Comfort me, hold me

A few things gave me great comfort today after a horrible day at work

* Pringles coated fried chicken bit dinner

I remember seeing this recipe in the Hungry Girl cookbook and was too lazy to look the recipe (much less find where the cookbook is in my house) but it turned out fantastic. I coated them in BBQ Pringles, fried those bad boys up and paired with Steamfresh veggies for a simple dinner

The best part was the cheese sauce seeped over to the chicken–cheese covered fried chicken? Can we say bring it??

*New additions to the workout playlist

(this is my favorite Strokes song of all time-why was it not on my playlist?)

*A great workout

I did 40 minutes on the Precor elliptical doing an interval session. What didn’t comfort me? While watching Sex and The City on E! the very young girl on the machine next to me asked if I was watching Gossip Girl. I shit you not, a little piece of my heart died when she asked me that. Afterwards I did the leg press (240 lbs), hip abduction (110 lbs), hip adduction (140 lbs) and leg extensions (80 lbs)

*Beautiful green monster with kale, coconut milk and Spirutein Blueberries N Cream protein powder

*Lincoln

Seriously, how could someone NOT love this dog?

*You guys

Yeah you. Thanks for everyone on the props on yesterday’s post regarding my goals. I can’t say how much I appreciate the kind words and support. Checking my email every day and  seeing supportive and funny comments is one of the highlights of my day– you all rock!

What gave you comfort  today?

Negativity, happenings and goal checks

So the past few days have been rough, I’ve just feeling blah. Maybe it was from the drunken stupor of Friday night, the 79 degree days we’ve been having or just laziness but I’m finally back to feeling “normal” and like myself again.

I had a major tofu fail last night. I have a couple of slices pressed in the fridge to get the liquid out and was looking forward to cooking up something tasty. I added bbq sauce to the tofu and cooked it on the stovetop while I had sweet potato slices and kale chips in the oven.

The tofu was extra firm but it was crumbling while cooking it so it quickly turned into a bbq tofu mash and it was funkalicious. It didn’t taste right at all so there goes my first experience with tofu gone bad. The rest of the meal was fantastic though.

Afterwards, I met up with a friend at the Y. She went to find a treadmill to run on while I found a Precor AMT to get my cardio on. When I finished working out, I sprayed down the machine and the guy next to me flipped his lid! He started getting all whiny and dramatic “Saying, og my gosh, I can’t breathe, why did you spray it in my face?? blah blah blah” I apologized saying that I didn’t realize it gotten on him (I sprayed it two times on the machine and wiped it) then after I apologized he gave me more attitude saying “Next time you really need to spray on the towel and wipe” and I just smiled and spurt out “Ok”. I walked away and *almost* walked back to go off on him and say something along the lines of “If getting cleaner on you is the biggest issue you have in life, I want your life” but I’m trying not to be so confrontational with strangers plus it’s the Y and I know I would start dropping the F bomb on him so I walked away.

My friend and I did some upper body weight machines after like the row, lateral pull down, shoulder press and chest press.

 It was a great workout and to think, I almost didn’t go because I had a case of the Mondays!

I came home and made a green monster with kale, coconut milk, Spiru-Tein Blueberries N Cream protein powder, flax seed and Yoplait Smoothie fruit mix.

Very tasty! I don’t think I would buy the Yoplait Smoothie mix again because there really isn’t alot of fruit in the bag and I believe it only comes out to two servings in the bag. I would rather buy a generic brand than spend an extra buck on this.

And today was hell. I didn’t have a lot on my plate because I wanted to work on a project but that fell through and there were just issues all day long. I started the day off with Yoplait and a Vita Top

Unfortunately, this didn’t hold me over at all. And there was a little issue with my sanitzer spilling all over the Vita Top–boo!

Just a note, this is the most disgusting scented sanitzer I’ve ever smelled. Plus the fact that anytime I see it, I start singing Strawberry Champagne to the tune of “Raspberry Beret” is getting annoying.

I didn’t make anything in advance so I had something new for lunch-Morningstar Sesame Chik’n

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again-I’m not a huge fan of frozen meals but usually keep a few in my freezer for days I have no lunch. This was surprisingly good though. The “chik’n” tasted like real chicken and the sauce was smooth and didn’t seem like it was laced with a shaker of salt. I’ve had Lean Cuisine frozen meals like this and they pale in comparison compared to Morningstar with it’s abundance of vegetables and flavor. I will definitely be buying this in the future.

When I got home, I was spent. But I came home to a nice, surprise package.

What can it be?

Multigrain Cheerios and Biggest Loser Wii workout I won from Kelly Olexa! If you haven’t ever visited Kelly’s blog, please check it out. She is super inspiring, posts vlogs on the faily and has a Monday post called Monday Manjoyment–who doesn’t love that!? Whenever I am feeling down an uninspired, I head over to her blog and it puts things in perspective for me and motivates me to get off my behind and work it out!

Dinner was something new-chicken satay with brown rice, green beans, onions and baby corn

I’ve never cooked with satay sauce, nor did I know how orange it was!

Please disregard chipped nail polish. Instead of giving myself a manicure, I choose to blog.

I chopped up one and a half chicken breasts and mixed with the sauce

Cooked some onions on the stovetop then added the chicken

Then added the green beans and baby corn

Checked to make sure any chicken didn’t fall because if it did, Lincoln would be right there by my feet but instead he was sitting like a good boy

And voila! A tasty, healthy meal

I like to think of myself as a positive person but this past weekend, I had two guys tell I was a really negative girl and that bothered me. I am lot more positive than I used to be and when I feel like I’m speaking my mind or “telling it like it is” apparently, I come off negative. This came from me speaking about my job, you know, when you go out partying the first thing you want to talk about is work right? So when someone asks me what I do, I tell them then try to steer the conversation in another direction by saying something like “Let’s talk about something more interesting than work” and when they ask me, I really start to speak my mind about my job. As many of you know, I’m very unhappy with my role and have no issues about speaking my thoughts on my position but I guess I am really coming off negative? That being said, I am going to start making more of a conscious effort about how I speak about my job, life, feelings, etc and try to portray them in a more positive way and speak my mind more thoughtfully. I know I shouldn’t be doing this for other people but when I think about would I want to hang out with someone who is consistently complaining about their job, I wouldn’t. It’s just a downer. So I am going to try to express myself better or just learn when to shut up.

Which brings us to…..goal checks!

*Pay off one credit card by 2/15/11.  

 Success! I paid off in January and working on paying my other one down. I’ve paid $500 down on it in the past two months so I’m cutting that balance down. Thank God for 0% balance transfer offers!

*Quit my job. 

On the way to success! My manager and I had a one on one last week and I told him that I am 100% sure I will be out of there by May. He was quite receptive to what I was saying so I appreciate it and the goal date is going to be April 29th. I told him that I will give them a month’s notice since I’ve been with the company for six years and want to leave on a high note with a good recommendation. I can’t believe this is going to happen.

*Check out cities that could potentially be my new home.

Working on it! I am going to Pittsburgh in late March to check out the scene there. I have a good number of friends from college there, it’s an hour away from where I went to college and I would be within driving distance to family six hours away. I hate the fact that I have two nieces but I feel like I don’t know them at all. One is turning 10 this summer and I know nothing about her, I don’t want it to be that way, especially since I don’t want to have kids. Pittsburgh was recently named  the #1 Most Livable City in the US so it seems like a possible moving location. I am going to look into Indianapolis when I am there in May and possibly Chicago around that time as well. It scares me that I have absolutely no clue where I will be in six months yet at the same time, it excites me.

*Pay a little more on my car payment each month so I can pay it off quicker

Success! I’m still paying about $30 extra with each paycheck to cut the balance down on there

*Cut down on  Starbucks and eating out.

Umm, what’s Starbucks? Seriously, I’ve only been going one to two times a week which is major for me. I haven’t been eating out as much as I once did which is also helping me save money and when I do go out to eat, I try to use a Groupon/Living Social deal.

*No new clothes until March.

I did it! I don’t know how but I did and I’m proud to say, I didn’t buy any new clothes in January or February. It is possible!

*Plan a stay-cation instead of jetsetting all around the country.

This is going to be a difficult one still with all the traveling for potential cities to move to but am least when I travel, I will be crashing with friends instead of staying at hotels

*Sell what I don’t need.

Copied from last month because there is no progress on this–I haven’t sold anything yet but I am in the works of putting together everything I want to sell, take pics, put on Craigslist, etc. If anyone in the Charlotte area is looking for a Wine Refrigerator, let me know

*Try out new ethnic recipes.

 I still need to mix it up some but I made some good stuff in February like stuffed mushrooms, meatballs, tuna melts, tofu tacos and roasted chicken along with going out for sushi, Indian food,

*Be more consistent with taking my vitamins.

I give myself an F. Seriously, I don’t know when the last time I took one.

*Cut down on my meat intake.

Success! Doing great with this by incorporating Meatless Mondays along with eating  more beans, tofu and making dishes meatless.

*Use skim milk or almond milk in my coffee instead of half and half.

 Success! I bought coconut milk this weekend after seeing a recommendation from Monique and it’s sooooo much better than almond milk. Go try it if you haven’t!

When cleaning off a machine at the gym, do you spray the machine and wipe or spray the towel and wipe?

Organized Chaos

I live in a state of organized chaos. 

Whether it comes to my kitchen with my limited counter and cabinet space

The contents of my fridge

And yes, when I am feeling uninspired and too lazy to look through hundreds of recipes that I have at my fingertips, I simply pull up a stool to the fridge and stare until I come up with meals to make.

How I organize my cookbooks

Hell, even my magnets on my fridge are organized chaos

And especially at work, this is my desktop on a day where I have 95% of my work done and I’m feeling good about it

My thoughts are  in a state of organized chaos. ALL. THE. TIME.

But I’m cool with that since that is how I am used to things being and living. Some may not understand that but that’s how I am and operate. I have so much going through my brain on the daily, it’s difficult to keep things straight but somehow I manage. I thank my Blackberry memo pad that lets me jot down random thoughts and things I need to get done and of course, Post It notes. I can’t live without Post It notes.

(source)

Even living with Lincoln is a state of organized chaos since he is the dog who like to rest with a pillow on top of him, not under him

My workouts are in a state of organized chaos. I go to the gym with no idea what I’m going to do but knowing I want a killer workout. I do this because the gym I go to gets busy which means that finding a machine can be difficult. I try to find any kind of machine I can whether it be elliptical, treadmill or bike and go to town on it. Afterwards, I usually do some kind of strength training but again, unplanned. since that is how I roll.

Meals are sometimes in a state of organized chaos and unplanned….like on Monday.

I had off on Monday but since I have been so overloaded with work, I went in for a few hours to knock some stuff out without distraction. I was there for two hours and really didn’t get that much done nor did it give me the peace of mind I was hoping for.

I made a tuna, green onion and avocado salad with tomato on top of a sandwich thin with a side of Kashi Mediterranean Bruschetta crackers

This was such a fantastic and flavorful combination! I didn’t use any mayo and it was still rich and creamy.

Dinner was a bit unorganized as well and the brainchild of sitting in front of the fridge for a few minutes.

I chopped up some tofu then pressed for few hours

Mixed with taco seasoning

Then fried those little suckers up

I added some black beans and corn that was looking for a home

Then I remembered I had cooked mushrooms that were also in need of a home

While that was cooking, I chopped up a few springs of green onion and two jalapenos (with gloves of course!)

Then added everything together….plus some tomato, cheese, avocado and salsa

I already have enough organized chaos in my life, why not add some more to the mix with food?

This was such a terrific meal but I got too ambitious with my toppings and they were difficult to eat. I love that since most of the ingredients were fresh I didn’t have to add alot of seasonings to the mix except for the taco seasoning.

And it left wonderful leftovers such as a naked burrito bowl.

Dinner on Tuesday night was a completely random one….. brown purple pink green monster!

Instead of using baby spinach like I always do, I used kale instead after reading about a kale smoothie on Thorns Have Roses. I love me some kale but never thought to use it in a smoothie before so I was a tad apprehensive. I mixed with almond milk, strawberries, flax-seed and Spiru-tein Blueberries and Cream protein powder

I would never really crave a green monster for dinner but I had my permanent crown put on Tuesday afternoon and was supposed to stick to soft foods for 24 hours.

Do you live your life in a state of organized chaos?

How do you keep your thoughts and life organized? Paper, phone, calendar, planner?

PS–Win a $25 Restaurant.com gift certificate!

Another Day

Another dollar. We are still going through the training process which means sitting in a conference room, learning things that I will probably forget when I get my portfolio and realizing my company uses way too many acronyms. I seriously cannot keep up with all of them! I think I am going to make a cheat sheet soon so I can remember all of them because it’s just not sticking with me.

On a brighter note, we got a two-hour lunch today-holla! Of course, this was the day I brought my lunch so I thought “Why not go home?” I drove home and was out walking Lincoln 15 minutes later with lunch in the microwave

Looks can be deceiving huh? I would really like to know where this “colorful medley” they speak of is located because it wasn’t in my white glop in a tray. Hmmm, that kinda sounds like a sperm on a petri dish? Gross. Anyways, it was good, just not “colorful” I watched some VH-1 for awhile, ran errands and was back with an hour to spare. I received an email earlier in the day saying there was a little something something for me to pick up at the library…..

Yay! SATC The Movie Soundtrack is one of my favorite movie soundtracks out there so I was excited for this. I still haven’t seen the movie but I’m in no rush since I heard it was kinda meh. I listened to the soundtrack tonight and there are a few good tracks but don’t think it will be a favorite. Liza Minnelli does a cover of “Single Ladies” which is just fabulous and I love Alicia Keys remake of Blondie’s “Rapture”.

I was looking for something easy and filling for dinner. I made a salad with cucumbers, zucchini and tomato and home-made pizza using Harris Teeter Whole Wheat pizza dough topped with mushrooms, Morningstar Veggie Crumbles, fresh parsley and mozzarella and parmesan cheese

I liked this whole wheat pizza day alot more than the standard Trader Joe’s I normally buy. It’s about $1 more but I feel like I got more and had more substance. It’s not very often that Trader Joe’s fails me. Sadness.

I did three workouts in one tonight. I started out with Jari Love’s Get Ripped 1000 DVD that I got through Netflix. I’ve heard good things about her dvd’s and was into it at first but then she started using a stepper and I don’t have one. I was doing the motions by stepping side by side and doing jumping jacks but that got boring very quickly. The squats and lunges kicked by butt though and I did about 12 minutes of that. With my heart rate up, I decided to go for a walk which soon turned into a run. I’m running again with little pain-score! I’m nowhere near I was before but I am excited to start running again and feel confident that I can get back into it, we shall see…..

That’s what I like to see!

With that, a green monster was calling my name with a new protein powder–SpiruTein Chai Latte

I used half a packet so I wouldn’t be in overload

The color reminds me of pistachio pudding my mom used to make when I was younger-yum! I liked the flavor but like the S’mores flavor, not sure if I would buy an entire tub of it but it did taste like Chai which was great!

Thanks for the comments on yesterday’s post. It’s nice to see that I’m not the only one who has some issues with making female friends and such. Not nice to see b/c it kinda sucks but you know what I mean! Right? Maybe? Hopefully!

And that’s it. Yeah, kind of a boring day but oh well, such is life. Hope you all are having a good one!

***Win a Lululemon gift card and other goodies at Run Eat Repeat!

Winner Winner And Yes, Chicken Dinner

 Meh, Sunday. I stayed up until 3A last night watching tv and once again, it felt so good to sleep in. I don’t know what it is about Tyler Perry movies that get me but once it starts, I can’t look away. After three of them in a row, I was ready to hit the hay. Having no plans today, I wasn’t sure how today was going to turn out.

This morning was nothing unordinary–breakfast, errands, park, football, yay. When I went to the park. I walked a bit but also got a few sets of running in! I haven’t run since April so it will be nice to attempt to hit the pavement again running but I’m sure my legs won’t be thanking me come tomorrow. After having lunch, I was feeling blah and wanted to move so I fit in a strength training session.

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Side Bends (15 reps, 2 sets)

Upright Deltoid Rows (13 reps, 2 sets)

Step Ups (25 reps, 1 set)

Halos (13 reps, 2 sets)

Shrugs (13 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell-15 lbs

Reverse Fly (13 reps, 2 sets)

Front Lateral Raise (13 reps, 3 sets)

Shoulder press (13 reps, 3 sets)

Curls (13 reps, 3 sets)

Tricep Extensions (13 reps, 2 sets)

Misc.

Crunches

Planks

Random yoga poses

This took about 35 minutes with misc. jumping and bopping around in between sets. I didn’t wear my heart rate monitor because I feel like I haven’t been getting a good workout lately when I wear mine. If it doesn’t work, I get fixated on that and lose focus on my movements which could eventually hurt me in the long run. I feel like I had an awesome workout this time and my heart rate was was consistently up there. I made a green monster with half a packet of SpiruTein Smore flavored protein powdered

I forgot a fabulous recipe that I made this past week! I saw a recipe for Stuffed Poblanos in Martha Stewart Food that I just had to try. They were super tasty and spicy but I think they needed some more substance in them.

For dinner tonight, I had Chicken and Spinach Casserole that I froze

With a baby spinach salad topped with cucumbers, zucchini, avocado, tomato and feta

And now for the dinners of the Fresh Express Coupon Giveaway!

Jessica from Truly Simply Happy

Amy from Second City Randomness

Lily from Lily’s Health Pad

Amanda from Two Boos Who Eat

Ladies-please email me your addresses so I can get those puppies over to you! Thanks to all who participated and told me your favorite salads!

So yeah, that’s that. Nothing too exciting going on over here today but the day just dragged on. I took a nap and am anxious to see what work is going to be like tomorrow. We are in training for the next couple of weeks so I really don’t know what to expect but we shall see. I am just waiting to find out who my manager is so I can’t set up my vacation time. Out of ten people on my team, three of us were bank associates before this job so I am hoping I have some seniority with picking my vacation time.

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!!

Can We Talk About……

Can we talk about how much I love zumba?  I went to zumba  after work on Tuesday and my co-worker showed up to dance it out with me. I have so much fun each time I go and get such a terrific workout plus I never dread going. Oh and hello calorie burn!

Breakfast was a bagel with cream cheese, nothing too exciting.

Can we talk about how much I am loving the dry shampoo lately? I got this bottle at Ulta with my free gift coupon and am sad it’s running low.

I love it primarily because I get lazy and don’t feel like going through the whole process of washing, conditioning, drying and curling my hair with the humidity going on. I do my hair, step outside and whoosh-I look like a white Diana Ross. But check it out, I used it on Tuesday morning (after last washing it on Saturday morning) and it made my hair so voluminous and bouncy.

Can we talk about how I put my foot  in my mouth in a major way this morning? This dude on my floor was dating a girl who works at Starbucks and I just found out it about. I love the Starbucks girl because she is so sweet and helpful. Oh yeah and last week, I spilled my coffee twice. And I’m not talking about spilling it a little. My motto is go big or go home so both times I spilled coffee all over my new Vera Bradley wallet and my bus pass (RIP Bus pass). Anyways, I was in the elevator with him and my coffee buddy today heading to Starbucks and said to him “I love your girlfriend so much, she is so patient and helped me twice last week when I spilled my coffee”. He looked at me and said “She’s not my girlfriend anymore and she isn’t that patient”. Eek—sorry! Of course, the elevator seemed to slow down at that point and it was a tad awkward. I can usually make it until 3P without sticking my foot in my mouth so today was a fail.

I had leftover Penne Franco from Carrabba’s for lunch on Tuesday

Can we talk about  James Franco and his hotness?  When did he get hot? I always thought he was kinda skeezy looking but apparently skeezy does it for me.

Can we talk about how much I love hippie produce day?

I keep telling myself that September is not around the corner because September is when the hippies leave until spring. I wonder what they do during their hiatus from their fruit stand. Do they do hippie-licious activities at home? Make tye dye? Listen to the Grateful Dead? The possibilities are endless!

Can we talk about how sometimes a simply dinner can be so fulfilling? Dinner was a roast beef and cheese sandwich on whole wheat with cold quinoa salad with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, red peppers, carrots, red onions and tomatoes

With a side of olives

Lastly, can we talk about how much I love my Magic Bullet? I  made a green monster in a bowl with blueberries, POM Wonderful, almond milk, ice, xanthan gum and baby spinach for dessert

I really want to try the recipes in the book that came with the Bullet, anyone try anything out of there?

Can’t Hardly Wait

 I didn’t have time to make a hearty first meal so it was breakfast on the go with a Kashi Bar and a banana

The interview went well. I knew the person interviewing me so it was a bit informal compared to interviews I had and more like a normal conversation which made me less nervous. To be honest, I don’t think I will get it since I knew some other people who are applying and have more experience than me. Also, I got some more information on the job and I’m not sure if I would want it or not if I was to be offered the position. It would be longer hours, more stress but on the flip side more money, more vacation and a better direction for my career. Basically, I would have to think long and hard about it if I would want to take on the role or not. But I rocked my dress with a cute, chunky green beaded necklace and I think I looked cute. Oh–I didn’t mention how the dress was one  size smaller than I wear huh? I am happy about that alone. Regardless, thanks everyone for your warm wishes 🙂

For lunch, I had Quizno’s Choose Two with the Honey Mustard Chicken Salad and Steak Melt Sammie

I was jonesing for some take out when I got home and couldn’t make up my mind between the two usual suspects: Pizza or Chinese Food so I decided to save some money and calories by making home-made Chinese food

Chinese Noodles with zucchini, mushrooms, sweet pepper, green onions with Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken (no sauce) with a few tbsp General Tso’s Sauce. Just like the real thing!

I had a sweet workout session afterwards. I got my workout clothes on while  the food was cooking so I wouldn’t have any reason not to work out (except pure laziness of course!)

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Side Bends (20 reps, 2 sets)

Halos (13 reps, 2 sets)

Swings (13 reps, 4 sets)

Squats (13 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell-15 lbs

Close Grip Dumbbell Bench Press (13 reps, 1 set)

Dumbbell Bench Press  (13 reps, 2 sets)

Shoulder press (12 reps, 2 sets)

Curls (13 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell 10 lbs

Tricep Dumbbell Kickbacks  (13 reps, 3 sets)

Reverse Fly (12 reps, 2 sets)

Front Lateral Raise (13 reps, 2 sets)

I didn’t get my heart rate up the way I thought I did but all in all, it was a good workout. On a unrelated note, I think I pulled my butt muscle and it hurts!

I had a post workout snack -green monster bowl with NutriBiotic Chocolate Rice Protein, almond milk, baby spinach, xanthan gum, a drizzle of mint chocolate syrup and chocolate peppermint shavings

Hope everyone is having a Happy Thursday! Is it wrong if I don’t really have plans any night this weekend and kind of excited for that? I just want to snuggle up with Lincoln, watch my Netflix and veg. I can’t wait.

Skills That Pay The Bills?

Happy Humpday all! Today was yet another good day of great eats! I am so happy I am back to meal planning and making larger quantities of items so I have things on hand. This is going to be a quick one (you will see why at the end of this post)

Breakfast was Kashi Go Lean Crunch! with almond milk and blueberries.

Note, this is the second time this week that I’ve had cereal in the twice week. I don’t think I’ve had that much since back in my high school days.

Lunch was a leftover pork chop with quinoa with grilled eggplant, parsley and green onions.

When I got home, it was hot as balls out. I took Lincoln out and then got into my comfy clothes. I was kinda hungry but not ready for dinner and I wanted something cold.

What to do in that predicament? GREEN MONSTER! I made one with Spirutein Cookies N Cream Protein Powder, Almond Milk, handful of spinach, xanthan gum and a special addition…….

Santa Cruz Organic Mint Chocolate Syrup. I bought this a few months ago on a whim and have been waiting for the perfect moment to crack it open. I figure cookies n cream plus mint chocolate? I might as well die and go to heaven!!

Look at how beautiful it is? I wish I could put into words how great it was. I know Monique will appreciate this piece of art and I will be having this again (although I will have to have some self-control with that mint chocolate syrup). Thank God for the Magic Bullet

Oh! And I ordered a Bondi Bond on Sunday and got it in the mail today-I love a great deal and fast shipping!

Dinner was another fabulous BIG salad with baby romaine, red onion, mushrooms, hardboiled eggs, cucumbers, quinoa, gorgonzola, chicken bites and ranch dressing.

Ummm, I promise there is lettuce under there!

Good God, this was yummy. I haven’t had gorgonzola in a looooong time and forgot how creamy and rich it was. “You’re dreaming of gorgonzola when it’s clearly brie time baby!”  If you can name what movie that’s from you officially rock in my book.

I went to Marshalls and found a couple of good buys

Bigger Loser Sculpt and Burn set for $5 I am a sucker for anything on clearance and figure it would fun to have on hand

Black Dress for $15.

Ok so it actually looks way cute on and not frumpy at all.

Why a black dress you ask? No, someone didn’t die but……I have an interview tomorrow!! Anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows I am absolutely miserable at work and want out. I am super nervous and just found out about it this afternoon so I spent the last part of my day worrying about what I will wear. It’s for another position at the bank and would definitely be a step up (not to be confused with Step Up 3D) and a great career move for me. There is no way in hell I am wearing a suit in this weather nor do I have one since all my suits I are from before I lost weight. I figure a simple black dress is a good bet and I know the person interviewing me. I work with this team every day and think I am a good fit for the position but know there are other people applying who have more experience for me so I have my doubts I will get it but I am sure going to try my best!

 Please send some good vibes my way and we’ll see if I have the skills that pay the bills!

Fresh

As much as I love the eggs, I really need to start buying egg-whites again. I think my heart will thank me after the fat fest I had for breakfast yesterday morning: Two Scrambled Eggs with Muenster Cheese, Avocado and Tomato

 

Lunch was a BIG salad with carrots, tomato, feta cheese, quinoa, green onions topped with pulled pork and pomegranate balsamic vinegar. Holy balls. I don’t like the idea of hot and cold together most times (with the exception of greek yogurt and oatmeal) but I nuked the pulled pork up for about a minute and the combination was terrific. I also liked how the pomegranate balsamic vinegar tasted with it. I didn’t want to ever end 😦

One of my co-workers came over to my desk and told me she had a treat for me. I love treats. And I love treats in the name of fresh produce even more. I thought she was just being sweet but she had an ulterior motive but it worked out fine because I can be persuaded just to do about anything if you put some good food in front of me.

I want this dogs life

A girlfriend and I had plans to go to dinner so she came over to my place and we walked over to Lebowski’s Neighborhood Grill, a semi-new place here. Can I say how happy I am that I moved? I love the convenience of being able to walk to restaurants, shops, bars, etc.  I know I keep talking about it but that right there is something I am willing to pay more money for. I can tell a difference in my energy level and attitude from not having to wake up at the butt crack of down and having a long commute.  Love it.

I got the Jerk style Gardenburger with garlic fries (I’ve heard people raving about them so had to see if they lived up to the hype)

There was jerk sauce and pineapples under the beautiful layer of melted cheese.

And the fries? They totally lived up to my expectations, it was a fair amount of garlic but nothing that would keep a vampire away. We had quick service, enjoyed the patio area and had reasonable prices, I would definitely go back.

Today was another day full of fruits and veggies. I needed to take a little break from the eggs for breakfast and had a green monster in a bowl instead. I made it with blueberries, spinach, almond milk, xanthan gum and half a packet of Spiru-Tein Blueberries and Cream Protein Powder topped with Kashi Go Lean Crunch

Yeah…..and there was about 1/3 still left in my magic bullet.  Again, if you haven’t tried xanthan gum, what are you waiting for?? It’s awesome!

Lunch was yet again a BIG Salad with romaine, tomato, quinoa, carrots, cucumber, onion, ham, hardboiled eggs, Laughing Cow french onion wedge and sunflower seeds topped with Ken’s Fat Free Raspberry Vinaigrette. Add another salad to the list that I didn’t want to end.

I was heading to zumba class after work and tried my Boomi Bar that’s been sitting around

I really liked this, it was a simple almond bar and it wasn’t too sweet or moist (I feel so dirty when I say that word)

Zumba was great but I didn’t rock it as much as last week since I am still a tad achey from Jackie Warner’s One on One Training DVD I did the other day. I didn’t jump around as much but I still got a good workout in with a nice calorie burn of 677 and average heart rate of 166—yes!

I was ready for a big dinner when I got home! I made turkey burgers (with parsley, green onions, Heinz 57, garlic and panko breadcrumb) 

Laughing  Cow makes everything better

I served with a cold quinoa salad with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper with carrots, cucumbers, tomato and red onion thrown in.

I loved the meals I’ve had the past two days and can honestly say that all this fresh produce is my favorite part of summer. I am going to miss having access to different farmers markets in the area once fall comes around but I think it’s a fair trade-off for football, sweaters and cold weather. There are so many veggies to look forward to as well which means new stuff-yay!