i love cheese

Payday is on Friday and we can view our paychecks online two days ahead of time to see how much our check will be, see any errors if any,etc.

I looked at my paycheck and was looking over the fields I get paid for such as regular, holiday, sick, etc. and saw this

Well, smack me on the butt and call me The Situation!

What is GTL? And why am I getting paid for it? I don’t go to the gym anymore, don’t tan and do laundry on Sundays so that can’t be it but now I am curious…..

Today was quarter end which is normally madness but it was pretty quiet but the floodgates will open up tomorrow.

My breakfast was oatmeal with sliced peaches, half a baked yellow apple, unsweeted coconut and a dallop of Trader Joe’s Greek Yogurt

I will never tire of the hot/cold combo of oats and greek yogurt. And I don’t know if I can ever eat regular yogurt again after being exposed to the thickness of the greek….man!!! LOL JK Greek Yogurt, just seeing if you’re reading.

 This morning was uneventful. I went to the Bucks and got a Venti Pike with soymilk and two pumps sugar free cinnamon dolce.

Now that I think about it, that’s the most interesting thing that happened.

The nice thing about quarter end is that our department caters lunch. We had Boston Market this time which was awesome since I haven’t had it in forev!!

My beautiful plate with chicken, slice of turkey, slice of brisket, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, stuffing and a cookie.

I wanted to run away with the pan of macaroni and cheese but thought that wouldn’t be a smart move with our site manager in the room 🙂

Cheesy goodness

 Even Lincoln will be eating good tonight!

I stopped at TJ’s after the bus ride home to pick up bread, salsa and these babies which I read about on Danica’s blog.

Trader Joe’s Lite Kettle Corn Snack Bags!!!

These are the perfect size, only 110 calories per bag and have four ingredients—popcorn, sugar, sunflower oil and salt. The shorter the list the better!

I’m not feeling so hot and my throat has gotten worse as the day has progressed.

I needed something easy and hot for dinner and decided on Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup

I broke out my Trader Joe’s Low Sodium Organic Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I love this stuff! I think the regular tomato soup brands out there are too sodium ridden and I don’t need anything helping me with feeling bloated

I used Trader Joe’s Whole Grain Bread

The statement I love cheese may be an understatement! I used Kraft Singles and shredded cheese for the grilled cheese

Grilled for seven minutes while the tomato soup was heating up and behold, the beautiful outcome:

I don’t even want to admit that I was singing “Cheese-a-licious” to the tune of Fergalicious while diggin in

My version:

It’s Cheese-A-Licious

It’s melt-y

So delicious

I grill the cheese on whole grain

Cheese-A-Licious

I never claimed to be normal 🙂

I sprinkled some pepper on my soupn for extra flava

A perfect meal and I will be having dessert later!

If I want to go to Indiana, I need to get better by tomorrow. If not, no dice. I simply cannot go be all high energy and make an 18 hour trip by myself if I am sick. Boooooooo!

But then on the flip side, if I do get worse I will have to go see my hot doctor who is a younger and less white-haired version of this fella

I was reading.watching Kelly’s Blog and Vlog last night and she was talked about how it’s the end of the first quarter of the year, what have you accomplished? She made a terrific point of how we are evaluated at work on our performance by month.quarter.etc. but do ever evaluate our accomplishments, things we can work on, etc. when it comes to our health and fitness? I never thought of it that way and I think it is a totally valid point. I know I say I am going to eat healthier, work out more, etc. but how am I accountable for that? I am going to think about this further when I don’t have a horrible headache and feel like I can breathe and figure out what my goals for the second quarter are going to be health and fitness wise.

What I accomplished in the first quarter of 2010

*Bought a kettlebell

*Tried many new foods such as

-Brussel Sprouts

-Tempeh

-Baby Spinach and Green Monsters

-Incorporate more fish in my diet

-Spaghetti Squash

-Rolled Oats

*Ran my first 5K!!!

Things that I could have done a better job on

*Work out more with kettlebell

*Have a more structured running plan

*Snack less

*Not buy 75% off Valentine’s Day chocolate

*Track what I eat

*Listen to what my body wants not want my head wants

*Stop making excuss or justifications for what I eat

*Drink less beer

I encourage you to check out Kelly’s blog. She is so high energy, motivating and I don’t really think she’s human since she seems to do it all! And I would give up cheese if I could have her arms and shoulders in return. And her vlogs are hilarious.

Question: What have you done in the first quarter of 2010 and what are your goals for the second quarter?

Damn you potatoes

Hello all-Happy Tuesday! Another gorgeous spring day in Charlotte, if it could only stay this way forever!

I started my day with an Iced Coffee Green Monster

I got to work and automatically went to the Bucks. I yet again, got a Venti Iced Coffee with soymilk and three splenda’s. I can clearly see this being an addiction. Dunkin Donuts has my favorite iced coffee —Coconut Iced Coffee but the two locations within walking distance of work are closed-boo!

Don’t mind my produce for the day in the shot, it gives it some color!

I had half a container of Chobani Strawberry Greek yogurt with sliced peaches and Fiber One Cereal .This stuff is so good and it has 14 gr of fiber per half cup and only 60 calories!

 

I don’t think I could eat it with milk alone but add some fruit and yogurt and I would be set!!

Speaking of getting your fiber on, click here to win a bottle of Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate!

OR

If you would like to win some free Yoplait Greek Yogurt Coupons and a $20 Stop and Shop Gift Card, click here

I had a Big Salad….it’s a salad only bigger.

With Baby spinach, black beans, tomato, cucumbers, shredded cheese and Chick Fil A Fat Free Honey Mustard

All of this for under 300 calories—yumm yummy yumm

I took a 25 minute walk so I could get outside and enjoy the sun

I came back and sipped on some hot chocolate since it was freezing at work

By 3P I needed my second lunch which was baked tofu and broccoli slaw marinated in soy. I wasn’t too keen on this the other night because it didn’t fill me up and I sprinkled a tad too much sriracha on it. Paired the salad a few hours before it held me over.

http://www.ugo.com/the-goods/lost-toys-jacob

For dinner, I had a half a pork chop and roasted potatoes

Why such a small dinner you ask?

 Because of these—JAY’S POTATO CHIPS!!!!!

Jay’s takes me back to my childhood in Indiana. I didn’t even know they made them still but my sister sent me an Easter care package (even though I will be seeing her this wknd!) I made the mistake of opening the bag and then I couldn’t stop. Damn you Jay’s and damn you potatoes.

 Other goodies include:

Old Navy Tops

Tommy Hilger pajama pants

Gossip magazines

Mucho chocolate–including Fannie May Trinidad’s and Pixie’s 🙂 And Coconut M&M’s which I have heard about but never seen before!

*Note, I will NOT be giving this stuff away!

A Raw Indulgence Revolution Bar (again something I’ve never seen) anyone know anything about these??

Thanks sis!!

Does anyone want to see a Levi Johnston reality show? Yeah, me either. Dude, you seem like a tool. A hot tool but tool nonetheless

I cannot wait to get my Lost on tonight!! Am I a dork for wanting these figurines??

Actually, please don’t answer that!

Swallowed your hollaback girl

You know it’s going to be a happy monday when you’re morning “coffee” is brewing at home and you forget to put grinds in the night before, waaaa waaa waaaaaaaa 😦

I had a Venti Iced Coffee with Soymilk and three splenda’s from the Bucks for a morning pick me up

I had a new concoction for breakfast–Chobani Strawberry, Sliced Peaches, Unsweetened Coconut and Fiber One Cereal

It was a party in my mouth–a lot of flavor everywhere!

I was evil again and loaded more chocolate onto my co-workers. I like how I am telling them what to do.

I had lunch with Gwen

Would have much preferred lunch with Gavin though…..hello daddy.

Sigh……ok, what was I talking about? Oh yeah….lunch. fun.

I love it when lunch doesn’t sound appetizing at all but then you taste it and find yourself wrong. I didn’t want my lunch today although it sounded good when I put it together last night….potato wedges,baked tofu bits, black beans, jalapeno, shredded cheese and a side of greek yogurt.

 I love when a meal proves me wrong. This was asbolutely fabulous.

For dinner I had baked panko porkchops and broccoli slaw with T Marzetti Honey Balsamic Dressing and tomato

I finally got off my butt to go run. I haven’t ran since my 5K……yeah over two wks ago. My knee and calves were hurting for the first wk and then last wk, pure laziness deterred me from workking out. I need to get on a consistent schedule again whether it be running, walking, kettlebell, etc. and stick with it. I feel so much better when I work out and only takes an hour out of my day. An hour which I have been sitting on my butt watching tv.

I went to the YMCA where I used to go to before they jacked up my rate to $65/month because I turned 30. Not happy about that. The YMCA was where I started my weight loss journey and was one of the only gyms in my life that I felt comfortable going to. I know it is just money and that I shouldn’t have stopped going but I basically lost motivation doing cardio only and the fact they jacked up my rate because I turned 30 really pissed me off. Basically, if I was married and had children it would have been cheaper per person but since I am 30, single and no kids, my rate gets jacked up. I have a reminder of that enough every day (and from my mother) that I don’t need that getting in the way of my gym rate.

Rant over……so I went to the YMCA I used to go to go because they have an outdoor dirt track. After 12 minutes I wanted to stop but then this track came on and made me smile

because it then made me think of this movie

And those two things just kept me going. I ended up walking/running for 35 minutes. Not too shabby for not working out at all in 2 wks.

I stopped at Harris Teeter on the way home and got some cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, apples and bananas for the week. I then went to Walgreens to get some bubble bath, which I couldn’t find. Weird. I went to one of the ladies who work there and asked where the bubble bath was and she had no clue what I was talking about. Which confused me because was in her 40’s and sounded like she was from here and I had to explain what bubble bath suds were and she looked at me like I was crazy for wanting to take a bubble bath.

Yeah, I am 29 30 yrs old and love my bubble baths, shoot me.

She then said they have Mr. Bubble where I shot back with “Mr Bubble sucks”. All said with a smile though since my humor wins everyone over 🙂 I ended up with bath beads which also sucks but oh well, momma needed a long soak!

I came home and made a green monster. I’ve had some morning green monsters the past two wks but was ready for a proper protein filled green monster after my run. In the mix tonight—baby spinach, blackberry kefir, vanilla whey protein and milk.

Holy shizzle—this is the mother of all giveaways!!! Click here to win a Health Refridgerator Makeover on Danica’s Page—or don’t because I want to win lol 🙂 Includes a $100 gift card, healthy recipes and tips on what to stock and more!

This was a great start to the week! It is quarter end which is a super busy time for my line of business. Tomorrow should be another slow day at work then the craziness will resume on Wednesday. But I will be gone by Thursday afternoon on my way to Indiana! I am stopped and staying at my friend’s place in Charleston, WV Thursday night then drive the rest of the way to Indianapolis on Friday morning. Some things that I get excited about when going to Indianapolis:

Cafe Patachou: They have an awesome menu and great coffee–Highlander Grog is my favorite and I always buy a bag to take home with me!

Fannie May Trinidad’s—I will be stocking up

Meijer—so much better than WalMart and they always have cute sports apparel for cheap….along with scratch off lotto vending machines 🙂

 And my sister and my nieces of course 🙂 But those are a few of my favorite Indiana things.

 And Ricky Martin—you go! It’s about time and I always knew you were too pretty to be straight. You can officially drink from the cup of life, shake your bon bon and live the vida loca. But not too loca since you got the twins.

Blarg

So I am going to be upfront….I really have nothing interesting to say.

Today was a total waste of a day due to the nasty weather outside and a hangover but I will attempt to entertain via pictures of food!

For lunch, I decided to make a calzone after seeing Danica’s calzone she made the other day. I am looking to get stuff out of my fridge and go this wk without buying too much produce with my trip coming up.  I filled it with turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, onions and mozzarella cheese.

Give me a F

Give me a A

Give me a I

Give me a L

What’s that spell? FAIL! Well, looks wise at least. This is like the dorky guy in school who doesn’t look like much but then when you really take a look inside, he has a heart of gold and opens you up to a whole new world of things.

It was fine but then decided to break when I put it on the pan. But edible so I decided to go through with it.

I had salt and vinegar chips while waiting then threw out the rest of the bag, does anyone else do that?

 It is one of those days where I would eat the entire bag without needing to. I know it’s totally wasteful but it’s the only thing that will stop me sometimes. And I can’t just throw it out, I have to pour water or ketchup all over it so I won’t it. Otherwise, I become like Miranda on Sex and The City, when she makes a cake then throws it away and goes into the garbage and eats it.

Sigh, I miss Sex and The City and can’t wait for the second movie to be out! Note to self, look up release date.

Note to readers: When Binging Sex and The City (hehe I love saying binging) make sure your filters are on. When I typed in “Sex And The City”, I did not get my four favorite ladies but now know where to go if I need to find a horny black woman or gay men.

It didn’t turn out beautiful but the calzone was superb!

I watched Phone Booth with Colin Farrell this afternoon. Mostly because I don’t have a remote control and was being lazy.

What I want to know now is who is the casting director who cast Colin as a fast talking, conniving guy originally from the Bronx? Apparently someone who sucks since I could do a better job. Let’s just stick to your Irish accent and being sexy mmmmm ok, Colin?

Rawr baby.

I took a nap and caught some of the Baylor-Duke game. I was really proud of Baylor, until the last-minute after their last technical foul I feel like they just gave up. I am more annoyed by this because this means that WVU plays Duke…..yay, we’re going to get out asses kicked. I did love how one of the school bands was playing “Crazy In Love” towards the end though, that made me smile.

Has anyone seen this Budweiser Golden Wheat commercial? It’s my new fave 🙂

I got to cooking my meals for this week.

Tofu on the baking sheet……seasoned in taco seasoning on top and with soy sauce, garlic and ginger on the bottom

I also cooked up some potato slices in evoo, salt and pepper while I was prepping the tofu

I then cooked up some broccoli slaw and mushrooms while the tofu was baking

And a simple day was done! Along with a nice set of chopsticks I snaged from Pei Wei.

I’m now trying to tire myself out since I took two naps today and never sleep well on Sunday nights. April is just around the corner and I am going to make a list of goals since I have been a slackass as of late (I don’t even want to mention how long it’s been since I’ve ran). Blarg Sunday nights, I hate you!!!

Whole Lotta Catching Up To do!

Hi all-I have been totally MIA for the past few days due to A) it being gorgeous outside and B) too much to do so this is the catch up posts of all catch up posts. But I do have lots of pictures of food so redeeming myself there!

Starting off with Friday, I had the greenest green monster I have ever had!

I got to work and was covering my desk + another person’s so needed a Starbucks stat……and I went venti this time which I never really do anymore.

Since I am a nice co-worker (and don’t want my butt to get any bigger) I brought in Dove chocolates and set them in the break room

I went back into the break room five minutes later to make my breakfast and they were gone. The people live their Dove!

I made a bowl of Chobani blueberry greek yogurt, sliced peaches, unsweeted coconut and flax—it was delicious!

The morning went smoothly without too many issues

Lunch was Annie’s Shells and Cheese with broccoli florets

And then the craziness started and lasted all afternoon. I did pack along a salad to have along with the shells but didn’t have a minute to get over to the break room to prep it. Nothing too horrible but just a lot going on and was happy when 5 o’clock hit!

I was riding along on the bus home and you could hear my stomach growling and the salad was just sitting next to me so I broke it out. I want to apologize to other bus riders who had to smell my salad with tuna salad and vinegar. But there were only four other people on the bus and I was starving!!!

I took Lincoln for a long walk and by the time we got back, I was mentally wiped clean. I couldn’t think after the craziness that occured at work and wanted something easy for dinner so I fried up some frozen pierogies and grilled mushrooms and onions on the side.

Oh pierogies, I will never quit you

I settled down and finally got a chance to watch this past wk’s episode of Lost which was all about Richard.

I soon had someone watching me

What an episode!! I may have to watch it again today because it answered so many questions.

Lincoln started inching himself towards me so he could beg for food

Ha, he looks drunk here

I was in bed by 1030 on Friday night because I am lame but I did get a nice eight and a half hours of sleep which is unheard of for me!

I tried out my Sticky Bun Coffee I got on sale at Bi-Lo on Saturday morning

And we all know about BFD but what about DFB? I feasted on mashed potatoes with avocado and greek yogurt for breakfast

I was tempted to add some garlic, salsa and lime juice to make guacamole potatoes because it just sounds magical.

Lincoln was due for a check up and we spent a half hour at the vet getting his shots so he can be a healthy boy!

I came home to a nice surprise—my Crazy Richard’s peanut butter I won from

I had to break into this right away because…..well….no specific reason other than I just wanted to!

I made a Morningstar Chicken Pattie with Frank’s Red Hot topped with cheese on a Thomas Whole Wheat Bagel Thin and tomato with a sliced banana topped with Crazy Richard’s Creamy Peanut Butter.

 The verdict? AMAZING! It was super creamy which I am a total fan of and not too thick (I am just starting to like peanut butter again because it’s thickness turned me off). I will definitely start using this kind and can’t wait to try the chunky)

Lincoln wasn’t feeling so hot due to his shots so he sat with me while I caught up on some reading

Soon after, I decided to take on the mall since JCP was having a great sale. I don’t like going to the mall because it just seems like madness each time I go and too many people. If I do ever go, it’s right when it opens in the morning and I go in and get out stat. I got two tops at JCP then went to Steinmart and got two more tops(those are for work though so nothing too saucy).

WVU was playing at 7 so I got on my gear and headed to a bar a few blocks away from my place to watch. It was $2 Corona’s and yeah, pretty much stayed with those all night. I was alone so just sat and the bar and needed nourishment. Confession…..I absolutely love bar food. I know I shouldn’t but I do and could eat it every day if I could.

I got a cheeseburger with french fried potato chips

So I know it doesn’t look like much but this was one of the BEST cheeseburgers I’ve ever had. I can’t describe why, it was just amazing. I stayed there the rest of the night, made new friends and watched WVU beat Kentucky to move onto the Final Four!!!

What has two thumbs and a sister who lives in Indianapolis? THIS GIRL!

Pending I can get Friday or Monday off of work, I will be making a beautiful nine hour drive to Indianapolis next wknd. I really don’t want to drive but refuse to pay $500+ for a plane ticket. I don’t have tickets but think it would be fun to hang there with all the basketball madness going on. Plus my sister went to Butler so a little bit of a rivalry there which makes it even more fun!

Anyways, after too many Corona’s I made it home and once again, famished. I made nachos, which is just fabulous drunk food. But I wasn’t too drunk that I couldn’t take a picture 🙂 They had Morningstar veggie crumbles, cheese, avocado, jalapenos with greek yogurt and salsa on the side.

And I devoured every last bit!

This morning I was looking forward to a big breakfest….well, a super huge hungover big breakfast: scrambles eggs with mushrooms, cheese and avocado and a Thomas Whole Wheat Bagel Thin with TJ’s Superfruit Spread

Nom Nom

It’s supposed to be absolutely miserable out today which I am excited about because

*I’m hungover and don’t want to move

*Have blogs to catch up

*Need to cook lunch meals for this wk

*Have Netflix movies to catch up on:

 

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Lean Green Fighting Machine

Another wonderful day followed by mucho basketball tonight-a great Thursday indeed!

I had my Starbucks this morning along with a banana and orange

I had to go meet with my manager for my 2009 performance review and it went fabulous! I voiced my concerns about where I am in my career, coverage and work load on our team and told him that I was looking for other opportunities and welcome different projects to work on that get me out of my sitting at my computer for eight hours a day bubble. All in all, I think I will be fine!

 I finally got to have breakfast, which was something kinda new–Liberte Pear Yogurt with flax, coconut and fresh strawberries

 If you haven’t tried Liberte yogurt, please go out and buy some!!! It was absolutely delicious! Not as thick as my beloved greek yogurt but not thin like Dannon or Yoplait and it didn’t have an artificial taste like those either. I loved the combination of pear and strawberry.

I met with an old co-worker to go to Salsarita’s for lunch since I had a BOGO coupon. Salsarita’s and I did not get off on the right foot. It was one of my first Mexican places I tried when I moved to Charlotte and I ordered a chicken burrito, which you would think be an easy to thing to make and they couldn’t mess it up right? Oh no. It was cold, wet and dripping with some kind of funky juice. Blech. From there on, I called it Salsa-shi**y’s but it is starting to redeem itself.

I had the taco pizza with chips and salsa (had about 1/3 of the chips) and yes, the basket of chips is per person. Ugh.

My friend had the white pizza

The blackberry was not wanting to cooperate with pictures today, bleh.

After that this afternoon flew by due to some fire drills from our trading floor. I ended up staying late to catch up on some work since my co-worker who I back up will be out tomorrow. I hate quarter end.

I came home, took Lincoln for a nice walk and started to make dinner.

I’m sure y’all get the point that I love Trader Joe’s (maybe since I talk about it in every post it seems like!) but here is yet another reason:

A bag of potatoes that introduces itself and says “dig” ?? Why hello potatoes, you are going to get in my belly!

Said in my Fat Bastard voice, of course.

I tried Dr. Hansen’s Diet Soda

The meal turned out to be a plate of comfort: Split Chicken with honey mustard and mashed avocado potatoes

 I know my potatoes shouldn’t take up almost half of my plate but when mixed with avocado, cmon. It’s that damn good.

And I just noticed green in every meal. Are you green with envy?? Haha. I crack myself up.

Click here to win a Inner Goddess Spa Pack!

And click  here for yet another Inner Goddess Spa Pack–yay for extra ones 🙂

 I am looking forward to catching up on my blogs tonight and catching the rest of the game—-let’s go Mountaineers!

Beautiful Day

What has two thumbs and had a fantabulous day? THIS GIRL!

Maybe it was because I finally chatted it up with the cute Josh Hartnett lookalike on the bus for almost the entire ride. He is just so cute and I kept smiling the whole time because he is that cute.  Turns out he was laid off and is going back to school and was formerly in the military. I will be getting more details from this slice of heaven. No longer are the days of acting aloof and uninterested like I was in my 20’s, I am in my 30’s now so bring it on!

Maybe it was because it’s spring time and absolutely gorgeous out. I love the tulips blooming all over uptown Charlotte

 Those two things just started off my day on the right step. I noshed on some oats, unsweetened coconut, flax and fresh strawberries for breakfast.

Confession time. I have not been tracking for the last wk on Livestrong.com and am starting to feel the repercussions of that. I am a grazer so occasionally will have some chocolate, salt and vinegar chips (I don’t know why I keep these in the house, I seriously need to throw out the bag). So from here on out, if it goes in my mouth, it’s getting a picture. I need to start tracking again and not justifying what I eat to myself or anyone else—-as crazy as said justification may be (ex. two desserts in one day). Sorry if seeing more pics if boring for you all but that’s how I am going to roll.

I got a grande drip with two pumps of sugar free cinnamon dolce and soymilk. I really need to start cutting down on my calories from liquids. I don’t like drinking my calories and should be savoring instead.

Anyone have any tips on transitioning over? I want to go black and never go back!!

I snacked on a granola bar before lunch

I had a great morning-got a lot done, caught up on emails and felt accomplished. This positive thoughts stuff is for real! I am trying to make a conscious effort to think positively about my day when I am at work. Bye bye negative thoughts!

I had the final piece of Danica’s Bubble Up Pizza Casserole I made a couple of weeks ago. I froze one last piece to see if it would be good and it was delish!

One of my co-workers went on a 25 minute walk this afternoon since it was so beautiful out. If I could just live in a place that was 70 and sunny year round I would be a happy girl! I needed a little pick up afterwards so we went to Starbucks and I got a grande iced coffee with soy milk and three splendas….for free!! The Starbucks people know me now and apparently that comes with perks 🙂 They saw me earlier today and just counted it as a refill–thanks fabulous Starbucks baristas!

I took one of the earlier buses home but no cute Josh Hartnett look-a-alike but oh well, there shall be other days. Lincoln and I went for a 40 minute walk on the greenway when I got back home and he got to socialize with other doggies.

He was happy when we got home!

I made kielbasa, grilled onions and the pierogies I made a few weeks ago for dinner.

I was planning on going for a run since I haven’t been in a week and a half but was still feeling a little off today and kind of light headed so I decided running wasn’t the best idea.

I went to Trader Joe’s to pick up some produce since I have close to zero in da house.

Reason #597 Trader Joe’s has my heart:

Pet Board!!! More like a dog board, which is even better 🙂 Who doesn’t smile when seeing these cute faces? And you bet your bottom dollar I am submitting a picture of Lincoln, this is out chance to get famous! I rolled out of there with tofu, oranges, potatoes, avocados, broccoli slaw, apples, greek yogurt, mushrooms and tomatoes along with this sweet treat.

I was putting the groceries away and came upon this mess

Beautiful. Turns out, my soy sauce bottle tipped over and spilled all over the place. I’ve been wanting to clean my fridge so this was a perfect opportunity to clear it out and clean it up!

All in all, today was a great day. I am a little groggy from this funky sinus cold/headache thing I have going on and am looking to getting a good night’s sleep tonight. I need to look cute in the AM in case Josh Hartnett look-a-like is on the bus 🙂

AND

 I have my year-end performance review tomorrow with my manager. I have been preparing what I want to go over (i.e. I hate my job and the don’t like the people I work with) and think I have it down pat where I won’t go off and start cussing or crying. I am planning on going over what I achieved this past yr, what I learnedI liked  doing (training other’s and work that is interactive), what I think we could use on the team to make everyone more efficient (seeing how my co-workers are always behind on their work and I always help them) and what I am looking for in the future. Wish me luck and any thoughts, comments, etc. please send my way!

Upstream

It is late this is going to be short and sweet, well as sweet as possible 🙂 Gorgeous green monster for a morning pick me up with Vanilla Whey, Soy Milk, Baby spinach, sunny delight and fresh strawberries

 I went to Starbucks and got my free pastry for free pastry day, anyone else??

 I was contemplating either the Reduced-Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake or the Iced Lemon Pound Cake and went with the Lemon Pound Cake.

Umm yeah with stats like this, should have gone with the former! 

 I got a lot done this morning and felt almost caught up by the end of the day. Anyone else think it’s weird I didn’t talk to any of my co-workers today? Yeah me too. I heart working with socially awkward people who don’t like to socialize (they seriously need a font for snark)

For lunch, I had Annie’s Shells and Cheese with broccoli along with pulled chicken breast with a side of Chick Fil A honey mustard dipping sauce.

This was one comfort meal that I just loved.

I’ve had this song in my head all day….it is really difficult for me to spell courvoisier by the way but I used to love this jam 

 I snacked on fresh strawberries, geek yogurt, flax and unsweetened coconut this afternoon and later got a Starbucks refill on my drip coffee

 I had a networking dinner at Upstream with my Professional Women’s group. I’ve only been to Upstream twice-once for Sunday brunch and for Thanksgiving so I was super excited to go for dinner and drinks! This was my first time meeting these ladies and I had a wonderful time! It was great to get out, have a nice meal and some drinks with women my age who have the same interests and career driven.  I had two Stella drafts and went with The Flying Salmon Roll, Cucumber Roll and Firecracker Roll (top to bottom)

The Cucumber Roll and Firecracker Roll were great but the Flying Salmon Roll, not so much. I was expecting raw salmon and it was cooked which I am not a fan of. However great conversation, beer and meeting new people made up for it! Soon it was 930 and we were all ready to roll out and now I am at home catching up on some stuff.

I’ve been majorly sucking with tracking my food online lately. Starting tomorrow, I am bringing my a-game back and tracking everything. Hell, I may even take pictures of every single thing as well to make me accountable. I hate being a grazer. And I hate being a grazer who has four bags of 75% off Valentine’s Day chocolate sitting in my kitchen.

Sigh, how is it 1030 already?? Hope everyone had a delightful day!

Meatless Monday

I hate Mondays b/c I never mentally wake up until 1P or 2P. And by that time, I am usually rolling down to Starbucks to get my free refill so it all works out. I have officially become one of those people when they see, they start making my drink. I don’t know if that’s good or bad but I pretty much feel like my coffee is saying this to me

They also had free samples of their new Dark Cherry Mocha. OMG. Amazing flavor. I normally hate cherry and chocolate together but this was rich and decadent. I don’t know how people drink these heavy drinks every day but to me they are an indulgence and more of a treat or dessert. If you haven’t tried it, I definitely suggest it. Tomorrow is Free Pastry Day at Starbucks, click here for the coupon (free with purchase).

Since I was sleepwalking through my morning, I was in a pretty foul mood and just didn’t want to talk to anyone. I may have snarled or growled at a few people also (I never claimed to be a morning person) but I went over to one of my co-workers cubes to wish him a happy birthday and on the way there I had to remind myseld that  I need to choose to be happy. I have to remind myself that it is my choice to attempt to be happy and keep a positive attitude or sulk and be negative. So from that minute forward, I put a smile back on my face and tried to be happy and not sulk anymore. Pretty weird, I was catching up on some blog reading this afternoon and read this on Granola + Pancakes……clicks for positive thoughts!

Part of my bad mood was that I am not feeling too hot today. I didn’t sleep well and my throat is bothering me so I hope I’m not catching whatever bug that is going around. I enjoyed a nice cup of Trader Joe’s Pomegranate White Tea at work

I’ve had this box for awhile but only drink tea when I am not feeling well or when my throat hurts. I really need to change that and incorporate it more into my fluids. I am trying to steer clear of whatever bug is going around but some people at work just seem to be nasty and not like to wash their hands after going to the bathroom and such—YUCK! Personally I love the feeling of washing my hands with hot water….not scalding or lukewarm but just hot water. It feels so good to me. Am I weird? Possibly but weird and healthy 🙂

My appetite wasn’t raging for once and I enjoyed a small cup of greek yogurt with fresh strawberries and granola

Today wasn’t too bad of a day work-wise just lots of catching up from the craziness of last wk. I had to deal with some dramatic traders and now absolutely love when people say “I had to  jump through hoops to get this done, etc.” I would like to actually see that. And not just any kind of hoop, I want hoops on fire.

I almost forgot about the super great green monster I had this morning. I used raspberry Kefir since it was nearing the expiration date and was so thick I almost needed a spoon but sucked it up and used a straw (pun intended). I added some sunny delight, fresh strawberries, soy milk and one scoop of vanilla whey protein.

For lunch, I had the farfalle pasta with spinach and artichokes that I made last night. I absolutely love the combination of garlic, red pepper flakes and olive oil. I don’t even use pasta sauce anymore and this is my go to.

I was reading about Meatless Monday on Eat Clean Life Green today and decided to keep going meatless today since I haven’t had any meat thus far. She had some great meatless recipes and I think I am going to start incorporaing this on Mondays. I made buffalo chicken pizza for dinner with Morningstar “Chik Patties” tossed in Budweiser Wing Sauce with Trader Joe’s Greek Style Feta Dressing as the sauce. I had a little bit of shredded mozzarella left so I killed that. I don’t like too much sauce on my pizza so only used a couple of tablespoons of the dressing.

Of course I can’t have a normal shaped pizza

 This was my first time trying the Feta Dressing and I can’t wait to try it again! It had a smooth, feta flavor but nothing too overpowering. It would be great on a greek salad, on chicken or greek style pizza—-the possibilities are endless!

And I wanted to apologize to everyone for “Who Let The Dogs Out”. It’s been in my head all day…….singing in the shower, singing it to Lincoln, singing it at the bustop, singing it in my cubicle, singing it while making dinner. It’s never been this out of control but whoever did let the dogs out, I officially want them to meet their demise.

if you want a funny video, check this out. These people are horrible and third guy from the left’s dancing skills are mad crazy yo!

We never found out who let the dogs out.

Sometimes when I get ready to take Lincoln out, I get “Who Let The Dogs Out?” in my head and once again, it’s crept in my head.

I am seriously contemplating downloading it from itunes.

I made french toast with fresh strawberries this morning. Yay for spring and cheaper fresh fruit! I need to hit up the farmers market soon.

I decided to get some spring cleaning done and cleaned out my closet and packed away my winter clothes, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. Does anyone know of a good earring organizer> This is what it looks like when it’s “orderly” and is such a pain in my behind trying to organize, untangle, etc.

 I love my ghetto baby girl earrings!

I put away a bunch of clothes into my outdoor storage and put away a bunch of stuff that I’m donating to Good Will. All that stuff worked up my appetite and decided to make zucchini cakes.

The cakes frying up

Looks wise=fail. Taste wise=fabulous. They didn’t look as good as the last time I made them but still tasty!

Dessert was greek yogurt, pineapple, strawberries and flax

I got the bubble bath going and put on my bathing suit because it was time to give Lincoln a bubble bath! He hates going in the kitchen sink so have to give him a bath in the tub and he has this pina colada dog bubble bath that smells wonderful.

He looks so fluffy and clean now

And without a collar, he looks like a little naked puppy!

I ran to K-Mart to pick up some random stuff plus Easter gifts for my nieces. I love going there as opposed to Wal-Mart since the [prices are comparable and not as many people go there. One of the things I cannot stand about Wal-Mart are the crowds (given it is good people watching). Soon enough, it was time for the WVU-Missouri game. I made popcorn with my new White Cheddar seasoning

WVU won so they are onto the Sweet 16 and play Washington on Thursday–bring it Huskies! I feel asleep right after and hate that about Sunday afternoons. I never sleep well on Sundays due to me not being happy about another work wk starting but something about Sunday afternoon naps is so right.

Dinnertime was approaching and already had split chicken breast in the crockpot cooking so all I needed was a side dish. I had this box of Annie’s Organic Shells and Cheese sitting on my shelf for a few weeks and have been itching to make it. This was my first Annie’s experience and was excited!

Shells and cheese alone never fills me up so I steamed some broccoli and threw it in the mix with some pepper

 

I pulled the chicken apart to make pulled chicken, spooned Budweiser bbq sauce on top and let simmer in the crock while the shells were cooking

LOVED the shells and cheese. It didn’t taste as processed as Kraft shells and cheese, which I definitely liked it. It was light, cheesy and paired with the broccoli, a perfect side dish.

Since I already had dessert at lunch, I figure why no continue to have dessert at dinner.

This was another first for me–Skinny Cow Chocolate Truffle Bar

I’ve always wanted to try these but they are super expensive but only $2.48 at the supermarket this wknd so I had to buy a box!

Mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmm. This was delicious and reminded me of Pudding Pops from the 80’s!

God, those were so good!

I made lunch for tomorrow–Barilla Plus Whole Wheat Farfalle with sautéed baby spinach, artichokes in olive oil with fresh garlic and red pepper flakes.

It’s hard to believe this is one serving of the farfalle—56g. Before I had a food scale, a “serving”—eek!

I signed Lincoln and I up for the Dogswalk Against Cancer Event on the 3rd here in Charlotte this evening. Some of my former co-workers may come out with their dogs to walk as well. It’s the weekend of Easter and will be something fun to do since I have no plans for Easter Sunday itself.

Does anyone watch Desperate Housewives? Does anyone else want to shave off Preston’s porn-stache or think MJ is super whiny all of a sudden? I know I shouldn’t pick on a five-year old but suck it up MJ and stop whining about everything under the sun!

I wish I could tire out as easily as this little guy  but no can do. Hopefully I will start getting sleepy soon enough!