Something old, something new

The last few days haven’t been too exciting. It’s consisted of some old things

*Going to the gym

I love being back at the gym! I feel like each workout I’ve had has been a solid one involving both cardio and strength training not to mention a pretty sweet calorie burn

*Bowl of oats

I never have an idea of what I’m going to put in rolled oats when I started making them on the stovetop. When they are cooking, I go through the cupboards to see what can be added. I’m not much of a savory and sweet breakfast person but today I was. I had oats with walnuts, shredded coconut, maple syrup and flax-seed–absolutely delish!

*Sonic

I rarely go to Sonic anymore but used to go all the time when I lived in Phoenix. Their slushes are great not to mention their chicken wraps and their to die for tots.

And some new things

*Falafel Salad with baby spinach, carrots, cucumbers, tomato, kalamata olives and Laughing Cow wedge

*Root canal

I had my root canal on Friday. I can’t believe how quick and painless the procedure was!  They couldn’t have been friendlier and I had such a great experience. I told them how scared I was and they assured me that everything would be alright and it would be a quick. painless process. After hearing about root canals gone wrong and how horrible they are to go through (ok and possibly from watching Little Shop of Horrors too much as a kid and thinking dentists are out there to hurt me), I was a bit apprehensive. They numbed me up, let me know that if I felt any pain just to raise my hand and started to drill. And you know what? it wasn’t bad at all! Soon, they were finished and I was like “Huh, that’s it? Really, that’s it?” They explained the post-procedure care in depth and the surgeon even let me know about an Italian restaurant or two to try that were unknown to me. Working on my grill and talking restaurants? Hell yes!  When can I get my next root canal??

*Special K Chocolatey Delight

Hello, where has this been all my love? Or more like, why did it take me so long to try this? I’m not a cereal person whatsoever but bought this on sale a few weeks ago and cracked it open last night. I’ll admit it-I had two bowls in a row. It was wonderful.

*Do it yourself dog wash

I don’t have a bathtub so I can’t give Lincoln a bath in the tub like I used to. And sometimes, dare I say, Linky gets Stinky. I don’t know what he does but he stank this week so I researched a few do it yourself dog wash places and found Bark Street

They have a couple of bath tubs set up along with shampoos, conditioners, dog cologne, towels and dryer so it’s a one stop shop. Lincoln is a bit skiddish so I knew this would be an interesting experience. Um, Lincoln didn’t like his mama giving him a bath. He wouldn’t sit still and kept jumping up to the edge to give me kisses and was shaking like a little drowned rat.

Soon enough, we were home and he was happy sitting in the sun

*TASTYKAKES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, not necessarily new to me but it’s been forever since I’ve had one but I owe this beautiful reunion to Kace from Then Change It. She hosted a Tastykakes giveaway and since I need my ass to get bigger, I entered and was on a mission to win! Ok, I don’t need my ass to get bigger (trust me, it is not a white girl booty) but I can’t resist the power of Tastykakes!

Thanks again Kace for hosting the  giveaway and sending these my way!!

*Queen’s Feast Restaurant Week

I’ve never been to RW here but it’s a great deal—$30 for a starter, entrée and dessert. I went to George’s Brasserie and they had a varied menu list that would make an omnivore, pescatarian and vegetarian happy. The starters ranged from soup to mixed greens to shrimp and the main entrée menu had chicken, spinach and mushroom crepes, snapper and short ribs. The dessert menu offered rich desserts such as creme brulee, chocolate mousse and apple tart. Service was absolutely out of this world and I couldn’t have asked for more plus they have really cute servers, nothing like some eye candy while dining–hi boys!. Our server explained the wine list to me since I was intrigued by the whole “Interesting” section and how it compared to the merlots, cabernets, etc. He was on point with filling our bread basket along with refills and was prompt with taking our order.

The food let me down. It was good don’t get me wrong but nothing that made me want to foodgasm. I started with the Mixed Greens topped with fried Brie, candied pecans, fresh pears & pickled red onions with raspberry vinaigrette

Fried brie?? Any kind of fried cheese is welcome in my belly and the brie was bomb. I’m not a huge brie fan but fried brie and I could totally be best friends.

Next was the entree-Pan Seared Snapper with lobster & corn basmati topped with herb beurre blanc

The snapper was fresh and meaty but lacked flavor. The lobster under it was a nice touch and was good but it seemed a bit dry. The basmati rice both were laid on was just mush without flavor. Totally edible but no one flavor popped out at me.

The left dessert-Rustic Apple Tart  with Chantilly cream

You can’t really go wrong with apple tart. The cream on top was amazing and decadent…..not one bit of this was left behind!

What’s something new you’ve recently discovered?

Also, does anyone know how to fix an Open ID problem? I can comment on WordPress and self hosted sites but when I try to comment on Blogger sites it won’t let me—very frustrating! So if you don’t see me commenting, I am trying but the commenter gods won’t let me.

No bean left behind

I wanted to salvage my white beans I made the other day so I went with making enchiladas with white beans and black beans so they wouldn’t go to waste. I hate throwing food away especially when only a little portion of it was burnt, so why not try to use it? As God as my witness, no bean shall be left behind!  Nothing that a little cheese, veggies and spice can’t fix! I  added green onion, shredded cheese and red, yellow and orange pepper to the dry mix along with the beans

I let that sit, added some chile powder and garlic to the mix then took half a can of El Pato, green onions, 5 oz light cream cheese and mixed in my magic bullet until semi-smooth.

Added the wet mix to the dry mix

Then softened up the tortillas by dipping into water in a saucepan for five to ten seconds ( I usually use chicken broth but was lazy and didn’t feel like opening up a container to use such a little amount)

Spooned portions of the mix into the tortilla

Wrap that bad boy up and then fill the pan full of cheesy fiberlicious goodness, sprinkle with the rest of the El Pato and 1/3 cup shredded cheese

Cook for 13 minutes at 375 and done!

I would die in a world without cheese. These were fantastic, filling and I was stoked to make use of the beans that were almost thrown out this past week. Plus this made four meals for this upcoming week so I won’t have to worry about making something for work for a good part of the week.

After dinner, it was time to work out. I did a kettlebell/dumbbell session and it was a great session to start the new year off with!

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Upright Deltoid Rows (13 reps, 3 sets)

Bentover Row (13 reps, 2 sets)

Halos (13 reps, 3 sets)

Shrugs (13 reps, 2 sets)

Lateral Bench Press (13 reps, 3 sets)

Dumbbell Raise (13 reps, 3 sets)

Squats (13 reps, 3 sets)

Side Bends (20 reps, 2 sets)

Around the worlds (35 reps, 2 sets)

Between the legs pass (35 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell-15 lbs

Tricep Extensions (13 reps, 3 sets)

Curls (13 reps, 2 sets)

Shoulder Press (13 reps, 2 sets)

Misc.

Push Ups (15 reps, 2 sets)

I brought back an oldie but goodie for breakfast this morning….oats! I can’t seem to eat oats in the summertime and it’s definitely a cold weather meal for me. I haven’t had them since September so thought it would be a good idea to bring them back for a guest appearance. I don’t have a standard mix in I add each time (except for flax seed, I always add that in) and this morning decided to switch it up even more by making it a sweet one with banana and white chocolate morsels (only so I could throw out the bag and say bye-bye to those little rascals)

I also added a drip or two of agave nectar and you know what I have to say about this bowl of oats?

Holy balls.

Yep, that’s all I can say since it was so fantastic.

I had a Groupon I’ve been wanting to use for awhile for Sunset Grille. Not only do I love Groupon b/c it’s cheap but it also gives me the chance to try establishments I would’ve had tried before. I’ve been using Groupon since early 2010 but it seems like the prices are going up on there-anyone else notice that? I remember when I first started using it, it seemed like you could get stuff for $5-$10 and now, more of them seem to be around $20 to $30. I don’t like. I was especially concerned since Groupon wasn’t even spelled right on the Groupon. What if Sunset Grille thought I was trying to scam??

Questionable stuff I tell you.

They brought us these little fried dough balls, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

 I was on it like white on rice. They best way I could describe them was like a soft funnel cake ball. Unfortunately, that was the best part of my experience there. My friend and I decided to go for salads and the prices were absolutely insane. If you wanted salmon, chicken or beef on it, an additional $5! I could’ve been the frugal girl I am and just brought my own in because I refuse to pay that much for a measly portion of meat on my salad.

I ordered the large portion of the Sonoma County Salad. How they describe it:

Romaine, Laura Chenel Chevre Goat Cheese, Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Red Onion, Roasted Beets, Blood Orange Vinaigrette.

And there it was, a glorified greek salad. Maybe I was expecting more for a large salad or it to pop since the ingredients sang to me.  Don’t get me wrong, it was good but if I would have gotten meat on it and paid $13 for this salad, I would have been very disappointed. My friend got there asian chicken wonton salad and it looked like something you would get at Wendy’s. Hers was $13 and it she kept calling it a $5.99 salad. If I am going out to spend that much money on something like a salad, I want something substantial that will fill me, not a small plate of lettuce with a few add ins. Sorry, Sunset Grille, I won’t be back.

Hope everyone had a great and hopefully long weekend. This is going to be the first week I’ve had to work all five days in over a month and it’s going to be rough.

PS-Check out Prevention RD for a Larabar giveaway!!

Happy Thoughts

This morning I was up at the crack of dawn to get ready and make a huge breakfast

Why big breakfast on a weekday you ask? Because I had a job interview today! Edit–I had three job interviews in a row for a position within my company. It was at 9A but I usually get in around 845A so I went into work a bit early and needed something to hold me over. I think the interviews went very week and I have a great feeling however all I can is wait it out at this point. I am supposed to hear back within a few weeks and hope that the days don’t go unbearably slow. Soooooo…..any good vibes you could send my way would be appreciated!

I have the funky sinus thing going on that everyone has caught the past two weeks due to the weather changing. I just feel nasty and my throat is swollen. I hate how I never had allergy problems until I moved here but oh well, just gotta suck it up at this point and hope I get better soon. The fact that we had two people out of the office (yeah, we are a team of five) and that I’m training our new guy didn’t help either.

I had my stuffed peppers for lunch and they were tasty!

Thank God I like hot stuff because these had my mouth on fiiiiiiire! I blame it on the chile powder and jalapenos but it was all good.  don’t mess around when it comes to my spice.

I haven’t had stuffed peppers since I was young and think I was scarred by them. My mom used to make them all the time with just rice, ground beef and cabbage doused in tomato sauce. Don’t get me wrong, it was tasty but having that meal one week for weeks on end that turn into years gets a tad redundant. How do you make your stuffed peppers or what do you stuff them with?

I picked up a new book at the library–thanks Amy for the recommendation! After her sending me cookies and recommending books, I just feel like this is the wk of Amy.

I didn’t feel like cooking tonight so I made some ghettolicious nachos for dinner. They were pretty boring but tasty. By boring I mean just jalapenos and shredded cheese on top with salsa on the side. I didn’t even have the energy to open up a can of black beans and drain there, sad huh? Again, blame it on work.

I tried a new product for dinner last night-Trader Joe’s Tokyo Style Soba Noodles Kit.

Even though I’ve never been to Tokyo and have no clue what “Tokyo Style” included, I was psyched to try these. They’ve been sitting in my cupboard for a while and perfect for a lazy night (which is starting to be the norm) when you don’t want to cook.

While I threw the noodles in to cook-I cooked up some red peppers and water chesnuts for some crunch along with chicken seasoned with ginger, red pepper flakes and black pepper

It really did only take 10 minutes like the box states-shocker! I never believe products that say something is done within a certain, unbelievable time frame (eyeing you Miss Rachael Ray) so it was a nice, Monday night surprise.

I tossed the noodles in the sauce from the kit then topped with the dry seasoning (seaweed something or another) that came with the kit. All in all, a quick, delicious meal. It was a bit salty for my taste so I’m not sure I would buy it again but it was something fun to try

I brought back an oldie but goodie for a snack tonight-Fage Greek Yogurt with a diced peach and flax-seed. And wtf—why didn’t anyone tell me that Fage is pronounced “fah-yeh”? I never knew that until I read it on the packaging tonight.

And with that, I am out. I am about to have dreams of unicorns and Burt Reynolds thanks to Benedryl…..ok maybe not unicorns and Burt Reynolds but I once did have a dream about Oscar the Grouch and Jerry Orbach so go figure. As long as I don’t have a dream about three ex boyfriends in one sleep session like I did the other night, it’s all gravy.

To Shore or Not To Shore?

Today was a Summer Bank Holiday in the UK which apparently affected a huge portion of my work. It was completely slow today and I found myself with extra time to surf the web, read, talk walks, etc. This was nice but I can’t roll like this every day, I need some kind of work to keep me occupied.

I had leftover taco casserole from the other night. I added some extra cheese (since cheese makes everything better) and salsa to thin it up a bit. I am all for the spice but this had me fanning myself for a half hour afterwards. Not so much my mouth but just my body, I just wanted to cool down and be at a normal temperature again. I have one more left and froze another portion for a later date and am anxious to see how it froze. I love making batches of meals then having it a few times and freezing the rest. I don’t understand why more people don’t eat leftovers or take it for lunch, I think it’s usually better the second time around!

I was blissfully full but an ugh was about to hit. I had some dude from the past start IMing me at work. Really? We went our separate ways last year but he just started with my company last week and felt compelled to IM me. That’s a tad annoying. I mean, I understand why he would want to IM me but still, let it go. Plus, isn’t it a tad inappropriate and unprofessional to be doing that?

The lack of work today had me questioning things in life….what am I doing career wise? Am I going to stay in Charlotte? Why has this year gone by so quickly? Should I  start watching the Jersey Shore or not?

Unfortunately, I focused on the last question the most. I’ve never seen an episode however I know who all the key players are and know they like the GTL and like to get drunk. Besides that, I think they may work? I am just confused what they do all day and what the hype is. What also confuses me is how some of them make so much money when they seem like idiots who just get drunk and party? I will surely become an idiot if someone would pay me that much. Desperate times call for desperate measures and I can be very dramatic if the mood calls for it and if the money is talking. I love reality tv but think if I start watching, I will become hooked. I don’t want to be that girl who goes onto The Jersey Shore bulletin boards to read what the spoilers are and start following these people. Plus I have so many questions-Why is their hair so big? Why do they tan so much? Do they know the dangers of tanning?  Why are they all from places except Jersey? Why are they in Miami and what are they doing there? I never see them smile with their teeth, do they have any?  I am very intrigued but kind of believe The Jersey Shore is like Pringles-once you pop you can’t stop.

Perplexed by all things Jersey Shore, I made an Italian dish for dinner-Balsamic Chicken over pesto spaghetti with green onions and fresh tomatoes

Yay for the colors of Italy–represent!

Feeling uninspired from my strength training workouts lately, I did just a kettlebell and kettlebell only session

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Side Bends (20 reps, 2 sets)

Halos (13 reps, 3 sets)

Swings (13 reps, 3 sets)

Shrugs (13 reps, 2 sets)

Step Ups (25 reps, 3 sets)

Upright Deltoid Row (13 reps, 3 sets)

*Bentover Row  (13 reps, 3 sets)

Paired with a whole bunch of jumping jacks, planks and dancing in between sets, this workout kicked my butt. I was dripping by the end and felt like I was pushing myself more than my normal workouts when I incorporate a 10 and 15 lb dumbbell. I had an awesome calorie burn and my heart rate really got up there. It was interesting to see what a difference it brought from workout out along with my dumbbells and want to start incorporating kettlebell only workouts in my routine.

I refueled with a pomegranate smoothie with Chobani Pom Greek Yogurt, Pom Wonderful, Flax,Almond Milk and Vanilla Whey-delish

I am excited for tonight. I have absolutely no plans and the highlights will be washing my hair, doing the dishes and catching up on blogs. This past week was a bad one for me. I just felt off and not as happy as I usually am. I am going to blame it on coming back from Phoenix but I was really in a bum mood most of the week and just not feeling anything. I feel myself again and happy I am out of my funk!

I’m not dead

Hi all-Happy Frickin Friday! So I’m up and running again and so happy. My settings were set to private when I looked yesterday morning (don’t recall changing this though?) and throughout yesterday and today, I would try to change it and nothing. Frustration. Thanks to everyone who checked up on me though, I would never block y’all for my blog 🙂

Speed Street is going on in Uptown Charlotte now-it’s a three day street festival dedicated to Nascar since there is some race during Memorial Wknd. They have vendors, live music, cars ……lots of them and endlessly roaring their engines. Normally, I wouldn’t care. But when all of this is four floors below me, it’s annoying. The bass from the music was so loud my windows were rattling and I thought there was a bomb going off or something. And we had two people out of the office yesterday so I was covering my work plus someone else’s, trying to keep my sanity with that and my blog not working while avoiding a headache, so yeah, unhappy day.

I had a Venti Skim Carmel Macchiato yesterday because hey, I needed it (ok and had a free drink coupon to the Bucks)

OMG, I haven’t had an iced one since I lived in Phoenix four years ago and it was just as good as a I remembered it! Moderation though is key, I do not need this every day and don’t need to be taking in 300 calories from something I can drink.

Breakfast was an AMAZING wrap—eggwhites, feta, roasted zucchini, potatoes and mushrooms topped with ketchup

This was tasty and it kept me full for a loooong time. Which was good since I didn’t have lunch to 2P–thanks work. Lunch was leftover-baked chicken with hummus and feta with roasted zucchini, squash, potato and mushrooms.

I love having plates at work now. I don’t feel like an animal just eating my lunch from a plastic container. And pink is so happy 🙂

I came home, blog still not working, which made me even more frustrated than the day left me. I picked up a box of Trader Joe’s Three Grain Blend the other night because I was out of rice and wanted to make risotto since I’ve never made it before.

I was happy and excited—I started grilled up some mushrooms in the meantime (can you tell I like the shroomies?) and took it out of the box and found this.

I didn’t expect it to be all in one block, I just thought it would be normal rice so I was kinda bummed since I didn’t want to make the whole thing because I am one girl who can only eat so much of one thing (greek yogurt,avocados and Mexican food excluded). Plus I wasn’t sure if risotto would freeze well, anyone know?

Since the shrooms were already grilling and I had black beans in the fridge, I decided to go with my old stand by of tacos.

Delicious! Last night was nothing special, I hung out, took a bubble, tried to comment on blogs but that wasn’t even happening and ended up going to bed early so I could get a good night’s sleep. I wasn’t sure if my teammate would be back in the office so I didn’t know what kind of day to expect.

This morning, I had Yoplait Greek Yogurt, Trader Joe’s Very Cherry Blend and Blueberry Flax for breakfast

Today wasn’t bad at all. My teammate was back in so I didn’t have to cover his work, my desk was slow (due to a bunch of people being out on Friday so not alot of work coming my way) and it was just relaxing for once. Very rarely do I get to say that about work. The hippies were out but not in their normal spot due to Speed Street so I had a Hippie Search going on and picked up some peaches, apples, zucchini, onion, avocado and red peppers.

I got to take my first real lunch break and went with a co-worker to explore Speed Street. The two things iI do like about it is the

 A) Fair food! They have nachos, fries, turkey legs, gyros, philly cheese steaks, crab cakes, hot dogs, etc.

B) Freebies–a bunch of different companies set up booths and give away free stuff. Being the frugal girl I am, it’s my favorite part of the madness

I’ve been talking about the gyros all week-long to everyone at work and how excited I was to have one.

Looks good right?

No. Worst Gyro EVER. It wasn’t lamb meat, it was steak like the kind in a philly cheesesteak with no flavor yet lots of grease. The tzatsiki sauce had no flavor either, it was just sour cream or yogurt and it was so greasy it fell apart. I am pissed about my aspirations for the gyro and the $8 I spent when I could have walked across the street to Showmar’s and get one plus fries for $6.

I did however, get a lot of swag.

There was a sausage stand which I may have stopped at a few times. They were giving out free sausage samples and pork roast samples and it was absolutely delicious. I think it was Smithfield’s? Anyways, I decided if I ever decided to open up a male brothel, it shall be named “The Sausage Stand” . The rest of the afternoon was slow and I got a bunch of stuff done. I was counting down the minutes until I could catch the first bus out of there. I worked 8 hours OT this wk so I had no problem whatsoever with leaving early.

I made a HUGE dinner tonight because I was famished from the half-eaten gyro. I started off with a cucumber and tomato salad with oil and vinegar topped with feta

Ever since I saw Mo’s Pretzel Coated Chicken recipe, I’ve been dreaming of it all week.

I used Ken’s Lite Honey Mustard to coat the chicken since I was feeling something creamy (that’s what she said) and crushed up some Snyder’s pretzels and served with, what else…zucchini, squash, potato and mushrooms!

This was fabulous. It was like comfort food but so easy to make and not too bad for you. I get so bored with chicken breasts that I love any recipe that will mix it up a bit.

I had an awesome strength training session tonight.

Kettlebell

• Upright Deltoid Row (13 reps, 3 sets)
• Shrug (13 reps, 2 sets)
• Side Bends (13 reps, 3 sets)
• Straight Leg Deadlifts (13 reps, 3 sets)
• Bentover Row (13 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell -10 lb

• Shoulder Press (13 reps, 3 sets)
• Lateral Raise (13 reps, 2 sets)
• Bench Press (13 reps, 2 sets)
• Concentration Curls (13 reps, 2 sets)

Misc

• 30 pushups
• Three sets of planks
• Jumping side to side in between workouts

Like I said, awesome workout and nice burn!

I felt really energized after and started to think that I used to go to the gym and mindlessly hop on the elliptical and not even burn that much nor feel challenged at all. I am so happy not going to a gym anymore because I feel like I’m not wasting money on it and have found new ways to work out and challenge myself.

I went to Goodwill afterwards in search of a backpack. Weather permitting, I am going on a four-hour hike on Sunday and wanted something to keep all my stuff in and I haven’t had a backpack since high school so it was time to shop for one. No way was I going to spend $30 on one so Goodwill it was! Not only did I get a backpack for $3, I got two fun plates I can bring to work (you will be seeing these in the future!) AND a new oversized red microfiber chair and matching rolling ottoman—-for $70!! I forgot my camera and didn’t have my phone in the store but the chair is gorgeous and super comfy. I didn’t have room to take it home in my car so I called a friend and she is going to help me with it in the morning since she has an SUV. So happy—pics to come!

I stopped at McD’s on the way home since I was dragging on got a Medium Iced Coffee with Cream and Two Splendas. And now I am going to be wired!!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous start to the long wknd 🙂

Lasagne

I got so much done today it wasn’t even funny! After proclaiming about how much I was going to get done after my last post, I got sucked into Regis and Kelly (which I love but never get to watch) but then, I got sucked into Dr. Phil.

I cannot stand Dr. Phil and just the sound of his voice makes me cringe. But seeing sometimes I am lazy and do not have a remote control, I sit there and watch him. Then I get in a Dr. Phil trance and soon I am cheering him on. Ugh.

I was then off to go to the grocery store but stopped at the Bucks first for a grande iced coffee with skim milk, one pump of Cherry syrup and two splendas.

I stopped and loaded up at Bi-Lo, Harris Teeter and Trader Joe’s. I go wherever the sales are for things I need and luckily, all are within a two-mile radius. And God forbid, I don’t stop at Trader Joe’s every other day.

I love that Trader Joe’s sells beer individually. One of my goals this month/quarter is to drink less beer but it is the opposite of when it comes to chocolate. If I have chocolate in the house, I eat it …..non stop. But sometimes I will get a hankering for beer and just want one or two. If I have it in the house that’s good but if I don’t I go out to the bar and end up drinking seven or eight of them and end up staying for a while.

I grabbed a bag of their  Flax Seed with Blueberries. I was telling one of my co-workers about it and we are going to keep it at work and split it. If you haven’t tried this—do so!!!

And Lincoln got some goodies also—all of this for $10—thanks coupons 🙂

When I was at The Teet, I got a 6 inch tuna sub on wheat with mustard, lettuce, tomato and pickles

As always, a fan was waiting for something to fall

The Barack was in town so it was all over the news……future running mates?

Has anyone seen this ad? Hilarious and so true.

I mentioned in my last point how I leave a path behind me since I am so unorganized and evidence right here :

It was a gorgeous day outside and couldn’t let it go to waste. I took some sinus medicine I had from my last sinus infection and suited up for the pool. I haven’t work my bathing suit since December when I went to the Bahamas but good news—less snug!!

I caught up with Gwen again

Beautiful day indeed

There were a few other people getting sun. Ummmm one dude who is ALWAYS there was talking to himself for a good 20 minutes. I walked past him to see if he had a Bluetooth but none so yeah, stay away from him. I got a good two hours of sunning in then went back in. It’s just not as fun when the pool isn’t available 😦

I saw an ad for H&M in In Style which reminded me of how much I love that store….and that we don’t have one near.

But have no fear—there a few in the DC area so I will be putting it up on the list of To Do next wknd!

I made granola bars afterwards since I am out of stock

The dry ingredients—I added vanilla whey and mini chocolate morsels for some umph!

The wet ingredients

The final product

Can’t wait to break into these!!

I haven’t made lasagne in a while and decided to break it out again! Just call me lasagna because I loooooooove lasagne

I made veggie lasagna with mushrooms, onions, baby spinach and Morningstar Veggie Crumbles

I use No Boil noodles since I really don’t have the patience to sit there and boil lasagne noodles

All layered up and ready to go

I just had to take a peek while it was cooking!

It turned out beautifully (I love burnt edges)

Not to toot my own horn but this is the best lasagne I have made to date. I love cheese but used only 2/3 of the ricotta it called for (the consistency turns me off) and less shredded cheese.

Lincoln always gets to lick the lasagne plate clean

Such a sucker for this dog.

I love and hate how much energy I have when I don’t have to work. I love it because I can get so much done in the day but hate it because my jobs the energy out of me and it kinda pays the bills. Note to self, buy lottery ticket tomorrow.

Mama says they was magic shoes. They could take me anywhere.

First things first-I wanted to say thank you to all of you with your encouraging words about running and great acorn squash ideas–that made my Monday a little more tolerable!

Monday already? March already? I am not diggin how fast time is flying. I haven’t really been wanting hot coffee lately….even though it is 30 something degrees when I wake up. I made an iced coffee spinach smoothie to take on the bus with me in my cool new Vortex cup I got this wknd

I was expecting my inbox at work to be out of control from being out on Friday but it wasn’t too bad at all. Our department did want us to take the Keirsey Temperment report to see what type of personality we are. Ummm I am the fun kind-duh! I’ve always wanted to do one of these but never had the chance and  found that I am an Idealist Champion —–Idealists are spiritual, intuitive people who can enjoy spending a great deal of time and energy working toward a better understanding of who they are. The ultimate hope of this group is to attain true wisdom. For the most part, Idealists are enthusiastic individuals who can find joy meaningful relationships as well as the world around them. People of this temperament can pride themselves on being loving, kindhearted, and authentic. Other fine traits include being more giving and trusting than many around them. An often-passionate temperament that yearns for romance, Idealists can make intense mates, nurturing parents, and inspirational leaders.
In a world filled with unique individuals, when it comes to personality there are only four different temperaments and 16 types of people. Understanding these personality types and mastering your own can be the keys to achieving your goals.
Your temperament is the Idealist (NF). Idealists are relatively rare, making up no more than 15 to 20 percent of the population. Yet their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers. Your particular personality type, the Champion (ENFP), make up little more than 3-4 percent of the total population.

Love it, that is me to a T. We are going to share our results in our team mtng this wk and I am anxious to see everyone else (since my team is full of socially awkward people)

Breakfast was TJ’s Apricot Mango Greek Yogurt with frozen berries and flax mixed in.

I sported my new green sweater I got this wknd and got mad compliments. That just put me in a good mood and way to start off the month. The people like what they see, what can I say? 🙂

I ran into my Starbucks buddy this morning (I didn’t go this morning because I am trying to get off the Bucks) and was telling him  about my running this wknd and made a joke about how I was running like Forrest Gump.

He looked at me as if I were speaking Japanese and turns out he has never seen it. This then followed by me freaking out and asking him how he has never seen it. And I may have pushed him ala Elaine from Seinfeld but I just don’t think I have ever met anyone who hasn’t seen the movie. Given, I have nevr seen Star Wars or Breaveheart but I thought everyone has seen Forrest Gump.

By 11A, I was about to break into my lunch (that’s how I get knowing I brought leftover Mexican food for lunch). I tried to hold off as long as I could but that turned out to be 1145A.Seriously, if you had this waiting for you, would you be able to resist it’s siren call?

Didn’t think so. Oh Mexican food, I heart you but you are no es bueno for my booty. I am talking about the greasy, cheesy kind I have a few times a year. I love it. The best is when I got a bite and had some refried beans, rice and the chicken enchilada all together in one forkful. It’s like when you get the nucleus of nachos and have a sampler in your mouth!
This afternoon was fairly uneventful. I didn’t have too much going on so I surfed the internet, did some work and took a nice 20 min walk around the uptown area in an attempt to wake me up.

Dinner was a clean meal and delicious. I bought a piece of tilapia last wk at Bi-Lo, which is one of the supermarkets here. Everyone says that Harris Teeter has the best seafood out of all the supermarkets but I haven’t had a good experience with that store and love Bi-Lo. Even if people think they are ghetto fabulous.

Anywho, I thawed the tilapia and rubbed some evoo and lemon garlic on it and baked for about 15 minutes. While that was going, I cooked some Barilla whole wheat thin spaghetti and grilled onions, mushrooms, baby spinach and shallots in evoo and old bay seasoning.

On another note, I absolutely love having my kitchen scale. I can’t believe how much I used to think “a serving” was. Now I measure it out in grams, make the serving size and split in two for two meals.

Then I took some shredded carrots and parsley, dashed white vinegar on it, threw in some salt and pepper on and let sit for 10 minutes. A great refreshing treat!

So simply yet I’ve never tried or even thought to combine these two. I love parsley and when I buy it, try to incorporate it into as many dishes as possible. I feel so much better than normal when I eat clean, feel like I am getting so much more bang for my buck and feel accomplished since I didn’t have to go to a box and make a meal out of ingredients I can’t even pronounce

And the question for the night-will he choose sugar….or spice??

That’s right Jakey-Poo, you’re going to need a lot of vino if you’re planning on making Vienna your wife!

T-Minus 30 minutes to the Bachelor—can’t wait!

Let Them Eat Cake

I barely slept at all last night yet felt so rested and relaxed this morning.

 I’m convinced that I need to stop watching tv though. In the past wk I have dreamed that I

*Was a Polygamist wife (Big Love)

*Was a pimp

 

*Was stuck in the desert with Larry King  (I don’t  want to know what these means and I don’t even have CNN!)

 I woke up late and caught the late bus and Josh Hartnett look-alike was on it so that made the ride more pleasant I love eye candy in the morning 🙂

All of our systems were working today! It was like a dream how a normal business day should be! Clicks to that!

Breakfast was Greek Yogurt, flax, coconut granola and frozen cherries and raspberries.

 Lunch was a Dragon Roll from Harris Teeter. Surprisingly good! I didn’t have the time to go sit down somewhere for lunch so when I need a quick fix for sushi, I head to the Teet. The avocado was very fresh and tasty.

Seriously, how beautiful is this roll?

 I had a side salad as well with spring mix, peppers, mushrooms, onions, olives and carrots with peppercorn dressing.

 Of course after this, I found out about the dessert bar in the conference room. Yes….I said dessert bar (so much better than a salad bar). It was for associates as a “thank you” for all the hard work we do. It included ice cream, cake, fruit and nuts. Yum! I didn’t want to be rude so I took a slice and some fruit to go . Yay for fruit…yay for free fruit and cake!

After the big lunch and a bite the slice of cake, I was in a food coma. The afternoon surprisingly went by quickly. We were super busy at work which means the day goes by quickly which means it doesn’t feel like I am there an eternity which means I am happy which means …..(hahaha just kidding I will stop there)

 Having a three-day wknd is so nice because it makes the rest of the wk fly by but then I get super confused about what day it is. So today is Wednesday, which should feel like a Tuesday but for me it feels like a Thursday. Oi! Suffice to say, two more days to go!

I came home and had to think about what was for dinner since no chicken, pork or red meat for the next 40 days. I went with tofu stir fry….quick, easy, delicious!

The veggies stir frying with low sodium soy, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, hoison sauce and Sriracha

The final product with cashews thrown on top

It is so cold out which means perfect running/walking weather! I don’t know why but I really enjoy running when it is cold out and it motivates me more to workout than hot weather. I ran for 30 minutes and went 3 miles.

 And had a yummy smoothie waiting for me 🙂 I made it with Soy milk, chocolate whey, almond butter and spinach. Magnificent!

 Chocolate milk would be a great addition to my smoothies—speaking of which–click here for a chance to win some free Horizon Organic Chocolate Milk Coupons! Winners will be picked on Friday the 19th.

Start spreading the news……

Monday Monday. Or not. Tuesday Tuesday. I love when Tuesdays feel like Mondays, it’s like a nice little gift to start the wk right! Mentally, it was very rough waking up today. I think I finally woke up and was coherent around 3PM…..two hours before I went home for the day! 😦
 At home I was sipping on my coffee then an angel appeared in front of me. Ok not an angel or in front of me but this beautiful specimen….Mr. David Muir on Good Morning America.

How have I never noticed him before? Maybe because I was Team Cuomo for so long. But look at all that hair? Hello Daddy!

Breakfast was 6 oz Trader Joe’s 2% greek yogurt topped with Bobs Flax Seed Meal, frozen strawberries and a couple tbsns of the coconut granola I got at earthfare yesterday (sorry for lack of pictures, someone forgot to charge her camera and the camera on the  phone was not wanting to cooperate with me today)

   

Today was a pretty uneventful day at the office until Texas Toast (lady who sits near me) decided to eat some kind of fish and Brussel sprout concoction at 10am. I swear it smelled like death with a little bit of homeless warmed over. But at least Texas Toast wasn’t clipping her nails. Which I hope when she  does they’re her fingernail and not her toenails. Sometimes I despise working in a cubicle and long for the day when I don’t.

I was happy, I managed to sneak out for a 20 min walk near the end of day. Coming back from a long holiday wknd, it is usually busy. But today, oddly quiet…..very very very strange.
I did have one highlight of the day—-my friend Danae decided where she wants to go for her birthday trip in July—New York City!

We are going for a girls wknd with six to eight girls. It will be a much-needed vacation by that point but I am just so excited! Hot men, good food, amazing shopping—I may never come back 😉 After we chatted about that, I pretty much spent the rest of the day working looking on-line for flights, hotels, etc. Productive worker I am!

Dinner was an epic fail of a calzone. I had some extra Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Pizza Dough ($.99 a package—what a steal!) and made a calzone for myself stuffed with rotisserie chicken I needed to use, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and onions. I folded over (again a time when my camera would have come in handy) and coated with evoo and powdered parmesean cheese. My oven sucks. And it knows I know it sucks! It ended up burning a bit on the ends but edible. I really want a real NY style calzone now. I will have to work on that!

Also, please  remember today is National Popcorn Day! Yay! I just enjoyed a small bowl with some Frank’s Hot Sauce on it-yum! RIP Orville……