13 ***

i saw this on pinterest and so i think i'm going to join in and do it too! 30-day plank exercise challenge? sure, why not?!! let's get those abs into shape! :)

angel food cake cupcakes with strawberries & cream

i'm loving the spring season at the moment. i can't complain about it, especially not here in san francisco. the last few weeks we've been so fortunate with mother nature giving us gorgeous sunshine and almost no-jacket/sweater weather. seriously, today was about 80 degrees in the city! i went out for my daily lunch walks earlier today not needing to bring a coat. you don't get this too often here in the city. but lately, it's been fabulous. i can't complain. i just hope this weather trend stays like this for several more days, weeks even! too bad it doesn't usually last very long. but in the mean time, i'll take it.

alright, so with spring comes all the amazing spring fruits such as strawberries. over the last few weeks i've been eating strawberries nonstop. i couldn't help it. it's everywhere in the grocery stores, farmer's market… wherever. so what better way to use up some of the strawberries than your classic angel food cake for a little of that delicious berries and cream combo?! oh boy, this strawberry angel food cake dessert is to die for. it is so perfect; nice and light with that fresh taste of strawberries and the sweetened freshly whipped cream. mmmm… delish!

so there's a backstory to this angel food cake dessert. you see i've never ever attempted to make angel food cake before. yes, like ever! a year or so back when i asked for requests from my coworkers as to what kind of baked goods to bring them, one of them asked if i could make an angel food cake. i told him, no way, not in a million years. i would have to like him a whole lot, like a lot LOT or somehow be bored out of my mind to make one. i'll make anything else but angel food cake. so yes, for some odd reason, i've just never cared or be bothered to make angel food cake. i guess you could say, and i will admit this here that i was a bit intimidated by all those egg whites! yes, there are so many egg whites you have to whip up just to make one angel food cake. even in this first attempt, i didn't even make the full recipe. actually, i didn't even use your typical angel food cake pan mold. i made mine as cupcakes instead. even mini ones! but yes, i was intimidated by the egg whites. looking at the recipe i'm thinking, "what?! i have to whip all those egg whites? what am i going to do with all the yolks. there are so many egg yolks!" -- hahaha, silly i know. but these days, i have ways to use up those egg yolks. yeah, i still have those yolks sitting in the fridge. they'll probably either (a) end up in the garbage, (b) turned into some delicious pastry cream for cream puffs or whatever, or (c) it's about time i make some lemon curd with all those lemons in our backyard (yes, we have an itty bitty meyer lemon tree out back that actually has some lemon on it! i know, it's pretty incredible considering how tiny it is and the fact that there's hardly ever any fruits in all the years we've had it!)

mmm… so there you have it. i'm not sure what happened, but i guess i did sort of make some form of angel food cake. yes, not the real thing, but close enough. you can say it was because of all the fresh strawberries and sunshine that inspired me to finally attempt to make this cake. will i make it again and am i intimidated by all those egg whites now that i've done it once? nah, no way. blah. easy peasy. i can do it in my sleep! hehe jk i'll probably make this cake batter again, and yes, one day in the proper form and all. the cake is lovely and turned out fantastic. yeah, it's the diet dessert -- actually, not! no dessert is a diet dessert. but i have to say, it is seriously super light (at least it tastes like it, minus the sugar?! haha) and delicious.

below's the recipe i used to make the cupcake form of angel food cake. feel free to make some and let me know what you think. so, what do you say? pretty good eh?! i'm in love with these and they taste absolutely amazing -- fresh and sweet just like the perfect spring weather we are enjoying right now! enjoy and happy baking! :)


the weather here in san francisco has really been that awesome. for sure beach-worthy.


an instagram photo of this yummy treat a lucky few received one day at work last week.


i am in love with this angel food cake cupcake. it is such a refreshing spring treat with the fresh strawberries!

angel food cake cupcakes with strawberries & cream
recipe adapted from the baker upstairs

ingredients:

cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 6 egg whites
• 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

strawberries & cream filling:

• 12 strawberries, washed (you can use more or less strawberries depending on your preference, i used a strawberry per cupcake)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

directions:

1. preheat your oven to 350° F and prepare a cupcake pan (12-count) with paper liners.
2. in a small bowl, combine the flour and sugars, set aside.
3. in the bowl of your stand mixer whip the egg whites for one minute, until frothy. add the cream of tartar, vanilla and salt, and whip for 5-6 minutes until stiff peaks form.
4. then sprinkle 1/4 cup of the flour mixture over the egg mixture and fold in gently, repeating until all the flour is incorporated.
5. spoon the batter into the paper liners and bake for 15-17 minutes, until lightly golden and springy to the touch.
6. remove from the oven and cool completely in the pans.
7. while cupcakes are cooling, make the whipped cream and slice the berries.
8. for the whipped cream: add the heavy whipping cream and sugar to a medium size bowl and whip for 3-4 minutes, until light and airy. refrigerate the whipped cream in the refrigerator while you slice the berries.
9. to assemble the cupcakes: take the paper liners off the cupcakes very carefully. slice the cake in half and top the bottom half with a very good spoonful of whipped cream. then add the slices of fresh strawberries before topping it off with another spoonful of whipped cream. put the top half of the cake back on to finish. if the cupcake looks like it's falling apart you can use a toothpick to hold it in place. of course, remove the toothpick before consuming. serve immediately or keep refrigerated until ready to eat.

makes 12 cupcakes. enjoy and happy eating! :)

earl grey tea macarons

a while back i made some macarons as a going-away gift for one of my coworkers, coco, and also as a mini thank you gift for denise for her meyer lemons that i turned into this delicious tarty lemon tart (from tartine's recipe). anyway, these earl grey tea with milk chocolate ganache was one of the two flavors that i packed into those cute tiny boxes i gave them.

i had been wanting to make some earl grey tea with chocolate ganache filling for a while now. actually, ever since i got pierre herme's macarons book. he had a recipe for it. the recipe below isn't the recipe from the book. it's just one i made up on my own. i can't be bothered to make his recipe, since he uses the italian meringue method. yeah, it's too much work. i did try it a few times after i got the book for my birthday and decided that i would just stick with the french meringue way for now. maybe one of these days i'll do one of his recipes and write a post about it.

anyway, below's the recipe should you want to try and bake some yourself. i don't mind the tea flavor in these cookies although i'm not a real big tea fan. as mentioned before, i still can't get myself to have a lovely cup of tea. i mean, c'mon… you'd like it be pretty cool to have tea time with all these goodies right?! yeah, just sucks that i can't stomach it. not sure if it's the smell or taste or what it is. but somehow, i don't mind it in my sweets.

okay, enjoy the pictures and recipes if you do make them. let me know how yours turn out and what you think of it. i think the next time i make these, i will infuse my milk chocolate ganache with a little of the earl grey tea (liquid) so that you get more of the tea flavor as you're eating it, rather than getting a hint of it afterwards.


like i've said before, i'm not really a tea lover, but for some odd reason i don't mind the hint of tea in my baked goods.


i love the milk chocolate ganache with the earl grey tea macaron shells. makes for such a great flavor combo.

earl grey tea macarons with milk chocolate ganache

ingredients:

macaron batter:
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup almond meal
1 packet earl grey tea leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon of loose leaves)
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
5 tablespoons granulated sugar

milk chocolate ganache:
8 oz chocolate, chopped into small pieces
3/4 cup heavy cream

directions:

to make the macaron batter/shells:

1. line two baking sheets with parchment paper and have a pastry bag with a plain tip (about 1/2-inch, 2 cm) ready.
2. sift together the powdered sugar and almond meal so there are no lumps. add in the earl grey tea leaves and stir it to make sure it's fully incorporated with the sugar and almond meal mixture. set aside.
3. in the bowl of a standing electric mixer (or if you prefer, you can use a bowl and hand mixer), beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and hold their shape. while whipping, beat in the brown sugar until very stiff and firm, about 2 minutes.
4. carefully fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the beaten egg whites with a flexible rubber spatula. when the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag (standing the bag in a tall glass helps if you’re alone).
5. pipe the batter on the parchment-lined baking sheets in 1.35-inch circles evenly spaced one-inch apart.
6. rap the baking sheet a few times firmly on the counter top to flatten the macarons. then let it sit for at least 30-60 minutes depending on humidity before baking them in the oven. about 10-15 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. bake for 15 minutes.
7. once macaron shells are out of the oven, let them sit for 30-60 seconds before removing the hot baking sheet underneath. let the macarons cool completely before removing them from the parchment paper.

for the milk chocolate ganache filling:

place chocolate pieces in a large bowl, set aside.
1. in a small saucepan over medium high heat, pour in the heavy cream and heat until it comes to a boil. remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy.
2. allow ganache to completely cool and set up. when you are able to spoon the ganache and it can hold its texture, it is ready for spreading or piping.

to assemble the macaron cookies:

1. before assembling these cookies, make sure to pair up all the cookie shells so they are as close as possible in size.
2. using a knife, spread a good amount of the chocolate ganache on the inside of the macarons then sandwich them together. note: you can certainly put the ganache in a piping bag and pipe the ganache onto the cookie. it's a lot easier i think and less mess. but i can't be bother to do this so i almost always just spread it with a knife.
3. let them stand at least one day (keep them refrigerated) before serving (serve at room temperature), to meld the flavors.

store in airtight container for up to 5 days. makes 20-24 macarons. happy eating because these are really, really, good! :)

2013 boston marathon tragedy, 30-day exercise challenge update, new challenge

yesterday's tragic event at the boston marathon was just awful. it really hit close to home. we don't run big race events very often, but the boston marathon was definitely one race we'd hope to someday be able to run. i know it's one of those races where you'll have to qualify to get in or be a part of some kind of charity group. i figure if we can't qualify it ourselves, maybe we'd consider raising money for charity and running it that way. yes, all of this one day in the future as we tackle city marathons one at a time.

i heard about the bombings at this year's boston marathon 3 hours after the incidents. i know, a little late. but when i heard about it, my heart just dropped. i felt so bad for all those spectators, participants and event members near the explosion sites. just thinking about them how moments before they were cheering on all the runners (maybe even a loved one who was running the event) who were approaching the finish line or approaching and crossing the finish line themselves. oh, it's just awful. i think i went to bed thinking about it. i had to tell myself i needed to get to sleep because i had a 4 or 5 mile run this morning. i needed to keep up with my half marathon training as i will be running the sf marathon in june. i'm sure and hopeful that after yesterday's tragic event that security will be tighten around all marathons or big events. i heard the london marathon is this weekend and that the event will go on. the london marathon is also one event on our list we'd like to run in one day too. i told m we'd have to get an england address first before we can even apply to run. actually, he already has an england address, i just need to get one myself. or he'll just run it without me, and i can cheer him on. (you see? it's terrible right, just thinking about how it could be anyone, at any event.)

okay, moving onto other things more on a lighter note. how have i been doing in my 30-day exercise challenge? not bad actually. so far, i've passed the halfway mark and i am proud to say i have been going strong, still is and i hope to reach the finish line in top form. i did however modified what i had set out to do once i got going on the exercises though. instead of resting on the 7th day, i work out 5 days straight, then rest on the 6th day. after each rest day, i bump up my reps on the different exercises. i'm proud to say i can do 110 squats easy – yes, just like that. so far, so good. i think after this 30-day exercise challenge i'm going to do another one but with much tougher exercises such as lunges and arm strengthening moves. yeah, i'm not a big fan of lunges so that will be tough. we'll see how many lunges in a row i can do. ugh, i hate lunges, just thinking about it. hehe ;)

modified 30-day exercise challenge:

• day 1-5: start with 50 squats on day 1, increase squat count by 5 (should be at 70 squats on day 5), 30-sec plank, 20 pushups, 15-sec side planks (each side), 20 dips
• day 6: rest
• day 7-11: start with 80 squats, increase squat count by 5 (should be at 100 squats on day 11), 45-sec plank, 30 pushups, 30-sec side planks (each side), 30 dips
• day 12: rest
• day 13-17: start with 110 squats, increase squat count by 10 (should be at 150 squats on day 17), 60-sec plank, 40 pushups, 30-sec side planks (each side), 30-sec plank, 40 dips
• day 18: rest
• day 19-23: start with 160 squats, increase squat count by 10 (should be at 200 on day 23), 75-sec plank, 50 pushups, 45-sec side planks (each side), 45-sec plank, 50 dips
• day 24: rest
• day 25-29: start with 210 squats, increase squat count by 5 (should be at 230 on day 29), 90-sec plank, 60 pushups, 60-sec side planks (each side), 60-sec plank, 60 dips
• day 30: 250 squats, 2-min plank, 75 pushups, 75-sec side planks (each side), 90-sec plank, 75 dips

oh, i've joined a bunch of groups on fitbit to keep my motivation going. in one of the group forums, someone started an independence day (july 4th) challenge. it's for anyone who wants to lose or maintain weight or be able to do a certain set of exercise or whatever by july 4th. so my goal for that challenge is to lose those last 10 pounds! yes, it's so frustrating. 18 months later and i'm still not back to my pre-baby #2 weight. ugh, i know.

independence day challenge (as of 4/15/13):

• starting/current weight: 106 lb
• memorial day goal: 101 lb
• independence day goal: 97 lb

i think if i really discipline myself, i can get there. i'm also trying to eat better, so hopefully that will help a bit? i don't know. i haven't been eating very good lately, even with all this exercising and half-marathon training. so today i've decided that if only i can get myself to eat very good (strict 1200-1400 cal diet) 2 days in a row, i can splurge a little bit on the third day. so eat good 2 days, splurge a little 1 day, and just keep repeating. when i mean splurge, i don't mean eat all the crap i want. it just mean if i want to have ice cream, i can have some. just not the entire carton! so yes, with that said, good luck to me! :)

alright, we'll see where i am come july 4th! i'm excited. now i say, if you want to set a goal for this independence day challenge, why not?! whether it's losing weight, maintaining weight or having the ability to do 50 or 100 pushups in a row or 250 squats, etc… you can certainly join in!

okay, stay tune for updates. :)

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random stats i'm throwing out there (more for me, personally):

• miles ran this year as of today (according to my data on garmin): 137.73 miles
• lifetime steps with fitbit as of this morning (member since feb 24, 2013): 749,254 steps
• weight lost since january 1 of this year: 3.2 lb
• today's weight: 105 lb