Frugal Friday: good savings, bad savings

Happy frugal Friday! I’m leaving on yet another road trip today. But not going to the beach or anywhere near the ocean–going the opposite way to Indianapolis and then Chicago. This time it’s only a nine hour trip so hopefully i t won’t feel as long as the Florida drive and once again I will have my trusted co-pilot by my side.

(source)

The wonderful Tonya was over the other day and did a mini photo shoot for Lincoln. I just love her work so much and Lincoln was quite well behaved. He usually barks at strangers but fell instantly for Tonya due to the belly rubs and baby talk. But back to my point, Lincoln and I will be going on yet another roadtrip to see my sister then detouring in Chicago for a few days. I can’t wait to get to Chicago!!

The week has been chock full of savings, some I am happy about and some not so much. Yeah, you read right, I am unhappy with some of my savings. But we will get into that later.

The Good Savings

First was when I got back to Charlotte last week. I came home to a ton of mail and while going though the boring stuff saw this beauty of a return address!

Skinny Cow actually sent me coupons—hooray! But they are tricky cows. I wrote them a few weeks back telling them how much I love their products. Their stuff is expensive and I can’t afford it every single week when I need a fix so I just straight up asked for coupons. It can’t hurt to ask right? They emailed me back thanking me for the comments but said they don’t send out coupons so seeing this was a BIG surprise.

If you read yesterday’s post, you saw I am not a brunette. It’s been awhile since I’ve had dark hair and upkeep for highlights are so expensive. And I don’t like looking like white trash with my three inch roots so going back to my natural color seemed to be the best decision for me-financially and appearance-wise. In an effort to save even more money, I skipped going to my regular hairdresser instead and decided to go to the Aveda Institute for a cut and do my own color

But then I asked myself: “What is my natural hair color?” I’ve been coloring it for so long I can’t remember the last time when my hair was au natural. I went to Target to check out their selection of colors and saw this tool in the hair dye section.

Perfect! Just what I was looking for. I entered in my information and it gave me a few different colors and type of dye to choose from. With the recommendation of the find your color machine, I went with Pure Darkest Brown by L’Oreal Sublime Mousse.

I went through my coupons and saw that I had $3 off –yes!

It was on sale for $8.99 so I got a box for $5.99—pretty good deal if you ask me!  I got my hair cut on Wednesday for only $15. It took about an hour and a half since the student had to get things checked off by the instructor. For $15, I am happy with the cut……except the bangs. I told her I wanted longer side swept bangs but they ended up too short and have been pulling them back instead.

So I now have brown hair and bangs, quite a big change for my hair in one day. But I will rock it! The best part was that it usually costs me $100 every three months to get my hair done but by going to the Aveda Institute and doing my own color, it only cost $26. Yeah, I can roll with that.

I found this coupon for a free strawberry-lemonade from McDonalds in the paper a few weeks ago.

So when I looked at the temperature and it was 80 something degrees out by 10am yesterday, it was definitely time to redeem.

So how was it? Very tasty! It was refreshing and sweet but I think I would’ve liked it better if it was over ice instead of slushie form.

I found this purse at Salvation Army for $3.99 on Wednesday. I know, I know, I am moving and do not need to buy any more crap but it was too cute to pass up.

The Bad Savings

I was happy to go food shopping since this week was triple coupons at Harris Teeter. Triple coupons only happen a few times a year and it’s just a magical time for me since I try to save even more than I normally do! I went to Our Coupon Home to check out what items were on sale, what coupons are out there for those products to see what items I could get for cheap or free. After going through their site and my coupons, I put a list together of items that were either going to be cheap or under $2

I went to Harris Teeter on Sunday morning with my list, my coupons and my hunger for savings. And a majority of items I was hoping to get, were all gone. I would look for one item and nothing. Go to the next and nothing. People already cleaned everything out! I did find some items on my list that were under $2 though

The total?

$10.14. Meh. I know it could have been a lot more but when I got a crapload of stuff for $15.12 earlier this month, it annoys me that I didn’t get that much when the coupons were being tripled this time around. So I did some more research and went back to Harris Teeter early on Monday morning to see if I would have any luck at a different location.

Not so much. I only found four items on my list of 10+ items and got a six inch turkey sub from their deli.

They have a program where for every 15 six inch subs you buy, you get a foot long free. This was my 15th sub so I now have a foot long coming at me soon (that’s what she said??) But on the flip side, Harris Teeter has raised their prices for the six inch subs yet again and now they are $3.49. Boo.

The total of $7.52 this time around made me feel a little better so really I got the four items for only $4.03 so about a buck apiece. Not too shabby.

Do you cut or color your own hair?

Do you ever get bummed out about not saving as much as you wanted to as the grocery store? I thought I would get more items both times around but was sorely mistaken.

Frugal Friday 4.15.11

Happy Friday all! The sun is out and it’s finally getting warm here, it is a wonderful Frugal Friday indeed!

Some deals of the week for me:

 I received an email from Qdoba with an offer for free chips and queso or chips and guacamole on April 13 only

We have a Qdoba in our building at work so I took a break from my work to go down there and grab this freebie. Apparently, everyone else was also there to get their free food but I didn’t mind waiting. It gave me some time to get away from work and of course, see my forbidden fruit hot Qdoba boy, he is just too cute. I got a big bag of chips, side of queso and a large diet coke for only $2.06

 I love countering hot cheese and fried chips with a Diet Coke, it’s the little things that count right?

On Saturday, I used a Groupon for The Brow Bar at South Park Mall. I had some furry caterpillars above my eyes for some time so a threading was in order. I first tried threading six or seven years ago in some hood mall in Indianapolis and it was only $7. I could definitely be down for personal grooming  at a discount like that. But then I moved to Charlotte and saw all the places offered threading…..but for outrageous prices like $20 on average. Hell, I could take a course on threading, open up a salon and make a killing with prices like that! However, being the frugal girl I am, I refused to pay that much. I’ve heard about the Brow Bar through friends and they said it was pretty cheap-around $12 for a threading which isn’t horrible but more than I would like to pay. Groupon had a deal of the day for The Brow Bar a few weeks ago for a threading session for eyebrows for only $6 so I jumped on that.

I bought two so I could enjoy one right away then at another time. It’s located at a kiosk in the middle of the mall so there are people walking by as you get your brows done  but that didn’t bother me too much. It took less than 10 minutes to get them done and the woman didn’t even make a snarky remark about the horrible shape my brows were in so all in all, it was a super experience. Hooray shapeups!

I went to Harris Teeter shortly after to grab some milk and passed by this beauty of a sale

I don’t make chicken leg quarters on a regular basis but over five pounds of chicken for $2.69? Sign me up!

Dannon Greek Yogurts were on sale for $1 plus I have a coupon for $1 off of 3 containers so I got 3/$2

 

I found strawberries on sale for $1.25 as well so grabbed a container to eat throughout the week and add to my smoothies

To top it all off, the hippie fruit people are finally out again until September! I love their produce because their stuff is so cheap and I love supporting local farmers. I got all of this for only $7.30

Some savings for you:

Sign up for Bob Evans Be-Mail and get a coupon for buy one Bob Evans Side Dish, get one free coupon!

Get a $2 Baja Bowl at Baja Fresh!

Click here for a $1 off Kashi cereal or snack product

Gluten free? Click here to get $1 off any Udi’s product!

Last but not least, this is for next Friday 4.22—bring a reusable cup into Starbucks and get a coffee or tea for free!

Do you pluck, wax or thread your eyebrows?

Do you go to farmers markets to get your produce?

The day that would not end

It’s 10P as I type this and I feel like it should be midnight. Such a long day filled with lots of running around!

If anyone out there likes Panda Express, they are giving away FREE Honey Walnut Shrimp on Wednesday 3.10, click here for the coupon—no purchase necessary! I normally don’t go there but a little greasy Chinese food is just what a girl wants and needs sometimes.

Bowling was a bust last night. There was a 13 yr old beating me and when it was my turn to go up and I was swinging my arm back, I accidentally released the ball backwards. Thank God it didn’t hit anyone or damage anything! Needless to say, it was a bit embarrassing!

I slept in until 9A, which is super late for me. I wake up early during the work wk and try to wake up no later than two hours after my normal wake up time during the wknd.

I made coffee and a big wknd breakfast.

I don’t what I envisioned in my head but this turned out to be half a baked potato,Morningstar Italian Veggie Sausage, scrambled egg and egg white, cheese, onion, parsley topped with Sriracha and ketchup with an english muffin topped with Trader Joe’s superfruit spread.

And the errands came to a start!

First stop was Petsmart to get Lincoln a new dog tag

I love the varsity letter print—it’s so cute!! They had an adoption fair going on for the dogs and I almost walked over to check them out but didn’t want a repeat of this

Then I went to Dick’s Sporting Goods to get some new running shoes

How hot our these?? Nike Air Max Run Lite

 

I hit up the supermarket after to get some stuff for two new recipes I am trying out tomorrow!

Black bean quesadillas were for lunch

The filling (Black beans, cheese, onion, parsley and jalapeno)

 

Made on my favorite–Trader Joe’s Habanero Lime Tortillas with a side of greek yogurt and salsa.

a fresh yellow apple on the side

I love being able to take my time and my meals during the wknd instead of having to heat leftovers at the office. One of these days when I win the lottery that will all change!

Still haven’t gotten enough from all the giveaways I listed the other day? Go to Kate’s site for a chance to win some chia seeds!

It was 60 degrees and sunny today so I went on the greenway near my place and ran/walk for an hour (about 3.5 miles)

Conclusions to while running

*I don’t like running in hot weather or when it’s sunny out

* I don’t mind running when it’s overcast and grey but feel like I run better when I run at night

*I do better when I run, sing and throw gangsigns simultaneously

*I hate running on the greenway for the following reasons

1. Too many kids
2. Too many families taking up the entire pathway who then stop on said pathway to look at a duck
3. Some people don’t understand the phrase “Coming up behind you”
4. I listen to rap when I run…..and explicit. I sing along and some people just don’t like when I sing along to Eminem’s “Shake That” ex. “Said he wants a slut, hope you don’t mind. Heard you was freaky from a friend of mine”

I really want to run but my body didn’t want to. I wasn’t hungover from last night since I only had two beers but really had to push myself and could only do a few minutes at a time then walk and then repeat.

I came home and made this beauty

Best Green Monster EVA!!!!! I made it with the following

*Dallop of greek yogurt

*Silk Soymilk

*Chocolate Whey

*Frozen banana

*Almond Butter

*Baby Spinach

I think it was the combination of almond butter, banana and greek yogurt but this was the most wonderful one I have met yet. So rich and creamy!

I limped over to the bubble bath and soaked for a good while. I was in soooo much pain! I whimpered and read my book and was so relaxed. So relaxed when I got out, I was watching tv and crashed for two hours.  I love having nothing to do sometimes!

My legs were hurting so bad that I was going to make dinner but decided to take out so I wouldn’t have to stand and cook so I drove to Harris Teeter for yummies. I drove along the route that I ran the other night and was amazed that I actually ran that. I kept thinking to myself , “Wow, I am awesome” ala Ron Burgundy

And yes, I am a big deal 🙂

I decided on a salad from their wonderful salad bar

And Hawaiian Sushi, which I had never tried. Sushi topped with two fabulous A’s—almonds and avocados?? Yes please!

I enjoyed this while watching Bruno.

 Bad idea. Especially the beginning with the scenes of him and his lova. For those who have seen it, I need not explain more.

After dinner snack was some kisses….unfortunately the candy and not the real kind

One of my neighbors came over and just hung out and caught up on stuff going on since we haven’t talked in awhile. Now, just hanging in for the evening and I am contemplating taking yet another bubble just to ease my pain. I am going to feel sweet tomorrow!!

Jim Gaffigan was on Law and Order tonight and Kathy Griffin on Law and Order SVU. Being that they are my two favorite comedians, I leave you with my favorite skits of theirs

I want some french toast.

Friday-yay!!! You finally made it and I love you.

I just woke up from a wonderful nap and sipping on some coffee. I am going midnight bowling tonight (hence the nap) which I haven’t done in forever! I am not really in a drinking mood but definitely in the mood to go have some fun and bowl! Maybe there will be some cute boys there, who knows? I can’t remember the last time I’ve been out on a Friday night.  If I do go out, it’s normally on a Saturday night so I can rest up during the day. I hate going out on Friday nights because I wake up @ 545A and being perky is hard to do after being awake for so long. I either take a nap or have to decline the offer.

But good news this morning—the Carolina Panthers cut QB Jake Delhomme—finally!!!!

Jake sucks. He is a good second or third string qb but as first string-negative. John Fox (Carolina Panthers Coach) had too much loyalty to him for some reason. Peace out boy scout. Maybe now we will be a real team (although I am a Chicago Bears fan).

I started the day off with a green monster But it wasn’t too green….sad.

 I got into my car and this song came on the radio. I completely forgot  Lenny did a remake of this song and I was so happy to hear it!

I munched on a granola bar that I made last night

In honor of yesterday’s wonderful soup and sandwich lunch-I decided to repeat since I didn’t have time to cook last night.

I filled a Habanero Lime Tortilla with Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow Cheese, Dijon and Smart Deli Turkey Style Veggie Protein slices before the goodies And after I got very ambitious with my veggies –baby spinach, carrots, red onion and parsley.

Pre Veggies–

 So much that I couldn’t even wrap it and had to eat like a taco-which was fine with me!

Look at that color–love it!

The soup was good. I’m a Campbell’s girl for the most part and bought this because I had a coupon but was pleased with the flavor–even for being No MSG Added

I walked over to Harris Teeter to get some cheese and bread. They were having a BOGO sale for the cheese and 50% off their bakery bread. I took this picture on the way back while walking through the cemetary–it was a gorgeous day!

I couldn’t let the fresh bread I bought just sit in my kitchen so I made mini french toast with berries for dinner.

The Whole Wheat Petit Loaf.

Loaf, I love that word. Maybe because it sounds dirty–I dunno.

I sliced in little pieces, some of which fell apart so I was about to toss. But then I remembered I had spray butter in the fridge so decorated with that and had a pre-dinner snack. And this is why I don’t buy fresh bread. I could seriously eat the entire loaf (hehe) in one sitting.

Because I?

The slices cooking

Ok looks wise, this got a D+

But the flava?? A++!

At least it wasn’t this french toast

I never used fresh bread for french toast before and it made a world of difference

Coffee in my favorite cup

Anyone see or planning on seeing Alice in Wonderland?

 I’m not a huge Tim Burton fan but love the story and cartoon! I’m trying to round up a friend or two to go see it.

All I know is the black eyebrows and white hair are bothering me.

****A little raffle fun for y’all. Patricia is holding a raffle to raise money for the Tufts University School of Nutrition as a team member of the Presiden’ts Marathon Challenge. She is more than half way to her goal of raising $2,500 (YOU GO GIRL!) The main raffle prize is a hot Garmin Forerunner 305. Click here for more details!****

I’m watching this Ancestry show on NBC  “Who Do You Think You Are?“ and Sarah Jessica Parker is on it now. I am very amused that her ancestors last name was Hodge…..She co-starred with Kyle Maclachlan on Sex and The City, who now plays Orsen Hodge in Desperate Housewives. I watch too much tv, I know.

Well, time to start getting ready for tonight. Now that I think of it, today was a pretty boring day. We will need to change that tonight. Happy weekend everyone!!

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!

Asheville (Part 2)

 

It was freezing and windy as hell but a beautiful sight to see!

Afterwards we went to Goodwill (pics of the goods found will be up later) then went to downtown Asheville and grabbed some lunch at Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria

Since it’s Friday, I opted for a black bean burger with jalapeno’s aplenty, potato salad and a pickle

This was delish! I ate all of the potato salad and only have of the burger so threw that in a box with some of my mom’s pizza.

We walked back to the car and saw this in the window of a clothing store

I absolutely love that Asheville is so dog friendly! It is a small artsy, liberal city with dogs everywhere.

I picked up some goodies on the way back

I never indulge in this anymore but absolutely love it and it isn’t too bad for you (in my opinion at least!)

 Peanut butter moon pie??!! I have never had a regular Moon Pie but seeing that I do live in the South, I felt like I needed to support the local economy and try one.

The drive was smooth until we got back into the Charlotte area and then hell broke loose. There is usually some traffic on the interstate near my place but today was absolutely out of control. And there was no accident so didn’t know what was up.

By the time we got home, took Lincoln out and tried to decompressed, we were wiped. We were planning on going out to dinner but did the next best thing-went to Harris Teeter. The HT near me has a sushi bar, fresh pizza by the slice, gelato bar and a Chinese/Thai place so the options are endless.

I went with sushi and shrimp dumplings

And with that, I am going to take a bubble and pass out. We have our water again–yay!!! Hope everyone’s wknd is starting out great!

Walking On Sunshine

20 degrees and snowing last wk……60 degrees this wk? Hello global warming, it’s nice to meet you!

It’s an absolutely gorgeous day in Charlotte and I have been on the go all day and taking a break for now!

I had to wake up early to take Lincoln to get groomed then I came back made some french toast with baked apples on top and my first cuppa joe.

I thought this would be really good because I had pancakes with baked apples on top from Cracker Barrel but these disappinted me. It was edible and tasted good, just not as good as I thought it would. I nuked the apples for 2 minutes and topped with apple pie spice and splenda. Then poured over the french toast and topped with syrup. I’m sure it was better at Cracker Barrel because of all the sugar and stuff (plus they put whipped cream on their pancakes and you can’t go wrong with that) but it filled me up and prepared me for the busy day I was going to have.

First stop was the post office to ship out some clothes I sold on ebay this past wk. Then I drove a few miles to South Carolina to get gas. It’s about a ten minute drive to the border and gas is about $.20 cheaper to I fill up on the wknd and am good for two or three wks (I really don’t drive too much at all due to the bus and train during the work wk).

Next stop was onto my good deed for the day….Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control

They are no kill and in dire need of food. I saw this on the news the other night about how food donations for animals are at an all time low and knew I needed to help! Enter in the four unopened bags of dog food that I got for free but Lincoln didn’t like. They have been sitting in my kitchen for a good year .

I was so happy to help the poor doggies! Sometimes I think I like dogs more than people—they don’t talk back, aren’t selfish and just want to love. But that’s another rant for another time! Then I made a huge mistake, I asked to see the dogs. They pointed me over to where they keep the dogs up for adoption and I walked in. That’s when my heart sank. Thankfully, there were only 18 dogs but to me, that is 18 too many. They were all so happy to see people!  I kept getting licks from them and it was just so sweet to see all of them so happy. But then I started tearing up because you could tell they were good dogs who don’t have a home and there was nothing I could do ( I warned y’all I like dogs more than people sometimes). I would love to have more dogs (but not to the point I am crazy dog lady) if I had more room but I am in an apartment which is room enough for Lincoln and I. Plus if I brought some doggies home, I think that would break his heart.

Speaking of which-next stop was to pick up Lincoln from his morning of pampering! Now if his momma could only get a day of pampering…..

How adorable are we? hehe

Lunch was sushi from Harris Teeter-Spicy Salmon Roll

And a kiwi (which this package of six at Trader Joe’s was $2.20 but for one at Harris Teeter is $.69 each–dislike!!)

Lincoln hoping to blog

Bad news on the Shamrock Shake hunt—I stopped by two McDonalds’s today and none in the forecast.

I’m not going to completely give up on this though. I am gonna keep searching through McDonalds in the area ….and learn how to say Shamrock Shake en espanol or learn how to dance like a leprechaun so people who don’t understand what it is will know what I am talking about!

 

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.

Lady of Leisure

I heart sleeping in!!! I slept in until 8A today and had a relaxing morning. I made my coffee and watched the Today show.

I made oats with soy milk, banana, 1 tbsp of TJ’s Pumpkin Butter, flax and apple pie seasoning in my cool Chicago Bears bowl 🙂

While watching the Today show, they had a segment asking different Olympians who their Vancouver Olympic crush is. I now know who mine is—-Ted Ligety—rawr!!

I had nothing to do today. I could have clean, do laundry, look up jobs in DC but none of that sounded fun. I ended up going to Walmart to get half price V Day stuff (Reece’s Pieces for $1.75, the Gods of Moderation will hopefully come to my side!) and some bubble bath. After that, I ventured over to Salvation Army. I love thrifting and prefer Salvation over Goodwill since they have sales each day on different colored tags on their items.

I found these adorable salt and pepper shakers for $1!!

I got some cute hats for $.99 as well but no pics until I wash those!

It is rainy and cold out so I wanted something hot. I was coming home from Salvation and remembered that I have a free 12 inch sub at Harris Teeter due to me. While checking out, I ran into this:

Drama! I almost shelled out the 4 bones to buy this but decided not to. That girl is straight up trouble (and I wish she would dye her hair back to brown-blonde is not a good look on her) Then I was reading The Hollywood Gossip about this as well. I just love celebrity gossip! I cannot wait to watch this tonight!

Back to Harris Teeter…..

 I went with the meatball sub and got cut in two pieces. I usually have one half and put it in the oven and top with cheese for a hearty meal.

 And a big salad with broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, snap peas, honey mustard and balsamic vinegar.

 Suffice to say, I can’t move now. Too much food.

I could totally get used to this not working gig. But only for a day or two, I think after that I would go crazy! Happy President’s Day!

Bucks and Bucks and Bucks and Bucks…..with a little bit of a Toyota Recall

Was so groggy today! I woke up at 330A and couldn’t fall back asleep until 5A. When I have to wake up at 6A that is just not right.

Started my day off right with some Chobani Greek Yogurt (strawberry flavored), frozen strawberries and flax seed. I got into work at 745A and had to wait until 9A for my coffee buddy to roll in.

 

We have a Starbucks in our building which is wonderful and evil at the same time. I love it because I am there every day .Yay for Starbucks Rewards–check it out here you haven’t.

Basically a Rewards program for crack  coffee addicts….like me 🙂 When you register your Starbucks card, you get a free drink on your birthday (we are talking ANY size, ANY flavor, numbers shots of espresso!) and Free Wi Fi (up to 2 hours a day).

Once you’ve earned 5 Stars, the deal starts getting sweeter! All of the above plus Free Beverage Customization ( syrup–their Sugar Free Cinnamon Dulce is to die for—and milk options such as Soy), Free Refills on Brewed Coffee, A Free Beverage with Whole Bean Coffee Purchase and free trial offers to you!

30 Stars is where you want to be –all of the above PLUS free drink every 15 Stars, Personalized Cold Card(Holla!) and Personalized Offers and Coupons

Enough of Starbucks though! This morning was steady but not too busy which means time to surf the web-yay! I could up on what’s going on in the world and checked our Livestrong.com which I frequent the boards on.

I still had leftovers of my slow cooked beef brisket but Tuesday is $2.99 any sub day at Harris Teeter so I took a nice walk over there and got a whole wheat tortilla wrap with turkey, pickles, onions, tomatoes and banana peppers. I didn’t get any cheese on it because I am trying to ween myself off the cheese and it was great regardless!

I also had a kiwi with a cool RIPE stick on it which I wore for the rest of the day 🙂

The snacks were the RIPE kiwi and a Gala apple

And then hell broke loose. The entire banks email server went down. And I work for a BIG bank! It was down from 1P to 4P and when a majority of work is via email and I normally leave at 430P, thumbs down.

I rode back on the bus ride home and it was a quick ride for once. And it didn’t smell like fried chicken (like the morning bus does, very funky). Stopped at Trader Joe’s and picked up  some whole wheat pizza dough and roasted red peppers. I decided since the email debacle, I was going to need homemade pizza!

Some spinach, mushrooms and roasted red peppers were cooking (Morningstar Veggie Crumbles were cooking on the side)

Fresh out of the oven!

Time to munch

Getting ready to move to the living room to watch Role Models (Thank you Netflix!) and chow down, my dad called me to tell me about the Toyota recall for my car that came out today. Oi–another thing to worry about 😦 I am trying to have an up beat attitude abut it though. At least I have a car to get recalled and it can always be worse. Oh well, things will work themselves out.

For a fun giveaway click here to Holly’s site—I’m thinking of my favorite combination as I type 🙂

Feeling Olympic? Click here to win a pair of rad Vancouver Olympic mittens—so cute!!