Say hola to my little friend

For as crappy as Tuesdays usually are, today wasn’t bad at all.

I had an Earnest Eats Cran Lemon Zest bar and Dannon Greek honey yogurt for breakfast.

 I was a bit reluctant to try the Earnest bar since it’s vegan and I may have a misconception about vegan products being bland or tasteless. When I took it out of the wrapped, the small of cran and yes, zest overcame me. I bit into it and was in shock—it was scrumptious! It was moist but not too moist and bland would be the last word to describe it. My main gripe was that it was a small bar so it was gone within a few bites and a higher fat content that I would have liked. 

As for the greek yogurt, honey greek yogurt is my obsession as of late. How did I never try this flavor before? So freakin yummy.

I had the final leftovers from Sunday night. Instead of adding pasta to the stir fry like yesterday, I heated the leftovers then laid upon a pile of plain cole slaw mix to make a quick, Asian salad!

I’m going to start using cole slaw mix as the base more. I will buy a bag and go through only half of it not knowing what to do with the other half and this is a perfect way to incorporate it.

I had a consultation for my tattoo removal in the afternoon so I got to leave work earl. Plus, it was another gorgeous spring day so getting out of the depressing gray cube  is always a nice thing. I talked to the doctor and it turns out I don’t need any more sessions of laser tattoo removal however they want to wait a few months before doing any procedures to remove the scarring.

So you can get an idea of how much color has been removed, here is a pic of me five years ago

And this is what it looks like today

You can barely see it anymore however there is a bit of it that has been raised from scarring and I would like to get it back to an even level. I hate to say this and will never admit it to her face but I wish I would’ve listened to my mother. Of course green is the hardest color to remove and this has cost me a good $1,000 more than getting the tattoo when I was 16. And I got my tattoo by a guy named Mr. Happy, how effin creepy is that?? I hate spending that much money because I am a frugal gal but it was a mistake I made when I was young and dumb. I felt like I couldn’t wear a lot of things I wanted to especially in the work place so getting it removed was the option that seemed best.

They were also concerned about my right arm.

I hate when I can’t get my self tanner all blended it. My left arm looks normal while the right arm looks like I have a funky skin condition going on. I assured them I was fine and it was all Hawaiian Tropics part. I was so self-conscious about it at work and whenever someone would come into my cube, I would hide my right hand.

Then dinner happened. I had no clue what I was going to make except that it was going to be chicken since I had a piece defrosting in the fridge. So I went to old faithful-stuffed chicken. Instead of making a hummus or spinach stuffed chicken like I have in the past, I put a south of the border spin on it and stuffed it with refried black beans, garlic and jalapeno spices.

I pounded the chicken (hehe) and then spread the refried beans on it along with the spices

Then I realized I was out of toothpicks, which means I will have to make a trip to Chipotle soon. I remembered that I bought some interesting toothpicks during my trip to NYC this winter.

I love ranch. Even ranch flavored toothpicks but sadly these didn’t taste too ranchlike so this was perfect to hold the chicken together.

I heated two tbsp of oil then placed the chicken in the pan to cook

I let cook while turning every two or three minutes so it could cook thoroughly, it took about 20 minutes

I turned the heat down and added salsa and cheese to the chicken and let cook for another five minutes

I had mini nachos on the side topped with jalapenos, green onions and cheese for a perfect Mexican meal done in less than 30 mins!

So, how was it? ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Yes, I realize that’s all caps but that’s how good it was. My only regret is that I didn’t make another piece of chicken for leftovers but this will definitely be another addition to the stuffed chicken collection.

I had an admirer sitting watching me while I ate.  Even Lincoln could tell it was some good grub.

Afterwards, I made myself go to the gym. I was supposed to go last night but didn’t for no reason whatsoever other than laziness. I did 35 minutes on the Precor Crossramp on the interval workout with a resistance ranging from 8 to 10

All in all a good workout, I was just happy I got off my butt and did something. I was such a sweaty mess afterwards, all I want was a hot shower and then a cold smoothie.

Blackberries, coconut milk and chia seeds

The smoothie was good but as soon as I finished it, I wanted a po boy, what’s up with that?

Do you have any tattoos or gotten any removed?
Do you make stuffed chicken?

Quick Fix

So, it seems like we are equally divided on the Bieber. Some of us love, love, love him while others are not so fond of the Biebs. I’m secretly  hoping that when he is 40 years old there will still be a thing called reality shows around and there will be a show like the Bachelor centered around him called “Somebody to Love”

As long as he doesn’t end up like Leif Garrett, I will be a happy gal

(source)

Sometimes, a quick fix is just what I need.

In the morning when I don’t feel like washing my hair, I sometimes need a quick and easy.

Or when I need to bring some color to my skin but don’t want to spend hours sitting outside

Sometimes I need a quick fix for meals.

Enter dinner last night.

  I had some romaine that was about to go bad along with a surplus of veggies like cucumber, red pepper, carrots, tomato and onion. I also had a couple of pieces of steak defrosting in the fridge with no direction of how to use it. I marinated the steak in Paula Deen’s Peach BBQ Sauce for a half hour then cooked on the stovetop

Oh how I long for a grill. Stovetop steak is just not the same as grilled steak

I wasn’t sure what kind of dressing I wanted to use so I used lime juice and hummus to top it off with. It was a great pick since the hummus didn’t overtake the flavor of the meat.

After having that, I made a quick stir fry with peppers, onions, zucchini and steak. I mixed garlic, red pepper flakes and soy sauce and poured on top of the steak while it cooked. I removed the steak then cooked the veggies in the same sauce then added all together.

I had a container of cooked spaghetti in the freezer so I defrosted that to make a quick meal for lunch on Monday.

Suck on that Lean Cuisine.

A quick fix for exercise today was taking a 20 minute walk on my lunch break. It was a gorgeous day—74 and sunny (sorry Chicago peeps who are getting snow!) and it was a nice way to break up my day. Until walking back when the pain in my knee became almost unbearable. I don’t know what’s up behind my knee but it is no bueno. It hurts when I have my leg bent sitting down and when I get up, it kills me to walk for the first few steps.

Which led to a quick fix for what my behind the knee pain would be on Livestrong. which then led to me quickly freaking out that a strain, a cyst or a tumor. If anyone has any tips on behind the knee pain, let a girl know. It’s horrible and I feel like I can barely walk a mile anymore due to the pain.

Some interesting headlines I saw today:

I saw this article on the Huffington Post today about how Australian retailers are going to tack on a fitting room fee to try on clothes since their sales have dropped by almost 5%. However, if you purchase the items, the fee is then refunded.  What do you all think about this? I think it’s a creative way to bring income in but they will see a drop in sales regardless.

In other news, a study came out saying that  coffee drinkers are more loyal to McD’s than to Starbucks. I would be too if I could get a decent cup of joe for $1. Unfortunately, I am lazy. There is a Starbucks in our building at work and it’s the closest thing to me so why walk three blocks away to McD’s to get a coffee? I’ve also been spoiled by the coffee since Starbucks coffee is stronger than others so if I were to go to McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts, I would have to drink two of their coffees to give me the jolt that Starbucks does. I prefer to grow some hair on my chest with my morning cuppa joe, thank you.

Is it wrong if I want to try the Doritos Taco Shell at Taco Bell? I may need to make a trip to Toledo soon….

And wth is up with my former employer,  Applebee’s  serving a toddler the hooch? My favorite part of the article was after the toddler drank some of the margarita that was supposed to be apple juice “The little boy reportedly began hailing strangers, too” Hakuna matata little boy, I do the same thing, little boy.

What are you quick fixes in your every day life?

Survey: How many of you know who Leif Garrett is without Googling him?

Distracted

So a little late for a weekend recap post but better late that never right? Yet another unexciting weekend and I am fine with that. Sometimes, I just want to do nothing social and get stuff done around the house.

  I think by the end of the weekend, Lincoln was ready for me to go back to work. Maybe because I  made him partake in a photo shoot?  Since he is a part Poodle, I figured he should sport a beret to show off his heritage!

Ok, I could see how he hates me doing stuff like this but it’s just too adorable to pass up. And this is what I do when I’m bored. I really do need to pick up a hobby.

Saturday night was spent in, which worked out perfectly since it was raining cats and dogs. When it’s raining, there is no way you can get me to go out, I am completely fine with staying in.

I had a dinner of leftover pizza along with a salad and some vino

Two glasses deep, I had the grand idea to make 3 Ingredient Muffins.

I used Spice Cake instead of the Devil’s Food Cake it calls for and used 1/4 bag of chocolate chips.

I love the Spice Cake addition and will use it again!

On Sunday I got alot of errands done in the morning then went to the gym and had a killer workout! I did 35 minutes on the Crossramp, doing weight loss interval with a resistance of 7, 10 minutes rowing then did an upper body workout including:

shoulder press (15 lbs 13 reps x3 sets)

bicep curls (15 lbs 13 reps x3 sets)

side bends (25 lbs 25 reps x 2 sets)

tricep extension (15 lbs 13 reps x3 sets)

concentration curls (15 lbs 13 reps x3 sets)

I felt great after this workout! I came home and replenished with a smoothie made with almond milk, ground flax-seed, fresh strawberries, frozen strawberries and Spiru-Tein Blueberries & Cream protein powder

Holy yum, this smoothie was fantastic! I love the combination of fresh and frozen strawberries and slurped this down! Oddly enough, I didn’t even get a brain freeze so that was a bonus.

I made chicken stir fry for dinner in an attempt to use up some of my quinoa that I bought last summer. I swear, I feel like I’m never going to go through this four pound feedbag but I have definitely put a dent in it. I wanted to use the quinoa for two reasons 1) obviously to use it up 2) to add some more protein to my meal since it packs an average of 14g of protein per cup.

I cooked two chicken breasts then set aside while the veggies were cooking. In the mix-snap peas, broccoli, bean sprouts and mushrooms. I whipped up a quick marinade of soy sauce, garlic, red pepper, black pepper and ginger and poured on the veggies while cooking. When near done, I added the chicken back in to simmer with the soy sauce mixture and soon enough it was done.

I laid the veggies and the chicken mixture over the quinoa. This tasted just like take out and filled me up for the rest of the evening–success!

Also, I’m distracted as of late.

Why you ask? Here we go……

*Work

I am getting ready to give my portfolio  away at work (about 150 accounts) so I am trying to make sure everything that needs to be done is done. I went into work for three hours on Sunday to play catch up and still didn’t get everything done so I am going to try my best to get it done within the next few weeks. And I have a few people that I am supposed to screw over tomorrow and not looking forward to it.  So, if you have seen an increase of drinking on my behalf, the job is why.

However on a brighter note, only 13 days left!  Along with that, I have an internship that I am starting so that’s starting to take up some more time in my schedule. It’s unpaid but it will give me some experience and will be able to put it in my resume. So, if I don’t post as much as I normally do, that is why.

*Family

I talked to my parents on Sunday and they told me that my dad was in the hospital last week since he was feeling dizzy so they wanted to check his blood and his heart. I love how they didn’t tell me this until four days after the fact.  I didn’t catch the whole story from him but they want to run an ekg on him to check on his heart and there is a chance he may need a pacemaker. He had a heart attack three years ago so this worries me and to top that off, my parents don’t have health insurance so that is just one more thing to worry about. 

*Boy drama

An ex boyfriend of mine may be coming into town next month. He says he is going to but I have a feeling he is going to bail given his track record

*Location location location

My lease is up in July and I still have no clue where I am going to end up. Originally I thought I wanted to move north but now that spring is coming around, I’m not so sure about that. I definitely don’t want to stay in Charlotte but want to get out of the South and move somewhere reasonably priced. Unfortunately, the areas I would really love to move to on this coast cost an arm and a leg (Chicago and DC) If only I could afford to live in San Diego!

*Myself

I’m going through some personal issues with myself right now and doing a lot of self-reflection of who I am and where I am in life. Bottom line is, as much as I love myself and think I am bomb.com, I’m not 100% happy with the person I’ve become-inside and out. I have a lot to work on in that aspect. I choose not to talk about it on here because it would be Debbie Downer  and I really don’t want to get into details but that’s what’s up for me.

*Oral hygiene

Part of my molar fell out the other day, I don’t know how or more importantly, where it went?. WTF?

So that’s whats going on with me, what’s distracting you lately?

The World According to Lincoln

Arf Arf, this is Lincoln.

My momma still isn’t feeling well so I am going to write about today.

She fell asleep while watching Food Network. I was going in and out of sleep but I could still hear the tv on. First there was this loud, annoying brunette who kept saying things like “Yumm-o” and “E.V.O.O.” I have no clue what either of those mean. Next there was this couple making comfort food and couldn’t keep their hands off each other, I was a bit put off by this. The last show I remember was a southern woman with big hair making things with a lot of butter, I liked her and her food looked good.

My momma got up and decided to switch it up to the bedroom so we napped there for a while. She kept tossing and turning and so did I but eventually I had a dream about the cute Maltese I met yesterday who lives across the street from us. Her name is Sprinkles, she is cute and voluptuous. Momma got frustrated after a while with not being able to fall asleep so she got up to make something to eat. I don’t think she was too hungry but she needed something in her system so she made something she calls a green monster.

She broke out the blender and threw in some baby spinach, greek yogurt, ice, frozen blueberries, a banana and vanilla protein powder and blended for a long while. It was really noisy but it came out pretty and purple.

It must have been good b/c she slurped it up but I think she got a headache from drinking it too fast. We went back to the living room to watch tv and nap. She fell asleep to some show about wedding dresses but I really wish she would leave Animal Planet on if she is going to go to sleep so I can see some cute bitches. I’m stuck in this place all day and get to see some cuties when I go outside to do my thing but I like seeing bitches from other regions as well. Just like Ludacris, I want to have ho’s in different area codes. Throw a dog a bone!

This is my food, Chef Michael’s Rotisserie Chicken Flavor. I love this stuff–I think they lace it with doggie crack. I don’t really get too hungry during the day and am a night eater when momma is getting a good nights rest so she can rock it at work and pay for the both of us to live. And there’s always a lot of water, I need to stay hydrated!

We really didn’t do too much this afternoon, we went for a long walk before the rain started coming down and then just watched tv and cuddled, it was nice. She was watching this show called DC Cupcakes, about Georgetown Cupcake in DC, she was excited to watch the show because went there back in April and really enjoyed the cupcakes (but she kept saying that she liked Crumbs better).

Soon it was dinner time, momma bought some shrimp this morning along with stir fry vegetables such as mushrooms, zucchini and onion for a healthy, cheap meal.

I think she really enjoyed this she kept rubbing her belly and “Mmmmmm-ing” while eating it. She kept reaching for her water though so I think it was a tad too salty for her but she seemed satisfied afterwards. I hope we have more snuggle time later, her head hurts so I am sure that will be on the agenda!

Woof woof!

By 30

I had a fabulous breakfast of Yoplait Greek Yogurt, Trader Joe’s Very Cherry Blend and Blueberry Flax and Kashi Go Lean Crunch! 

And look at my calendar for the month of June, I am totally loving all the colors and the phrase on it ( With the new day comes new strengths and new thoughts) I think it’s a great mantra.

I am really digging this whole not being too busy thing going on. I actually got to take a 15 minute break this morning and go to the post office and drug store then I went to the Ghetto Hippies for some produce and got some good buys for $3.40

 

I brought in a frozen meal lunch, which is a huge rarity for me. I had Cedarlane’s Burrito Grande. I am a bit skeptical of frozen meals due to the sodium count and lack of flavor and it just looked good on the cover.

I love how photos deceive sometimes. Mine was not that fluffy or colorful on the inside.

 

And I just love how it says Serving Suggested on the front but there are two servings in one box-grrrr. I would rather have them just say what the full nutritional content is for the whole thing instead of per serving but oh well.

 

This was surprisingly good. It was still crispy after reheating it and packed with flavor. I could really taste the cilantro and the green chile sauce was very smooth and tasty.

I read Daisy Fuentes’ book on the bus ride home from work and finished the entire thing.

I think it’s geared towards younger girls but still enjoyed it. She mentioned this list compiled by Pamela Redmond Satran back in 1997 and I still think it holds true

30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time She’s 30 by Pamela Redmond Satran

By 30, you should have:

1.       One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you’ve come.

2.       A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.

3.       Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour.

4.       A purse, a suitcase and an umbrella you’re not ashamed to be seen carrying.

5.       A youth you’re content to move beyond.

6.       A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age.

7.       The realization that you are actually going to have an old age—and some money set aside to help fund it.

8.      An e-mail address, a voice mailbox and a bank account—all of which nobody has access to but you.

9.       A résumé that is not even the slightest bit padded.

10.   One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.

11.    A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and a black lace bra.

12.    Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.

13.    The belief that you deserve it.

14.    A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don’t get better after 30.

15.    A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship and all those other facets of life that do get better.

By 30, you should know:

1.       How to fall in love without losing yourself.

2.       How you feel about having kids.

3.       How to quit a job, break up with a man and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.

4.       When to try harder and when to walk away.

5.       How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn’t like to happen next.

6.       The names of: the secretary of state, your great-grandmother and the best tailor in town.

7.       How to live alone, even if you don’t like to.

8.      How to take control of your own birthday.

9.       That you can’t change the length of your calves, the width of your hips or the nature of your parents.

10.   That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it’s over.

11.    What you would and wouldn’t do for money or love.

12.    That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs or not flossing for very long.

13.    Who you can trust, who you can’t and why you shouldn’t take it personally.

14.    Not to apologize for something that isn’t your fault.

15.    Why they say life begins at 30.

Ok so some of the stuff on the Things You Should Know I totally don’t know such as

 *How to quit a job, break up with a man and confront a friend without ruining the friendship. -I’m super bad with confrontation with people I know. Strangers on the other hand, I don’t mind confronting

*Who you can trust, who you can’t and why you shouldn’t take it personally. Unfortunately I like to see the good in people and am naïve but I am working on that

Regarding things you should have, I have all of those (except the cordless drill) but my favorites are

*A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age. –I could write a book about my life and the shenanigans that have occurred.

*One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you’ve come –Is it bad if I have three or four like this

*A résumé that is not even the slightest bit padded. I don’t need to pad b/c I am awesome 🙂

*One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry –ESSENTIAL in life!

I love this list. I even printed out a copy for me to keep so I can reference easily but I think this list is just fabulous. Props to Pamela!

On the way home, the bus was really quiet. Well quiet until I read Diana’s post about Bobby Flay’s restaurant, Mesa Grill. Seriously, look at the wild mushroom quesadillas they had. My stomach started rumbling and people were looking around while I was drooling and laughing while reading her post.

When I got home, I was super hungry and gave into my sweet craving that’s been nagging me all day. I had a single portion of Skinny Cow Strawberry Chessecake.

This was decadent and perfect for my sweet tooth. Lincoln liked it also.

 

And if you don’t think I’m sending these picture to Skinny Cow, you would be wrong.

In an attempt to make something other than Mexican for dinner, I made chicken stir fry

The veggies and chicken on the stove top

I seasoned with 1.4 packet of this stuff (without the flour or sugar though. I put in two splenda packets instead)

And nuked an Asian Sensation egg roll

Once this was all done, I threw over a bowl of brown rice

And of course, dessert was a fortune cookie!

My legs are still killing me and I think I did something to my right hamstring when stepping up on the bus today, it hurts so much. But I am itching to do something so I fit a strength training session in tonight

20 lb Kettlebell

*Side Bends (13 reps, 3 sets)

*Halos ( 13 reps, 2 sets)

*Shrugs (13 reps, 3 sets)

*Bentover Row (13 reps, 2 sets)

10 lb dumbbell

*Lateral Raise (13 reps, 3 sets)

*Tricep Kickbacks (13 reps, 1 set)

*Front Shoulder Raise (13 reps, 2 sets)

15 lb dumbbell

*Shoulder Press (13 reps, 3 sets)

*Concentration Curl (13 reps, 2 sets)

A nice little workout for the night. I can’twait  for my legs to feel better so I can do more jumping around, squats, planks, etc.

Post workout snack was Chobani 2% Plain Greek Yogurt with a squirt of maple syrup

Goals for the month of June

*Cut down on cheese. I love cheese, I would live in a house made of cheese and wear cheese inspired clothes if it were socially acceptable. But do I really need as much cheese as I like? Negatron.

*Try other ethnic cuisines. I like Mexican food if you can’t tell and love to cook but rarely venture outside my comfort zone with cooking. I need to start looking up other ethnic recipes to try to roll with it.

*Incorporate more strength training in my workout regime. Since running is pretty much a no go for me right now, I am going to stick to walking but work out more with my kettlebell and dumbbells.

Hope everyone is having a Happy Hump Day!!

PS—Check out Missy’s site for an awesome SmartSole Exercise Insole giveaway!!