Gilmores and Kale

Ok, so I don’t know how this day has gone by. I feel like I just woke up and felt like I did alot of stuff but really didn’t do too much. I was thinking about going into work for a few hours to get stuff done without interruption but yeah, that didn’t happen. I slept on the couch last night, falling asleep to Gilmore Girls. I’m really digging sleeping on the couch after this past weekend–I don’t wake up at all around 3A like I do when I sleep in my bed and feel like I’m getting better sleep. On the flip side, I have a mean kink in my neck from sleeping on the throw pillows. Nice little catch 22 I have going on.

And I’m currently addicted to Gilmore Girls-I’m a little bit behind if you can’t see. So many questions….

*Is Sookie’s boyfriend Jackson gay and she later finds out? He is very dramatic yet passionate about his fruit (which I find endearing) just a little confused on that. *

* So Tristan (Chad Michael Murray) left–when he leaves,  is One Tree Hill a spin-off from his character on Gilmore Girls or is that someone else completely?

*When will Rory get bangs?  She has a very big forehead that’s driving me nuts

*Why doesn’t my town have a troubadour?

*What is up this brat Paris’ butt?

*Do Lorelei and Luke ever get together?

*And how the hell do those Gilmores talk so damn fast?

Since I had nothing on my agenda for today, I started the day off with a big breakfast-one egg, egg whites, Trader Joe’s Uncured Turkey Bacon and an english muffin.

I was excited to buy their turkey bacon since Trader Joe’s almost always satisfied me but it sucked. Taking it out of its packaging, none of the pieces were staying together as one and they were stringy. It was still edible but not whole so I could still eat it broken down and all. And typing this out, I am realized I didn’t have a meatless Monday. Oh well!

Lincoln and I went to Freedom Park to get our walk on. It was a dreary day from the start, a complete 180 from yesterday with its sunny weather.

I love Freedom Park but hate how busy it gets at times and today it was dead with the exception of a few runners, families and dog owners. Pet peeve of the day? Dog owners who are rude and won’t let their dog socialize with Lincoln. And I’m not talking big dogs or anything, little dogs like Lincoln size but the owners are too preoccupied with getting their workout in or they are just snobby. All Lincoln wants to do is say hi and maybe sniff a butt-totally normal dog protocol.

When I got back home, I wanted to sit down and relax with Eat Pray Love that I got from Netflix this past week. I’ve hesitated on watching it b/c I’ve heard it’s pretty bad and I hate when Hollywood completely changes the story of a book. But I loved the book and hoped for the best that it wouldn’t be as horrible as everyone has said it was. And you know what? I turned it off before she even got to Indonesia, it was bad. I can’t wait to pop it in the mail box and send it away!

I had a salad and soup combo for lunch–black bean soup and a baby spinach salad with cucumber, tomatoes, corn and  cheese topped with Ken’s Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette

I also started to press my tofu for dinner tonight, I love my crappy fake tofu press.

I also tried a new green tea this afternoon-from my luvah Trader Joe- of course. Trader Joe’s Organic Cranberry Green Tea

Even though clove was pretty far down there on the ingredients list, it was the first thing I smelled when I opened the box. I despise the smell of cloves. It reminds me of college because there would always be one creepy person smoking a clove cigarette and the smell doesn’t sit well with me. I think I would die if I had to smell curry and cloves together-blech!! I liked the mesh-like bag that it came in and tastewise it was ok. I was expecting more cranberry flavor to come out and of course, less clove. I wasn’t overly impressed with it but I won’t be throwing it out either.

And this afternoon consisted of just about nothing. I hung out, cleaned, caught up with my best friend Leila on how her first 1/2 marathon went yesterday and soon it was dinner time. I was attempting to do meatless Monday but kinda killed it with my first meal but still kept up with the original plan. I made BBQ tofu and onions over egg noodles with kale chips on the side.

Some of you asked about the kale chips. I rip off the stem then break into bits, throw in a bowl with extra virgin olive oil and spices, toss then spread on a baking sheet and bake at 350-375 for 12-15 minutes (depending on how crispy I want them) and that’s about it. They are very easy to make, loaded with beta-carotene and vitamin C  so why not give kale a chance?

I chopped up 1/4 onion and tossed into a pan to cook while I covered the tofu pieces with bbq sauce

Then added to the onion mix on the stovetop to let cook then I popped the kale chips into the oven to bake

I cooked egg noodles yesterday so I warmed those up then added the tofu mix on top along with pieces of parsley and voila-a big, green meal!

A seriously delicious, green meal….and healthy for the most part. I was completely satisfied after this yet didn’t have a heavy feeling in my stomach which is always nice since I don’t like that heavy feeling at night.

 

Gilmore Girls-Love it, hate it, never seen it?

Snow day!!!

So for those of you under a rock, the Southeast is being hit hard with snow today through Wednesday morning. We are supposed to get six to nine inches of snow,  which may not seem like a lot to people up north but it’s the South and we like to freak out over it. I used to laugh at how they freaked out over a few inches of snow. I grew up in Indiana and Florida but went to college in West Virginia, where I learned how to drive in the snow. But I had an SUV and opposed to my compact car now so it’s a completely different ball game for me.

I woke up this morning like it was Christmas Eve. I looked out the window and saw snow plus a text message from one of my co-workers asking if I was going in to work. The answer? “Hell to the no” I don’t get many excuses to call in sick from work so if it snowing and I don’t feel safe driving in the snow, I am enjoying my day. I had to take Lincoln out so we went to explore and see how much snow had hit us overnight.

Beautiful! Lincoln was enjoying it as well 🙂

We came back in and sat around for awhile watching the news to see if the entire Charlotte area was bad. I called into work and settled in with a hot cup of coffee then tried to go back to bed but only slept for 45 minutes.

The cup was appropriate since I was celebrating a snow day for once! Lincoln was happy I was home, even if it meant he was doing his normal thing.

The plan for breakfast was to make an egg white omelet using leftovers of tempeh, onion, mushrooms and jalapenos with cheese

The plan didn’t pan out so well so hopes of omelet quickly turned to a tempeh and cheese scramble

Still delicious and still protein packed, works for me!

Speaking of tempeh, I had major success with it last night. I spent a good portion of Sunday afternoon watching season 1 of Gilmore Girls (which by the way, I loved as much as I thought I wouldn’t like it) and fell asleep for a good two hours. When I woke up, I was toying with the idea of making eggplant parmesan but wanted to make something easy. I broke into the package and broke pieces into little crumbles similar to ground meat

It didn’t look as scary as I thought it would so I proceeded with chopping up onions, mushrooms and jalapenos

Put them in a pan with extra virgin olive oil and Spike seasoning and cooked

Added the tempeh pieces along with some El Pato sauce to marinate the tempeh

Then spooned onto tortillas, sprinkled with cheese and done!

As skeptical as I was before, I really enjoyed the tempeh like this. It’s a nice change from tofu, has tons of protein and textural reminded me of Morningstar Veggie Crumbles and not spongy at all like tofu.

After breakfast today, I got my snow boots on yet again to see what the snow situation was.

All that snow makes me a happy girl.

A happy girl without any makeup on–eek!

Happy Monday all!

Access denied on the egg white bagel thin panini

Oh Wednesday. It felt like Thursday to me since I planned on having Friday off because one of my friends from college was coming into town. But then I found out my friend won’t be able to make it here this weekend so I am contemplating taking Friday off or saving the day off for another day. Decisions, decisions……

Glad to see you all like the diner I went to the other night! I had so much fun and looking forward to my next visit. I won’t lie, I’m looking forward to the food more than the ambiance but oh well, the food is the appeal of a diner right? Give me bacon wrapped hot dogs and peanut butter french toast any day!

Tuesday night, I made Lo Mein Noodles with chicken, broccoli, bamboo shoots and water chesnuts. I’m trying to go this week without buying groceries and used all of this from stuff that’s been either sitting in my cupboard or freezer for a while. While shroomies and onions would have made this even better, it was a great meal. I packed a separate portion for lunch later this week and can’t wait for my co-workers to have food envy. They always ohh and ahh all over my food since I have a home cooked meal while most of them nosh on sandwiches or measly looking salads. And knowing they want my food makes me happy 🙂

After that settled in my tummy, I knocked out a 30 minute kettlebell session

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Side Bends (20 reps, 2 sets)

Halos (13 reps, 3 sets)

Shrugs (13 reps, 3 sets)

Lateral Bench Press (13 reps, 3 sets)

Swings (13 reps, 3 sets)

Squats (13 reps, 3 sets)

Upright Deltoid Rows (13 reps, 2 sets)

Straight Leg Deadlifts (20 reps, 2 sets)

One Legged Deadlifts (10 reps, 2 sets)

I did sets of  jumping jacks, crunches and leg lifts in between sets. I’ve never done one-legged deadlifts before and boy, I am aching today! They really worked my hamstrings good and I can definitely feel it today. I will definitely be adding more of these to my kettlebell routine.

This morning, I walked over to Einstein’s to get breakfast since I got some coupons in the mail yesterday. One of the coupons was for a $1.99 Eggwhite Bagel Thin Panini and I was stoked to try it. The wait was long, the cashier unfriendly and then I had to wait some more for my food. So I waited….and waited….and waited some more. About 10 minutes later, they finally called my name and I skipped back to my office since I was a little late for a call. I got to my desk and opened up my bag and saw this

Ummm, that does not look like an eggwhite bagel thin panini. That looks like some apple bagel of sorts and if they messed up my order, couldn’t they have had the courtesy to at least give me some schmear?

My cashier, Orio, can go suck it. I know I should have looked at my bag before I left but then again, they should have gotten my order right. I think the thing I am most pissed off about is that I no longer have the $1.99 coupon to use. I wrote Einstein’s today to see if I could get it back, let’s cross our fingers because I don’t think it’s gonna happen.

I met up with one of my girlfriends for lunch and we went to Picasso’s Uptown. Our server mentioned they had a lunch special-fried chicken sandwich topped with bacon and cheese with fries for only $6.99. Being a girl on a budget and really wanting some fried, fatty goodness, I sprung for this. Chicky topped with not only cheese but bacon also? Go big or go home bitches!

I got a bucket of the hot wing sauce on the side and it had my sweating….loves it! Speaking of sweating, has anyone ever experienced meat sweats? Some of the guys on my team were talking about it today and I’ve never heard of meat sweats (sweats that you get from eating too much meat) so I wasn’t sure if it’s just me? And another note, there are 10 people on my team and 7 of them are dudes. I’m starting to notice that the dudes talk more throughout the day, ignoring their work while  us girls are actually at our desks working. I always thought it was the opposite? I had an issue with one of the deals in my portfolio so I had to stay a little late and by the time everything was done, I was ready to go home. Basically, I have to make a call to a customer I’m not wanting to make at all and it is going to be difficult.  I am very personable and outgoing with customers but this time I have to be hard-core and no holds barred which is not me at all so this is going to be an interesting experience.Ugh.

When I got home, I remembered I put the last of my Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat pizza dough in the fridge to defrost along with a link and a half of spicy Italian sausage so pizza it was! Pizza was the perfect meal since I was mentally spent and it was cold and nasty out.

Mmmmm, I love pizza porn. I topped with oregano and parmesan cheese and it was a perfect end to the day. Feeling all warm and fuzzy from the pizza, I decided to do a good deed. For the past three years, I’ve made a donation to a non-profit organization whether it be a food bank, Salvation Army, etc. My company matches all donations and I knew that if I didn’t do it now, I would forget. I made a donation to Toys For Tots tonight and feel like I can rest a little easier knowing that my donation plus the banks donation will help a few kids get a gift for Christmas.

Does your company match charitable donations?

More importantly, after watching Modern Family tonight, does anyone else want to partake in a flash mob dance??

Hey y’all!

Ugh, could not sleep last night. I kept flip-flopping and would fall asleep, wake up, look at the clock, get frustrated, move Lincoln (he likes to sleep right next to me and sometimes gets hot with his fur), toss and turn, finally get to bed, then repeat. Everytime that happens, I get frustrated and it only happens on Sunday nights–wtf?

Harris Teeter had avocados on sale yesterday-2 for $.99 and they were ready to eat. Last time I got some, I had to wait over two weeks. I’ll have to keep these specials on my radar! I made egg whites topped with avocado for breakfast. I was going to make a wrap but found out last week that a spinach wrap is not good with eggs in case you were curious. But with this combo, I was saying gimme more! I was practically licking the plate.

Work went today—we are still in training so it’s not a circus like my last job but more like sitting in a room looking at slide shows and playing get to know you games to break the ice with our team. Last week we were in training the first part of the day then doing hands on work in the afternoon so it went by quick. But today? Ugh. We were all nodding off around 3P and I was getting antsy just sitting. I know I’ll be using this information soon but it takes alot for me to sit in one place for hours on end learning a process I’m not familiar with. What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger right?

I had a surplus of feta, spinach and phyllo dough in my kitchen. And to me, that spells one thing: Spanakopita!

I losely followed this recipe. I made a smaller portion, cooked some shallots to add to the mix and instead of making a pie of it, I made the traditional triangles I’ve had in the past. I got lucky—they turned out fabulous!

If you look in the left hand corner of the picture, you will see a four-legged furry friend waiting for something to drop. It drives me  crazy. He doesn’t beg or anything but he will just sit there and stare. I do have to give him an A for effort though, he doesn’t break his schedule and is persistent with it. Boys.

I was reading an interesting article about the book “Twisted Sisterhood” and female friendships. The interview is with the author in which she speaks about a horrific event that happened in college with her sorority sisters that then. I have the opposite story: I was in a sorority in college and developed many strong friendships that still hold true to this day. However, once I got into the real world and started to make new friends have dealt with 2 scenarios alot of the time 1) Either friends who turn into toxic friends or 2) I haven’t made friends with people who get me. Nothing is more horrible than not being able to be yourself around friends. Most of my best friends are still my friends from college which kinda stinks because we are all spread out throughout the country. I’m a believer in the whole notion that you aren’t going to be friends with everyone you meet in life but I have found it harder to make friends the older I get. I’ve had to break up with a friend since one got psycho-stalker on me which again, stinks since I want to be able to develop strong friendships but not when I have the memory of that in my head. I am reluctant to open up to new people because  I’ve gotten burned by doing that so now, like a romantic relationship with the men, I ease into it. I just hate that I can’t trust people, even women when it comes to friendship from instances in the past. Anyways, it’s an interesting article so I encourage you to read it. And if you, what are your thoughts?

Something fun regarding the title and this post—count the Britney references y’all!

Friday Eve

Happy Friday Eve! This week has moved so slow I cannot wait for tomorrow 430P to be here so I can enjoy the weekend and then, sadly, do it again.

I like to get creative with my meals but sometimes nothing beats a sandwich and chips for lunch.

So simple yet so good.

It’s still crazy business at work but I snuck out early yesterday. My friend had a Groupon for La Paz so I joined her and we got our Mexican on! They had $4 Mojitos and Margaritas which always welcome in my book.

Along with that, any place that offers chips and salsa is a friend in my book. I think more restaurants should give free carbs before a meal, I would definitely patronize more.

They had a wide selection of dishes and after flip flopping between items I settled on the chicken and spinach tamales

Holy tamales. These were huge and too much for me, I finished 1/3 of them with a little of the rice and beans and took the rest to go. The tamales were good but the tusks were a little thick for my taste and it could have used more flavor but regardless, I will nosh on them in the near future. Leftover Mexican food is just the best!

Afterwards, I finally hit up Trader Joe’s. I haven’t been in two months which is just sad. I love my new place but I miss the convenience of being able to walk five minutes to Trader Joe’s to pick up goodies on end. I was happy to go there and re-stock plus get some goodies for a blogger trade I have going on.

Breakfast was an egg white, ham, cheese and avocado sandwich on a sandwich thin

Along with that, I brought back an oldie but goodie this morning thanks to a bag of baby spinach I got at TJ’s……

Iced Coffee Green Monster! And loving the three layers of color. Which reminds me, I need to get some protein powder soon because the vanilla whey I have is just not cutting it for me.

There’s a new restaurant called Wok On Fire my co-worker and I have been wanting to try. Each time I see the sign, I start singing Kings of Leon “Sex on Fire” but “Yeaaaaaaaaaah, this WOK is on fiiiiiiire” I love any restaurant name that I can incorporate into a song. They had a pretty nice setup inside with a spacious seating area but my friend ordered at the same time and we both got the General Tso’s but only one came out. So we waited for mine. And waited…..and waited. I got up when I saw the waitress coming by (it’s one of those joints where you order in the front and theygive you a number and bring to you) and I said “Excuse me” and she looked at me and walked away. Ok??? I heard her speaking english before and I am not a quiet girl so that annoyed me so I went right to the front and found the manager who alleviated the situation right away and got me my General Tso’s.

It was good but nothing to write home about. I would go there if I wanted a quick (well hopefully next time it would be quick) fix for Chinese when I am work but don’t think I will be saying “Oh, I need some Wok on Fire stat” anytime soon.

I brought back another oldie but goodie for dinner —pizza! I picked up some whole wheat pizza dough from TJ’s last night and was so happy to have it sitting in my fridge again. They have the whole wheat dough at Harris Teeter but it’s $1.99 and for some reason, I just don’t want to spend the extra dollar on theirs.

Not being a big pizza sauce girl, I used TJ’s Marinara sauce since it is light, thin with bunches of flava

I sliced some eggplant and artichokes, brushed with extra virgin olive oil and baked for 15 minutes to tenderize them the loaded them up on the pizza along with a sprinkle of garlic and red pepper flakes

Magnificent! Yet another vegetarian meal that wasn’t planned at all to be one but turned out great. I really need to incorporate eggplant more into my world.

I served with a random salad topped with tomato, red pepper and avocado with a new dressing to try–Newman’s Own Light Honey Mustard.

Really diggin this dressing! It’s no Chick Fil A Fat Free Honey Mustard but it was damn tasty and more of a dijon style honey mustard than anything. I hate buying new salad dressings since they can sound good but then when you try them they don’t live up to your expectation. That being said, when I find a dressing I like-I stick with it.

Aside from the fact that tomorrow is Friday, I have a fun reason to look forward to tomorrow. This girl is in town and we are hanging tomorrow night with another blogger from the area who I haven’t met! I’ve only met some Charlotte bloggers and my favorite NYC bloggers so this will be a treat to meet Diana since she is one of my favorites! She keeps telling me that’s she’s quiet in person and not to be shocked but I can talk for hours on end so I think I can bring her out of her shell. Operation Make Her Talk is so on! And I am taking her to one of my favorite places in Charlotte that I am sure they will enjoy.

Lincoln gives kisses and says Happy Friday Eve bitches!!

Tofu Win. Egg Fail

 Monday was meh Monday. Blech. Another Monday where I just couldn’t wake up, it was too humid out and my stomach was cramping. Suffice to say, not a good way to start the week. Plus the new guy on our team started today and I am helping with training so trying to be patient, enthusiastic and oh yeah, nice was stretching it a bit for me.

I thought breakfast would be rocking—I made an egg scramble with egg whites and one brown egg with avocado and tabasco.

To be honest, the eggs kinda sucked. I am used to eggs with ketchup and for some reason, don’t have any on hand. In my old apartment, I would have bottles of ketchup in the cupboard for this kind of situation. But now? None. Maybe someone decided to do their own intervention o’ ketchup since they know I love it so much but I honestly have no clue who that would be. And it’s not like I don’t go to the supermarket twice a week and live within walking distance of one that I can’t buy it, I just haven’t. End of ketchup rant. The avocado looked like it was ready to go on the outside and was tender but when I sliced it open, it totally wasn’t. I hate when that happens.

I had leftover  Linguine Pescatore for lunch

Now looking back, I was totally that obnoxious person stinking up the break room with my seafood. Oh well, sucks for them—it was worth it!!

Snacks for the day

There was a surprise anniversary party for one of the managers on my floor. And we all know what that means—cake. Lots of it. But I was surprised they had stuff besides cake like cheese, crackers and nuts.

I was quite proud of myself for passing on the cake but I would be lying if I said this plate was my only plate of cheese. I can’t resist the siren calls of dairy!

I bought some tofu awhile ago and needed to use it soon. Most of the tofu dishes I’ve made have been stir fry and to be honest, that gets a tad boring after awhile. I thought it would be fun and something different to try tofu tacos.

I got creative with getting the liquid out from my tofu instead of just pressing with a plate or paper towel. Who needs a tofu press when you have this? Actually, a tofu press would be pretty sweet but still I can save some money in the meantime by doing this.

I seasoned the tofu with salt and pepper then cooked with these two

The tofu was great-I’ve only made it one other time without breading or not fried and it turned out horrendous (on another note, that was one of my favorite posts to write). But this meal was fabulous, tasty and fresh, what more could you ask for?

As always, my little guy was right near me waiting for something to drop. Something tells me he wouldn’t discriminate against the tofu

I got my free drink coupon from Starbucks in the mail–now to think of what I will get and when!

If you’re like me thinking a peach and pomegranate smoothie would be a fun RSVP party in your mouth, you’re wrong. I made this concoction last night with almond milk, ice, xanthan gum and it was horrid. So horrid I didn’t even take a picture of it so yeah, chew on that (or should I say sip on that?) for awhile. Sometimes pairings that seem magical to you don’t turn out to be so magical.

Kinda like Crystal Pepsi

I used to not care for Tuesdays just like Amy but ever since I started going to zumba on Tuesday nights I have something forward to and am diggin that. I convinced one of my co-workers ( who has started to eat healthier and lost a ton of weight already!) to go with me and she seemed interested but I didn’t think she would actually go. She mentioned to me the other day that she will see me there tonight and I can’t wait to see her at zumba.

I also found out a restaurant near my place that has $2.50 fish tacos on Tuesday nights which could totally get in the way of my zumba time. But then I guess it all comes down to priorities right? Happy Tuesday all!

Press

Hello all—apparently alot of peeps didn’t know that Dove chocolate products you can buy online existed. Hakuna Matata–I didn’t know either but they have a Mary Kay kind of thing going on where you can be a sales consultant and host parties. Check out the site here.  I would love to host a chocolate party! I would poll my friends to see which ones were on the same cycle and plan a party a day before when hormones are raging!

I wonder if they make dresses like this?

Today is the last day of leisure before going back to work. I like this not working thing but could see how it could get boring (unless I have unlimited cash flow of course) and am kinda looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Once I start complaining about work, please remind me I said that. I am taking a new route to work now and that means a completely new bus line. I have the option of three of them so I am going to try one tomorrow and then a different one each day. They aren’t express lines, which I am used to riding, and are the normal bus lines which means more opportunities for good people watching! I will keep on my sunglasses, listen to my ipod and not make eye contact in hopes that they won’t bother me and my commute will only be 15 minutes. Bring it.

For breakfast, I had an egg white sandwich with turkey and white american cheese folded in the egg topped with ketchup and tomato and a side of kiwi and banana

Peace yo!

I did some more cleaning at my old apartment this morning. Note to self–next time I move, be sure to vacuum and clean before you turn off the electric. Cleaning a shower in a window-less bathroom is not fun. I was a hot mess afterwards so fro-yo was an appropriate choice. When I get fro-yo I go for the fruity flavors but today I did a 180 and mixed it up—-alot.

If you read my blog often, you really won’t see nut butters . I’m just not a huge fan, it takes me over half a year to polish off one jar and I hate the way it sticks to your mouth. Alot of people go nuts (pun intended) for the stuff but I just can’t get into it. However if you add chocolate to the mix, I don’t mind it so much.

 So I present:

Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Fro Yo topped with coconut shavings, crushed graham crackers and chocolate chips drizzled in caramel.

Lunch was a veggie hummus wrap with baby spinach, artichokes, mushrooms, tomatoes and Trader Joe’s Spicy Hummus

You can never get enough Lincoln love

I had a pretty sweet sweat session later. I was getting a bit annoyed though b/c I was doing a bunch of jumping around in between sets but my heart rate monitor was acting funky and not reflecting my correct heart rate (I can assure you, it’s not 89 when doing 40+ jumping jacks)

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Side Bends (20 reps, 2 sets)

Halos (13 reps, 2 sets)

Upright Deltoid Row (13 reps, 2 sets)

*Bentover Row (13 reps, 2 sets)

Step Ups (25 reps, 1 set each leg)

Dead Lifts (15 reps, 1 set)

Squats (13 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell-15 lbs

Close Grip Dumbbell Bench Press (13 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell Bench Press  (13 reps, 2 sets)

Concentration Curls (13 reps, 2 sets)

Seated Shoulder Press (12 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell 10 lbs

Tricep Dumbbell Kickbacks  (13 reps, 2 sets)

Tricep Extensions (13 reps, 2 sets)

Zottman Curls (13 reps, 2 sets)

Reverse Fly (12 reps, 2 sets)

Front Lateral Raise (13 reps, 2 sets)

Really Polar, 121 average heart rate? Boooooo, start working again please!

If yesterday was all about NJ, today was all about CA and catching up with my bff

Loves her.

I’ve been seeing a lot of previews for Charlie St. Cloud which Zac Efron. I think it looks stupid but I can finally appreciate why people think he is cute. He is too pretty for my taste but he looks like a young Rob Lowe, I can be down for that

One drawback of moving: Not knowing what my preparation time is anymore. At my old place, I knew how long I needed to get ready and drive to this area if I wanted to go out and I showered, deep conditioned my hair, got ready at a leisurely pace and was still 45 minutes ahead of time. I even tried on a few different outfits to make sure I was wearing something cute…..still ahead of time. What shall I do with this extra time? Clean? Take Lincoln out? Clean My Kitchen? Nope. I choose beer and snack foods

Beach Bum Blonde Ale by Michelob

Eagle Sweet Onion Potato Crisps

I met up with my womens networking group at Press Wine and Food, they have $5 glasses of wine on Tuesday nights and I’ve heard they have great food including sushi so  I was super excited!

Drink wise-I had a glass of the Bridlewood Chardonnay and two glasses of Santa Ema Barrel Select Carmenere. I am not a huge red fan but the Carmenere was amazing. I had the Trio of Wasabi Roll-“Crabmeat, shrimp, & cucumber rolled with wasabi peas & topped with wasabi roe & wasabi aioli” and Fuji Kabayaki Roll– “Crab, avocado, & Fuji apple topped with warm BBQ eel, tempura flakes, & a drizzle of eel sauce” Both of these were absolutely fabulous. The Wasabii Roll had true Wasabi flavor but it didn’t overpower the crab or shrimp and the Fuji Kabayaki Roll was great. I never would have thought pairing apple with crab or avocado but it was a smooth, rich combination.

Now, I’m watching Lincoln attacking his baby and getting ready for bed—hope everyone had a terrific Tuesday!

PS—Wanna win some soy curls?? Click here to enter a chance to win at Spabettie’s!

Start spreading the news

I’m leaving super early tomorrow! My flight is at 6A so I will have to be up at 3A since I am checking a bag. But I am flying on Jet Blue so there is no fee and I’ve heard great things about them so I am anxious to see what makes them supposedly stand out.

Thank you sleep gods, I got 8.5 hours of sleep last night and felt fabulous rolling out of bed. If I didn’t drink so much water at night, I could have slept longer but my rule is if it’s a reasonable hour and I get out of bed, there is no reason for me to go back. That being said since I was lounging in bed, Lincoln got extended cuddle time since he was being boarded today.

It seems like some of you don’t know of other bloggers in your area—you should throw it out sometime on your blog. I had absolutely no clue there were others in Charlotte til I saw Lauren post something about having an area meet up—-you never know who is reading and could be interested!

I ran a bunch of errands this morning and got fueled at Starbucks: Grande Iced Coffee with Skim Milk and one pump Raspberry Syrup and a spinach/feta/eggwhite wrap

This was my first time trying the wrap and it was great! Rarely do I get food at Starbucks but I will be trying this again if I am in need of breakfast. I went to Ross, Kohls and Target and then got back to hang with Lincoln and get some packing in

Look at this cute oils and vinegar variety pack I picked up at Ross courtesy of the clearance aisle–$3.49

For lunch, it was breakfast time again. I made an egg white omelet topped with Trader Joe’s Cuban Style Black Beans, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes with a whole wheat sandwich thin with spray butter and cinnamon sprinkled atop

A green purple monster with Almond Milk, Baby Spinach, McDonalds Parfait and blueberries topped with granola

This was a super meal! I loved the combination of the black beans, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes as random as it was. The purple monster was fabulous as well, I think mostly because of the McDonalds Parfait. Meals like this make me happy I am cleaning out my cabinets and making random concoctions 🙂

I took Lincoln to the boarding place and I didn’t cry or anything! That’s a complete lie. I was fine until she took me back there into where he would be staying and I was in sensory overload with all the puppies barking and licking me, Lincoln grasping onto me for dear life and the whole experience of him not staying with someone I know. I started bawling, kissed him goodbye and left. I get too emotional when it comes to that dog!

I went to the pool for a fews and got some reading in. I saw some people playing pool volleyball and they were short one person so I joined in for an hour. I miss playing volleyball so much! I used to play alot but pool volleyball is definitely my favorite since I am not a beach volleyball person (hate the sand)

Dinner was Ziti from the Olive Garden —I snagged some yesterday in a to go container before it was all gone so I would have something other than breakfast foods to eat today.

I took some Tylenol PM and waiting for it to kick in soon! I need to get as much sleep as possible now since I know I won’t be getting a lot this wknd. Will I be blogging? You’ll have to stop by and see! I’m really not trying to be a tease, I just really have no clue 🙂 I will have gazillions of pictures when I get back though-that I know for sure!

Til the next time……

If It’s Free, It’s For Me!

Hi all! The last two days have been pretty uneventful–just working, dog sitting and counting down until Wed 5P when I officially begin my vacation.

Yesterday was nothing was too special, it was a Monday and still unbearably hot! for breakfast, I gad a green monster with baby spinach, almond milk, mango and banana and  I made an awesome breakfast sandwich on an Arnold Whole Wheat Bagel Thin with egg whites, ham and cheese with a dab of ketchup.

I wish I would have known that I could nuke egg whites a long time ago, it would have saved me so much money and less money would have went to Jimmy Dean D-Lights

I haven’t had greek yogurt in a few days where is a rarity for me and will need to buy one or two before I move because I cannot exist without it. To win some coupons for FREE (yes, free) Chobani Greek Yogurt, click here!

Lunch was leftovers of brown rice, chicken and black beans

I snacked on a Hearth Strings Cookies N Cream bar–which was amazing! I never tried this flavor but the frosting alone was worth it. I will definitely be getting this one again! If you like granola bars, you should definitely check out their website. They are a local company and have a variety of flavors plus great deals on gift sets of granola bars–plus a granola of the month club!

Then later, had some strawberries

I saw a really random book at the library

Is anyone really interested in the story of Julio Iglesias Junior? I kinda want to check it out just to learn random facts about him and throw it out in every day conversation! “You went to the park this wknd? Did you know Julio Iglesias Junior volunteered at local parks in Southern California when he was a teen?” You know, just to throw people off a little.

Dinner was yet again-sandwich thins! I made personal pizzas with them and topped with turkey pepperoni, salami and cut up Monterrey Jack Cheese

 

One of them got a little damaged….but still edible!

Along with a  side of Green Giant Immunity Blend. As said before, I am not a fan of frozen veggies but I really enjoyed these. The veggies were surprisingly tasty (one may say it tasted fresh) and it was a nice mixture.

The rest of the night was blah. I was just pooped from work, the heat, getting ready for my trip etc. I can’t wait until moving day next wk when I am near work and only have a 10 minute commute each way compared to the 45 minute commute each way I have now.

 But today was more exciting and this morning was the morning of free stuff!!

Free breakfast-Chick Fil A Chicken Minis, Mini Bagels, McDonalds Parfait and free coffee from Just Fresh with my free coupon

Free ice cream courtesy of Time Warner outside our building for some promotion they were doing. This somewhat makes up for the fact that they keep raising their rates. I was paying $145 for cable with DVR and Internet and just couldn’t do it anymore so I switched to basic cable (sadly, without DVR) to save $80 a month.

Free tomatoes from my co-workers garden. She brought in bags of these and I wanted to take them all home but just took one.

These were super yummy and I may have had 1/3 of the bag at my desk this morning-let’s hear it for lycopene! And look at the size of those cube walls, I love having my privacy as opposed to an open floor plan.

And we got free coffee and lunch tomorrow coming due to it being Quarter End. That is the one perk of my job and department I enjoy the most. And that means they will probably have some leftovers, which is perfect so less random meals from my kitchen! Stuff is starting to run low, which is great but I can only get so creative with random foods and a few spices and sauces.

Since my friend helped me with Ikea stuff on Sunday, I told her I would take her to lunch today so her, my co-worker and I headed for an all you can eat sushi buffet for lunch. All you can eat for $9.95? Sign me up. They also had a hot bar with lo mein (which was creamy, I did not like this), fried rice, sesame chicken and chicken teriyaki. I love that this place is right around the corner and the sushi is endless. I was full but not uncomfortable full so it was nice not having to feel like I needed to unbutton my pants when I got to work lol I used to love buffets but really don’t go that often anymore, I really can’t think of the last time I went to a buffet in general or my beloved Chinese buffet

 Yet another attempt to get stuff out of my fridge, I made chicken drumsticks glazes with a honey teriyaki sauce served with Green Giant Cheesy Broccoli and Rice

I was running some errands after dinner and am sad to admit, looked like crap (I know, I’m a letdown but it does happen to even the greatest like me-ha!) I was wearing yoga pants and a tank top and no makeup. But I had my ghetto baby girl earrings on because they don’t leave my ears until I shower, workout or go to bed. I like to rock them everywhere and always get compliments on my earrings. Anyways, why is it that times like this is when you run into an ex? I was just trying to get some fro-yo to cool me off, wasn’t bothering anyone and BAM! There he was at the fro-yo place…..with a lady friend. This is the dude who brought the mary jane over to my place on the second date. The same one who said he didn’t do drugs. The same one who had a bowl in every room of his house. Yeah. I played it cool but put on my sunglasses like they would somehow make me disappear ala Big Daddy.  I was awestruck because this is my turf and he doesn’t even live in this county! WTF? I was about to take off my earrings, put some Vasoline on my arms and scrap. He can go back to his county with his lady friend with the fake Coach purse (horrible stitch work and cheap straps) to their own place to get some cool treats. It’s annoying, that’s all.

Regardless-the good stuff

Of course, I can’t refuse the little guy the last spoonful

Looking to give to a good cause? Head to Kelly Confidential and make a banana split for free and Electrolux will donate $1 for every split made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Calorie free and helping a charity, not too shabby.

Lincoln wishes you a good night!

Home made

Today was a great day!  It’s Monday which is a bit of a downer but I finally set my mind on going to Phoenix…..in the summertime-eek! One of my friends is turning 30 and having a party for the big event. I was going to go but got bogged down with bills and was bummed about it. I was thinking about it on Friday and suck eff it. I will just work a bunch of OT to afford the trip and suck it up. Plus, flights to the desert aren’t bad in the middle of summertime and it will be nice to see everyone. And I am surprising her, so that just makes it extra fun! I will only be gone Friday through Sunday but it will be a nice little trip to look forward to!

I started the morning off with an egg white and avocado wrap

This morning was super busy but not too busy where I was wanting to scream and pull out my hair like Friday. We like that.

For lunch I had a turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat with a baby spinach side salad topped with onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini and avocado with Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch. I love this dressing but I think only with chicken bites or wings as opposed to on a salad. I really wasn’t diggin it today and wanted something a little lighter.

This afternoon, I searched for different dumbbell and kettlebell exercises and got a little ego boost from the new girl on our team. I am forever talking about food and the stuff I make and she was begging me to give her some ideas since she is looking for new stuff to make her family. I love it! It’s like a little project for me to work on for her. Plus, I am always going on and on about my husband (Trader Joe’s) and she is putting together a list of stuff she wants me to get for her since I live so close. Meal planning and food shopping? Can I please do this for a living? I am kinda over moving millions of dollars each day.

Speaking of making your own food, I finished The Art of Eating In Today by Cathy Erway. It’s the story of a twenty something girl (and blogger!) living in NYC and tries to eat all of her meals at home for two years (exclusing special occasions and work related lunches). I really enjoyed this book, how she taught herself to cook different things such as bread, risotto and even menudo with tripe (which I tried when I lived in Phoenix and don’t think I will ever try again once I found out what tripe was). She talks about the history of restaurants, the implications that come from eating out (to both your wallet and waistline) and has some of her recipes in there. If you’re a foodie, I highly recommending reading this book or checking out her website Not Eating Out in New York

And is it wrong that when I go to NYC next month, I want to break out of my running hiatus, go balls out (not literally LOL) and go running all crazy like Phoebe in Friends??

For dinner, I made thin crust pizza on Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Pizza Dough with sun-dried tomatoes, salami, turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, onions and provolone cheese. Instead of marinara, I lightly brushed the dough with the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes which was a thin, tasty base.

And I may have been really engrossed with Family Guy and kinda forgot it was cooking. It worked out fine though, I like it crispy!!

I’ve had the Crunch Cardio Sculpt DVD that I got through Netflix sitting in my living room for the past week and finally popped it in

I was really impressed with the workout. And coming from a girl who hates DVD workouts, that says a lot. I used my eight and ten lbb dumbbells and there was a lot og squatting and lunging along with bicep curls, lateral raises,tricep dips, crunches, shoulder presses and more. It definitely got my heart a’ beating but once I was really getting into it, it was over. It was only a 30 minute workout and for once, I was in the mood for something longer. Other than that once complaint, I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it.

Decent calorie burn of 270, not bad but again, was looking for something more. All I can say is I am already feeling it in my triceps and quads.

And how did I miss that my 30th and half birthday was yesterday? I am officially leaning towards 31 now, good thing I still have the maturity and sense of humor of a 13 year old instead.